المكتب الوطني للدفاع عن الارض ومقاومة الاستيطان منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية
مقالات مشابهة
By: Madeeha Al-A’raj
The national Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements stated in its latest weekly report , that in accordance to Haaretznewspaper, Israeli FM and Minister of Settlement, and head of the Israeli Civil Administration, Smotrich is recruiting agents and settler associations to provide information on Palestinian homes and structures, especially C Areas in the West Bank for demolition that has never stopped over the last decades, where hisgovernment allocates NIS tens of millions for that, noting the Civil Administration places those budgets at the disposal of settlement councils and settlement associations, such as, Regavim, to form such agents, quads and patrols that monitor the Palestinian construction, and supplies them with modern technologies, including drones.
The patrols are the demolition arm of the civil administration, established in 2020, officially began operating in 2021, crowned with significant steps on the ground in 2022. Their work is based on informants and the recruitment of large numbers of informants in West Bank settlements to report any Palestinian activity on the ground through computerized programs that automatically integrate with databases across the West Bank, but not just in Area C. Regavim, the extremist right-wing settler organization, is one of the arms of these surveillance and demolition operations. In its official statements, it described itself as a public movement dedicated to ‘protecting the lands and national resources of Israel’ with a focus on Area C, where more than half a million settlers and about 354,000 Palestinians live, according to official Palestinian estimates.
The discussion here isn’t about the number of homes and facilities destroyed by the occupation across the West Bank, but rather about the silent ethnic cleansing taking place in Area C. The demolitions, carried out by the occupation forces under the direction of the Civil Administration, amounted, according to estimates by the ‘CHA’ for the period between Jan. 1, 2010 – Jan. 1, 2025, to about 8,765 Palestinian facilities in Area C, most of them under the pretext of being unlicensed. These included 3,107 agricultural facilities, 2,025 inhabited homes, and approximately 700 uninhabited homes.
The demolitions resulted in the displacement of about 10,000 Palestinians and affected approximately 192,548 others. Most of the demolitions were distributed as follows: 400 structures were demolished in Khirbet Tana, east of Nablus, 211 structures in Khirbet Hamsa, 200 structures in the Abu al-Ajaj Community in al-Jiftlik, 154 in Khirbet al-Ras al-Ahmar, and 148 in the Fasayil al-Wusta community, all in the Jordan Valley. Demolitions also affected 146 structures in the Hebron Governorate in the southern West Bank, and 142 in the Anata town, northeast of Jerusalem. The remaining structures were distributed across the rest of the West Bank governorates.
Last year, the Civil Administration focused its activities primarily on two regions: the Hebron Governorate, and the Jericho, Jordan Valley, and Tubas Governorates, i.e. the southern, central, and northern Jordan Valley. No, a single month of the past year passed without demolitions carried out by Civil Administration crews, accompanied by forces from the Israeli army, the Border Police, and the West Bank Police. Only in July the demolition machine stopped working, while the rest of the year the demolitions continued at varying rates.
In May and June, for example, the Civil Administration’s demolition operations escalated, particularly in the Jericho and Northern Jordan Valley Governorates. Five inhabited homes housing more than 40 people were demolished, while four tents belonging to two families with a combined population of 11 people were demolished. Agricultural facilities, mobile homes, and caravans were also demolished. June witnessed broader Israeli demolitions carried out by the Israeli Civil Administration, which affected more than 21 homes and apartments inhabited by 90 families, leaving them homeless.
In addition, agricultural and commercial facilities, mobile homes, and water wells were destroyed. These demolitions were concentrated in the Jericho and Jordan Valley Governorates and in Hebron governorate in particular. In August, the Israeli Civil Administration focused its campaign on the Hebron Governorate and the central Jordan Valley, specifically Furush Beit Dajan, targeting scattered Palestinian communities that engage in grazing and farming during certain seasons. With the help of settlers, the administration delivered demolition and removal orders to Palestinian Bedouin and agricultural communities, prompting Palestinian citizens to remove dozens of tents and structures that housed more than 30 families.
The situation is similar in the Hebron Governorate, specifically in the Hebron Hills and the Birin Community, northeast of the Yatta town, where tents, agricultural structures, uninhabited homes, and water wells were demolished in the area. In Oct. settler attacks, accompanied by Israeli Civil Administration authorities, against Palestinian citizens and communities in the Hebron and Jericho Governorates escalated again. The settlers led these attacks, which aimed to displace and eliminate some Palestinian communities in rural and Bedouin areas inhabited by Palestinian citizens during the grazing and agricultural seasons. The hills south of Hebron, the Sateeh area south of Jericho, and the Jouret al-Khail community northwest of Hebron witnessed acts of abuse and forced displacement of dozens of Palestinian families, comprising more than 100 individuals.
At the end of 2024, last Dec. the Israeli Civil Administration’s demolition and displacement campaigns were primarily concentrated in the Jerusalem Governorate, in addition to several demolition campaigns in the Jericho, Nablus, and Hebron Governorates. More than 17 residential homes were demolished in the Jerusalem Governorate, housing about 75 citizens, and approximately 10 residential buildings in the Nablus Governorate, housing 70 people, who left homeless. This was in addition to the demolition of numerous facilities, mobile homes, and agricultural barracks.
Overall, the demolition campaigns throughout 2024 affected more than 170 homes, facilities, and mobile homes, in addition to dozens of tents, affecting about 900 Palestinian citizens, either permanently or temporarily displaced, or rendered homeless.The demolition continues, on Jan. 5 2025, the Civil Administration personnel, accompanied by a force of soldiers, equipped with a bulldozer and a backhoe, arrived at the al-Makhrouq area in al-Jiftlik and demolished two agricultural structures. On the same day, they arrived the Furush Beit Dajan village and demolished 3pools used for irrigating crops. On 8thof the month, the Civil Administration’s representatives, accompanied by a force of soldiers and Border Police personnel, arrived at the Khirbet al-Tuwail community on the outskirts of the Jordan Valley and demolished tents and residential huts erected by 5 families, including 17 minors. They also demolished approximately 12 livestock pens, 12 grain stores, and 6 containers belonging to the same families and 3 other families.
On 26th, they arrived at the Furush Beit Dajan, accompanied by a force of soldiers and equipped with 3 bulldozers, and demolished a home and an irrigation pool belonging to a family of 12 people, including 9 minors. They also demolished 2 irrigation pools and 3 buildings. On 28th, the airport area in Jericho was subjected to the demolition, where a recreation center comprising 2 apartments, a swimming pool, a wall surrounding it, and another wall surrounding an adjacent plot of land were demolished, all of which belong to a resident of East Jerusalem.
In Hebron also, they demolished the Khallet Taha community in the southern Hebron hills, where it demolished the home of a family of 8 members including 4 minors, and an additional home under construction. The same was the case in the Ein ad-Duyuk al-Tahta village in the Jordan Valley, where it demolished 7 residential homes, 2 of which were under construction and 2 uninhabited, belonging to 3 families with a total of 17 members, including 9 minors. On February 10, Civil Administration personnel, accompanied by a force of soldiers and equipped with three excavators, arrived at Khirbet Khallet al-Dab’ in the southern Hebron hills and demolished 7 tin-roofed brick houses used by 7 families, leaving 54 residents, including 28 minors, homeless.
They also demolished 4 caves, 3 water wells, 2 water tanks, 3 solar panels and a stone wall used by the families. They then headed north to the Maghayer al-‘Abid Community and demolished an agricultural building before moving south to the Khirbet Janba Community, where they demolished 2 tin-roofed brick buildings used by 2 families, leaving 20 residents, including 7 minors, homeless.
Within the context, the Supreme Planning Council is discussing, during its weekly meetings, approval of plans to build 1,439 housing units in the West Bank including 2 master plans in the Talmon settlement ‘968 housing units’ and the Yakir settlement ‘464 housing units’, as well as 2 housing units in Givat Ze’ev, 1 in Ephraim, 2 in Sha’rei Tikva, and 2 in Barkan. The new discussion to promote these settlement units represents a record number approved since the transition to weekly meetings.
In recent weeks, there has been a weekly increase in the number of approved units. On Feb. 26, 2025, they approved 1,170 housing units; on March 5, 2025, they approved 1,408 units; and on March 12, 2025, approval is expected to reach 1,439 housing units. The Talmon construction plan includes the construction of a new neighborhood extending west from its affiliated settlement of Neria.
On March 5, 2025, the committee approved the submission of a plan to build 460 housing units in the Talmon/Zeit Ra’anan settlement. Neria and Zeit Ra’anan are 2 settlements subordinate to Talmon. Together, the 2 plans add 1,428 housing units to a single settlement. On March 25, the Higher Planning Council discussed the promotion of 1,124 housing units in 3 settlements: Beitar Illit, Adora, and Hananit, one plan seeks to establish a new neighborhood on the ruins of a Palestinian community violently evicted by soldiers and settlers in Oct. 2023. This will create a large new neighborhood of 287 housing units east of the Adora settlement, effectively doubling the size of the isolated settlement northwest of Hebron.
The occupation authorities are also working to legalize more settlement outposts. Major General Avi Balut, commander of the so-called Central Command in the occupation army, issued a decision to convert the ‘Edorim’ outpost into a settlement. This outpost was established 4 years ago and has witnessed significant growth and absorption since then. It is currently home to 26 families on lands in the town of Dura, south of Hebron. The occupation seized these lands in the 1970s and established the ‘Edorim military base’ there.
This decision came in response to a request by Smotrich to legalize 5 settlement outposts in the West Bank: Adorimm in Hebron, Avitare in Nablus, Sade Efraim and Givat Asaf in Ramallah, and Halitz in the area between Hebron and Bethlehem. This decision allows the new settlement to submit plans for the construction of housing units within it independently, as it is considered a full settlement and not a neighborhood within a settlement, after it received a separate urban planning code like the other settlements, and settlers began establishing a new settlement outpost in the Khallet al-Furn area overlooking the Fahs area, south of Hebron.
In Salfeet, the Supreme Planning Council of the Civil Administration, the Ariel settlement council announced a new settlement plan to build 11,000 new settlement units, part of intensive efforts to expand this settlement, which is considered one of the largest settlements established by the occupation in the West Bank and surround it with other settlements and nearby outposts into a large settlement bloc. The plan extends over an area of 8,000 dunams, and according to anti-settlement activist Nazmi Salman, it includes, in addition to residential units, educational and commercial facilities, public gardens, parks, green spaces, and sports fields.
According to Salfeet Governor, Mustafa Taqatqa, this plan comes within the context of a deliberate policy aimed at controlling more Palestinian land and imposing a settlement fait accompli that changes the demographic composition of the region through settlement expansion aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians from their lands.
List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Forcing Jerusalemite, Mahran Abu Rajab, a resident of Wadi Yasul in Silwan, to demolish his house under the pretext of not having a license, or to bear the costs of the demolition process. It also forced the Jerusalemite, Ahmad Jalajel to demolish his house in the Al-Bustan neighborhood in the Silwan town, as well as the citizen Osama Jubran in the Sur Baher town, under the same pretext.
- Erecting 2 new tents to the east of Jaba’village lands, broke a number of olive trees, and prevented the landowners from accessing them. The settlers have been trying for 2 weeks to seize the lands of Jaba’ Plain and connect them to the Adam settlement, located on the town’s lands.
- Demolishing scores of Stalls at the junction of the occupied Anata town. The campaign lasted for several hours, and the stalls were confiscated after being demolished and their contents destroyed, and large quantities of goods, vegetables, and fruits were destroyed. It is noteworthy that the stalls belong to street vendors from the West Bank, and have been present for years at the Anata Junction.
Hebron:
- Attacking shepherds in Khirbet al-Fakhit in al-Masafir, and stole 13 sheep belonging to Fayez Hamaden, under the protection of the occupation forces. Assaulting employees of the Southern Electricity Company, Yatta branch, while they were working to maintain the electricity network in the Wadi al-Rakhim community, in the southeastern part of the city of Yatta. They damaged the company’s vehicles, while the occupation soldiers seized the crane and other equipment.
- Attacking citizens and their property in Masafir Yatta, south of Hebron, under the protection of the occupation forces, and released their livestock onto citizens’ crops and near their homes in the Khallet al-Daba village in Masafir Yatta.
- Injuring a number of citizens as a result of an attack by armed settlers from the Susya settlement, in the Wadi Juhaysh community in al-Masafir,. Herds of settlers also attacked Khirbet Haribat al-Nabi in al-Masafir, under the protection of the occupation forces. The settlers assaulted citizens, destroyed the contents of homes, and punctured vehicle tires. The attack resulted in the injury of citizen Mutab Rashid, who suffered bruises. The settlers brutally attacked the village, while Ali Sabah Rashid and his wife were injured after being sprayed with pepper gas.
Bethlehem:
- Blocking the road to Al-Minya Desert, southeast of Bethlehem, with stones while a number of residents were heading to plant olive seedlings.
- Detaining a number of farmers in the Nahalin town and the Hussan village, west of Bethlehem.
- Attacking farmers under the protection of the occupation forces in the Baniyas area, while they were pruning vines and prevented them from continuing their work, and detained them.
Ramallah:
- Storming the Um Safa village, and set fire to a number of vehicles, 3 of which were completely burned, belonging to citizen Moh’d Yusef al-Sabti Sabah and his brother Ra]fat, moreover, they fired at citizens’ homes and property, destructed the main water pipeline watering the village, assaulting workers and smashing vehicles.
Nablus:
- Demolishing 5 residential structures and 7 barracks in Khirbet al-Tawil, located on Aqraba lands, south of Nablus, razing lands in the Madama village, and uprooted olive trees near the settlement road, and notifyined to seize these lands about a week ago.
- Besieging citizens while they were performing the evening and Tarawih prayers in the Khirbet Tana Mosque.
- Establishing a new settlement outpost on the lands of the Hawara town and set up tents and plastic houses on the top of Ras Zeid Mountain, in the Za’tara Basin.
Salfeet:
- Uprooting about 100 olive trees in the Haris village, west of Salfeet, after storming the Abu al-Ala area. They uprooted and cut down olive trees on an area of 20 dunams, belonging to Khaled Aqel, and stole agricultural tools, including water tanks.
Tulkarem:
- Demolishing a ground floor building foundation, located in the Al-Gharasat area, southeast of the Faroun town, south of Tulkarm. The foundation was built in 1990. Its owners had received a demolition notice more than 10 years ago, along with several other facilities and homes in the area. The foundation belongs to Abdul Hamid Mustafa Shalabi from the city of Tulkarm, and is located about 200 meters from the Apartheid Wall.
Jordan Valley:
- Storming 2 residential tents, each measuring 40 square meters, a kitchen, and a health unit belonging to Radi Khalil Zawahra in the Al-Burj area in the northern Jordan Valley. The occupation forces had previously demolished residential tents and livestock pens belonging to the same citizen a few months ago, under the pretext of lacking a license.
- Bullsozing uninhabited tents belonging to Nabil Abu Mutawa in Khirbet Um al-Jamal in the northern Jordan Valley,, while dozens of settlers, riding in trucks and protected by Israeli occupation forces, raided the Bedouin community of Shalla al-Auja, north of Jericho. They fired live ammunition, searched livestock pens, and stole sheep at gunpoint.
- Forcing Izzat Rashaida to demolish the third floor of his house, which was under construction in the Bardala village in the northern Jordan Valley.
- Chasing shepherds in the Al-Auja waterfall community, north of Jericho, and pursued the shepherds within the community’s perimeter, preventing them from grazing in the surrounding areas. They roamed among the residents’ homes, causing panic among residents, especially children. Demolishing foundations of a building built for construction, belonging to the brothers Faisal and Ayman Abu Jarhoud in the Al-Auja town
- Stealing 3 water tanks, belonging to Moaz Abdul Ghani Awawdeh, while he was in the pastures watering his livestock in Humsa in the northern Jordan Valley.
- Handing over demolition orders to a number of facilities, including a grocery store belonging to Yasser Nujoum, a tourist shop to Salah Freijat, and the 50-year-old home of Issa Al-Harini in the Al-Auja town. Two shepherds were injured as a result of an attack by settlers near U
- m Al-Quba plain in the northern Jordan Valley. Settlers, under the protection of the occupation forces, vandalized the internet and electricity networks of citizen Qadri Alian Daraghmeh in the northern Jordan Valley.
