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Just back from the Jordan Valley. This is some of the devastation left yesterday by Israeli bulldozers that ripped through Khirbet Humsah, a remote Palestinian herder community. Rain has just started to fall and residents have worked through night to salvage belongings.
Yesterday's demolition comes towards the end of a record year for Israeli attempts to forcibly transfer Palestinians. More Palestinians in the West Bank lost their homes in the first 10 months of 2020 alone than in any full year since 2016: https://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20201104_number_of_palestinians_israel_left_homeless_hits_four_year_record_in_pandemic
Much of the material demolished yesterday was humanitarian assistance donated by the European Union and member states, including outhouses and solar electricity systems. The community currently has scant shelter for humans and far animals, aside from hastily erected tents.
The last time Israel demolished an entire herder community was 7 years ago. Clearly, the intention is to force residents off the land by creating a man-made humanitarian disaster. But residents have told us they have nowhere to go. https://www.btselem.org/planning_and_building/20130916_khallet_makhul_demolition
But it is up to the International community, and especially the European Union and its member states, to show the residents that they are not alone. Not through statements, but through concrete action that demonstrates this conduct will have consequences.
