1/16 In a recent letter to Democratic members of congress, DMFI defended the demolition of Khirbet Humsa and the displacement of 73 Palestinians with information from pro-annexation org Regavim. Let’s review some of their arguments.
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2/16 DMFI claims that according to the Oslo Accords, Area C is designated for full Israeli control. NOT TRUE. Area C (61% of the WB) was supposed to be transferred from Israeli to PA management, excluding the settlements.

3/16 Today, 25 yrs after Oslo, DMFI and Netanyahu gov't treat Area C as Israeli territory with no intention to transfer it to the PA. Israel works hard to create facts on the ground to prevent the possibility of a 2SS, which DMFI claims to support.

4/16 Facts on the ground are created through settlement expansion, on the one hand, and, on the other, marginalizing Palestinian footprint. See @PeaceNow’s settlement construction data for more. https://bit.ly/3pdVRbD 

5/16 Marginalizing the Palestinian footprint in Area C takes place through a discriminatory planning regime, where the nearly 240K Palestinians are not represented on planning committees. Rejection rates for Palestinian building permit requests are over 98%

6/16 Between 2009 - 2016, Israel approved only 66 building permits for Palestinians, half of which were for the relocation (that is: the forcible transfer) of the Palestinian Bedouin community of Abu Nuar.

7/16 Given the systematic refusal of the IDF, Palestinian communities are forced to build without permits. Since Oslo, over 18K demolition orders have been issued. Yes, it was post- Oslo that Israel intensified the battle over Area C and hence, the increase in demolitions.

8/16 2020 saw the 2nd highest number of demolitions since UN OCHA began collecting data in 2009.

9/16 And yes, DMFI, counter to your assertion, Israeli demolitions in Area C, including the demolition of Humsa, are illegal under int’l law. See this quote by the International Committee of the Red Cross below.

10/16 DMFI also claimed that Palestinians willfully endangered themselves by living in Humsa b/c it is located in a firing zone. But 18% of the WB is designated as FZs 78% of which are not used by the IDF, b/c FZs are actually a tool to take over Pal land https://www.keremnavot.org/a-locked-garden 

11/16 Firing Zone 918 in the South Hebron Hills is a case study in land grab through the declaration of firing zones. Protocols located by @Akevot from a government meeting show that Sharon suggested declaring FZ 918 in order to halt Palestinian development.

12/16 @Akevot located a legal opinion of the-then Military Advocate General Shamgar, forbidding the use of private Palestinian land, as well as the evacuation of civilian population for the benefit of military training and stating that the firing zone was declared illegally.

13/16 Despite Shamgar stating that IDF firing zones must be on uninhabited and uncultivated land, aerial photos from @KNavot show that (right) in 1970 the area of Humsa is heavily cultivated and (left) that the area is recognized by Israel as private Palestinian land.

14/16 DMFI argued that Palestinians came to Humsa 8-10 years ago. But they have lived on this land for decades. The photos below clearly attest to this. DMFI, you made this mistake b/c you relied on info from Regavim, which has a track record of lying about Pal presence in Area C

15/16 Regavim promoted similar lies about Khan al Ahmar, claiming that it is an “illegal outpost” built by the PA in the late 1990s. @Bimkom’s aerial footage clearly shows the community was there decades earlier (and was there 2 years before the nearby settlement of Kfar Adumim).

16/16 Regavim’s track record of lying is clear, as is DMFI’s unscrupulous use of their materials. DMFI, perhaps you should think twice before using Regavim info again, and, while you’re at it, stop defending home demolitions and the forcible transfer of Palestinians.