UN: Israeli forces razed Palestinian village, leaving 41 children homeless

(Patria) – Israeli military forces razed a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, leaving 73 people, including 41 children, homeless, in the largest forced displacement in recent years, the United Nations reported.

Bulldozers accompanied by military vehicles were filmed approaching the village of Khirbet Humsa, and proceeded to raze huts, tents, animal shelters, toilets, and solar panels.

"These are some of the most vulnerable communities in the West Bank," commented Yvonne Helle, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Helle further stated that as a result of Israel's military operation, three-quarters of the community were left homeless, which is the largest forced displacement in the last four years. However, based on the number of destroyed dwellings (76), it can be concluded that this is the largest destruction in the last decade, added the UN representative.

After the army destroyed the village, families could be seen walking through the remnants of the only things they owned, which they had lost in a short time, in the wind and first rain.

The village of Khirbet Humsa is one of several Bedouin communities in the Jordan Valley area located within self-declared Israeli military training zones. Although the area belongs to the Palestinian territories, people living there often face the destruction of anything built or erected without Israeli permission, the British newspaper The Guardian writes.  

"Palestinians can almost never get such permission," says Helle, continuing: "Demolition is a key tool for creating a situation that forces Palestinians to leave their homes," claims the UN representative, who accuses Israel of "grave violations" of international law.

In 2020 alone, around 700 dwellings were destroyed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Helle claims – more than any year since 2016, leaving 869 Palestinians homeless.

The Israeli Civil Administration, the body mandated to manage the occupation, claims that a "forced action... was carried out against 7 tents and 5 animal pens that were illegally erected in the training range area in the Jordan Valley."

However, these figures do not align with the UN report, as well as the field report from the prominent Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, which claims that military forces destroyed 18 tents housing 11 families, 29 tents and storage facilities used for livestock, 3 storage facilities and 9 tents used as kitchens, 10 portable toilets, 10 animal pens, 23 water tanks, and two solar panels.

This Israeli human rights group also claims that Israeli forces destroyed more than 30 tons of animal feed, and confiscated a vehicle and two tractors belonging to three residents of the community.

"In an effort to appropriate as much Palestinian land as possible, Israel routinely destroys Palestinian homes and property," stated Amit Gilutz, spokesperson for the human rights group B'Tselem. He added that "(however) the erasure of an entire community is extremely rare, and it seems Israel is taking advantage of the fact that attention is currently elsewhere," alluding to the US elections.

Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967 after seizing the territory from Jordanian forces, and continues to occupy the area although Palestinians have limited self-governance in small enclaves.  

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the annexation of large parts of the occupied Palestinian territories, including the Jordan Valley, although his plan was temporarily "suspended" by an agreement with the United Arab Emirates.