This morning, 2 February 2016, Civil Administration and military forces came to the Palestinian communities of Khirbet Jenbah and Khirbet al-Halawah in the South Hebron Hills, which lie in an area declared by the military as Firing Zone 918. In Khirbet Jenbah, the forces demolished fifteen structures that were home to sixty people, including 32 minors. In Khirbet al-Halawah, they demolished seven structures that were home to fifty people, including 32 minors. The forces also confiscated three solar panels in Khirbet Jenbah and two solar panels in Khirbet al-Halawah, all of which were donated to the communities by a humanitarian aid organization.

This comes upon an announcement yesterday (1 Feb.) regarding failure of the mediation process between the Israeli authorities and the communities, which began at the end of 2013. Immediately after the announcement, Civil Administration representatives came to Palestinian communities in Firing Zone 918 and photographed structures slated for demolition. The homes demolished this morning were constructed over the last two years, while the mediation process was still under way. At midday today, Israel’s High Court of Justice issued an interim injunction ordering the authorities not to demolish some of the structures until a hearing on the matter, following an urgent petition filed by the Society of St. Yves. As the mediation process ended without an agreement, the communities are set to renew their legal struggle against the authorities’ attempts to expel them from their land after declaring it a firing zone.

Original source