Four homes in the village of Al Auja were demolished early morning December 2nd soldiers. Four families were displaced, including 18 children. Seven animal barracks were also destroyed. The families were given three months notice of the demolition. They took the legal documents entitling them to the land to the Israeli courts to challenge the demolition orders, but no verdict had been given at the time of the demolition. The lawyer cost each family 3000 shekels (850 USD).

The families were not given notice of the exact day of the demolition. They were asleep when the soldiers arrived and were given no time to remove their possessions. The families are now living in small plastic tents with no bathroom or cooking facilities. It is unclear whether the families will be able to rebuild due to lack of resources.

The families whose homes were demolished are:

  • Salem Nagada, 7 people, 5 children
  • Youseff, 11 people, 6 children, house was 20 years old
  • Raffa Jahaleem, 8 people, 5 children
  • Ahmed Jahalel, 4 people, 2 children, house was 7 years old

On 3rd December 3rd village elders were meeting to discuss the demolition and future action. They were joined by a group from the Jericho Palestinian Authority, representatives from other NGOs including EAPPI (the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel) and an Israeli. When Jordan Valley Solidarity volunteers visited the site, the human rights organization Yesh Din were present at the meeting.

Other demolitions took place on 3rd December in the north of the Jordan Valley.

In Yarza, one family’s water well, built to collect rainwater, was demolished. The water well was worth 30,000 shekels (8500 USD) and was two years old. The family had been given two demolition orders in the last six months. They had legal ownership of the land and were also waiting for a verdict from the court. This is not the only difficulty the family has faced. Israeli soldiers use their land as a firing zone, disregarding the children and animals that live and play there. Sometimes animals have been shot during the occupation force’s military exercises.

Also in Al Hadidiya one animal shelter was destroyed.

In Fasayil al-Fauqa, home to the JVS center, three jeeps of Israeli soldiers spent five hours in the village taking pictures of houses and animal shelters for as yet unknown reasons.