This morning the homes of Ralib Drarme, Yousef Shael, Ibrahim Obrarmesh and Hasan Drarme in Al Makhroq community, Al Jiflik were demolished by the Israeli army. These four families include 50 people in total, most of whom are young children.

At 7:30 am, four military adminitration cars, three militay jeeps, one police jeep, one car filled with settlers, one ambulance and two bulldozers arrived at Al Makhroq. At least twenty soldiers were present along with four settlers. Another ten workers were responsible for forcing the family members from their homes and emptying the homes of all of their belongings. The families neighbors were also forced to leave their home. Another army truck and jeep set up a flying checkpoint at the entrance of the community, preventing anyone from entering while the demolitions took place, including journalists, and Palestinian and international supporters.

In total five homes and three shelters with two tents for the families’ animals were demolished. All of the families’ food was inside their homes, including rice, oil, bread and flour, which was all ruined during the demolitions. The rubber tanks that held the families’ water were also destroyed. This is the fourth time these families’ homes have been demolished, the last time being only four months ago.

These families are farmers who have done nothing to deserve this treatment from the Israeli army. They are victims of Israel’s tactic to make life as difficult as possible for the thousands of Palestinians in Area C, in order to drive them from their homes so that Israel can ultimately annex the area.

Jordan Valley Solidarity will try to support these families to the best of our ability. We have already brought food including bread, sausage and milk to the families, and have provided them with several litres of water. We hope to help them build tents soon. At JVS we believe that helping communities such as Al Makhroq continue to live on their land despite abuse by the Israeli army is the most important form of resistance against the occupation.