5th August 2010: The Israeli army came to destroy Palestinian houses in the Jordan Valley yet again this morning.

 

As if the demolition of 23 houses in Al Farisya two weeks ago was not enough, they returned with two Israeli bulldozers, about 20 military jeeps, two border police cars and three civil authority cars: allwith the intention to destroy the local community.

 

On the 19th July the Israeli army destroyed the houses and shelters of 23 families in Al Farsiya. However, the families refused to be beaten down and defeated. They continued to  work on their land and to rebuild some of their shelters. Just yesterday, the UN delivered food to the families.

 

 

Then, today, the army came again and isolated the area, preventing the families from reaching their houses. Two young men were stopped and hit by the army as they tried to resist the orders.

 

Then the bulldozers destroyed the makeshift homes of these 23 families yet again. Not content with this, they also demolished the homes of aother 4 families.

 

In further attempts to remove people from the area the tipped soil on top of the destroyed tents to make sure they couldn’t be re-used. They also uprooted the trees that were around the houses and destroyed a tractor belonging to one of the families.

 

As all this happened an Israeli settler family stood watching, joking with the soldiers as people’s homes a livelihoods were destroyed: Al Farsiya is surrounded by 4 Israeli settlements:Mehola (established in 1968), Rotem (1984), Maskiyot (1987), and Sal’it (2002).

 

This is part of the ongoing attacks against Palestinians, using house demolitions as a weapon, in East Jerusalem, around Hebron,  and in the Negev. At 9.00 am the Israeli army were also in Al Auja, just north or Jericho, destroying two Palestinian shops. There is no doubt that this destruction of Palestinian houses is part of a broader Israeli policy that aims to  remove all Palestinians from the Jordan Valley.