On 18th March 2015 at 8:00 in the morning two bulldozers with five jeeps attacked the community Mak-hul  in the north of the Jordan Valley.  Four families lost their houses, which were destroyed. The names of those families are Mahmoud Ali Bsharat, Muhammed Ali Bsharat, also Ashraf Ali Bsharat, and Husien Ahmad Bsharat. The houses of these four families have been  destroyed three times previously beginning on the 16 September 2013.  Around forty people, which include children, elders, and a pregnant woman are now homeless.

Today after the bulldozers left Mak-hul, they did not return to the military camp but instead went also to the neighboring community of Al Hadidiya and destroyed the house of a family there also.  The last demolition for this family in Al Hadidiya was in 2011. When the army destroyed the houses of the people, they also destroyed shelters and infrastructure for the herds of sheep and goats that sustain the families.

Barely one and a half weeks ago, five families homes were demolished in the village of Makhrooq, which is about 10 km away from today’s bulldozing.  Around forty-two people were made homeless, with their houses, water tanks, and the shelters for their herds all destroyed.

Now the families are re-building with help from volunteers from nearby villages and also Jordan Valley Solidarity.  The families are asking for more volunteers to come and assist with the re-building effort.  In Al Hadidiya, more houses are still under threat of demolition.  Residents of the village recently appealed to an Israeli Court to save their houses and their lands.  Even though they have official papers proving land ownership, the Israeli Court ruled against the families in order to extend the territory of the illegal colony of Ro’i.  The call for volunteers is also to help the people in the village who are under threat.

To know more about the stories of the people of Mak-hull and Al Hadidiya, visit www.jordanvalleysolidarity.org , Volunteers can contact  Sireen  at jvsir92@gmail.com or 0592 391 208 to coordinate.