At 9am this morning (6th June 2012), the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) demolished 4 homes in Al Maleh and 2 animal barracks in Bardala. 30 families from Al Maleh area in Northern Jordan Valley have also been evacuated from their homes to facilitate ‘military training’.

The Israeli Civil Administration arrived in Al Maleh at 6.30am and issued demolition orders to 4 family homes. At 9am IOF bulldozers started to demolish the homes which belonged to: Ali Hassan Al Fakeer, Ibrahim Abdullah Al Fakeer, Ibrahim Abed Abu Sabha and Ayed Sulliman Zawahri. They then moved on to destroyed 2 animal sheds belonging to Hussein Faleh Rabaya in Bardala. Israeli officials claimed Hussein had constructed the sheds just metres outside land designated as Area B where the occupation forces ‘permit’ Palestinians to build.

Jordan Valley Solidarity volunteer Yacoub commented:

“The Jordan Valley covers a geographic area of about 2400km2, but following Oslo Palestinians were only permitted to build on about 85km2 which was declared Area A and B. We don’t know why such a large amount of land was given away, but any time Palestinians build outside these small designated areas the Israelis come and destroy the property.”

The same apartheid government which is destroying Palestinian property is giving large economic subsidies exclusively to Jewish settlers to expand the 5 colonies in the area: Maskiyyot, Rotem, Givat, Shilat, Mehola, Sdemot Mehola, Beqa’ot, Roi and Hamadat. 

Over the last 24 hours 30 families have been evacuated from their homes by the military to facilitate ‘training’. The communities affected include Atuf, Ibziq and Al Maleh – locals reported more than 2000 soldiers were participating in training operations.

This is part of increased ‘military training operations’ in the Jordan Valley which saw 4 families evacuated on 5th June and more Palestinian land declared ‘Closed Military Zones’ and even destroyed.