At 10 am two bulldozers arrived in the South Hebron Hills helm of Umm Faqarah, escorted by five military vehicles. Without presenting a demolition order, the soldiers continued to demolish two houses, a mosque, a barn and a structure containing the generator providing electricity to the village, as well as electricity pylons.

A demolished mosque in Umm Faqarah. Picture credit: Operation Dove

During the operation, two Palestinian girls were detained by the Border Police. While the inhabitants rushed from neighboring villages to observe the developments, the two girls were forced to kneel on the ground by the soldiers. Ignoring request made by property owners to allow them to rescue rabbits who were in the barn slated for demolition, the army tore down the structure, injuring and killing the animals. After the demolitions, the army took away the two girls without providing any explanation on the charges.

Similar incidents have taken place the village of Susiya, where a house and a barn have also been demolished.

The villages of Umm Faqarah and Susiya are located entirely in Area C, under the military and administrative control of Israel. Within this area, all construction requires the issuing of a permit by Israeli authorities, which is almost impossible to receive. According to a recent UN report, Palestinians are barred from building in 70% of the West Bank.