Israel evicts Palestinian villagers for army exercise

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Israeli soldiers evicted several hundred Bedouins from a village in the occupied West Bank on Monday after the army declared the area a live-fire training zone.

The residents of Wadi al-Maleh, a village mostly inhabited by shepherds in the arid area bordering Jordan, had almost all left their homes by an evening curfew and retreated to neighbouring villages, Aref Daraghmeh, a local leader, told Reuters.

The displacement coincided with several demolitions of Arab properties in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which come as the United States is trying to revive stalled peace.

In January, villagers received a similar eviction order and left without resisting, only to return after 48 hours. Almost all of their 90 buildings, including shelters for their animals, were demolished in 2010, local rights groups said.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/04/29/uk-israel-palestinians-eviction-idUKBRE93S0PS20130429

[kurtzapril4]

2. All I can say is that the State of Israel

disgusts me to no end. Why we send our tax dollars to them, I don't know. They commit human rights abuses, they spy on US, their great benefactors, and really....what have they done for us lately? Republicans talk about these mythical "welfare queens," but have no problem supporting our dis-loyal welfare state BFF's, Israel. Keep the billions here to help Americans. It's time for Israel to sink or swim on it's own.

[Angelonthesidelines]

3. So, Who is antisemetic here?

Israel is not the Zionist state that drives these stories.

Israel is the people living there, and many many Jews decry their government just as much as here.

Americans never see anything that does not support the Zionist narrative.

[TheMadMonk]

6. Cop out! Israel is a DEMOCRACY. Israelis keep VOTING the Zionists in.

Any time Israeli politics take a turn for the left, the ultra right turns on moderate Israelis by stepping up vigilante enforcement of religious law, and provoking the Palestinians.

Come the next election, Israeli government sweves back to the right, the Zionists turn their attention back to the "external threat", and the "liberal" populace are left alone to live their quiet secular lives unmolested.

Zionist or not, enough ordinary Israelis are willing to vote for the bullies, rather than face up to them, to ensure that Israel overall is Zionist in nature.

[xtraxritical]

4. Usurp Palestinian property and build settlements.

Way to go Ohio.

[Agony]

5. an account from an Israeli organization that monitors these sorts of things...

http://www.icahd.org/node/471

"Eighty people are left homeless in Hammamat Al Maleh in the Northern Jordan Valley, after the Israel Defence Forces demolished homes and animal shelters of 11 families in the communities of Hammamat Al Maleh and Hammamat Al Meiteh, on January 17th, 2013.In the morning of the following day pillows, mattresses, kitchen stoves and clothes were piled around the village. People were homeless, animals without shelter and 55 structures were gone.

The place looked more like it had been destroyed by an earthquake than by people. On the morning of January 19th, IDF returned to the villages and confiscated what was left of the personal possessions together with 18 tents provided to the families by the Red Cross after the demolitions.

Hammamat Al Maleh, Al Meiteh and Al Burj are vulnerable herder communities in an equally vulnerable Jordan Valley, a place strategically important for Israel yet necessary for any future Palestinian state. It constitutes 29% of the West Bank and is fruitful agricultural land -- although 95 percent of the water resources are under Israeli control and is therefore inaccessible to the people. Israel uses different means to prevent the establishment of new Palestinian villages in the area while making life extremely difficult for those who stay. Not only does Israel control the water, but it has also declared 53% of the area ”state land”, another 46% military firing zones and has closed yet another 20% by declaring it a nature reserve. One doesn't need to be an expert in mathematics or in strategical planning to understand that the intent is to clear the Palestinians from the area.

For the past year the IDF has executed new forms of displacing people in the area through issuing ”temporary” eviction orders to allow for military training. On January 2-3, the IDF evacuated over 1000 people from their villages in Jordan Valley due to ”training,” including the communities of Hammamat Al Maleh and Meiteh. Ten families received demolition orders, which were executed two weeks later."

wtf just wtf

[Selatius]

7. There can be no peace process without a good faith effort on both sides.

Here, at least, we can see a demonstration of a lack of good faith on the part of the Israeli government towards Palestinians in this area.

One can't seriously expect the Palestinians to sit down at the bargaining table until such violations are halted.