Israel’s ongoing destruction and ethnic cleansing
JVL Introduction
A question rarely asked even as the expulsion of people from Masafer Yatta becomes imminent – why does the IDF need to do its training in the West Bank? When the area was originally designated a Firing Zone (918), the argument was that the land was needed for training as it was similar to that in Lebanon. The green line is immediately south of Masafer Yatta so why not train on the Israeli side of the line? We know the answer, firing zones are one of the many methods used to move Palestinians out of their homes and off their lands. The attorney fighting these demolitions “warned that, as in Khallet al-Daba, every destroyed village in Firing Zone 918 will eventually be taken over by Israeli settlers seeking to establish new outposts under the protection of the IDF and Israel Police.”
Channel 4 News had an excellent section “beyond the West Bank: the new frontier of Israel’s settlement expansion” that focused on demolitions in Khallet al Daba and also those taking place in the Negev, destroying the homes of Bedouin citizens of Israel.
LL
This article was originally published by Ha'aretz on Wed 25 Jun 2025. Read the original here.
IDF: Firing Zone in West Bank's Masafer Yatta Vital for Training, Buildings Must Be Cleare
The Israeli army’s position, submitted to the High Court in response to a petition against demolishing public buildings, is that structures in Masafer Yatta harm training. At the same time, it turns a blind eye to illegal outposts in the area
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