Israel razes Bedouin structures in West Bank

Israeli forces on Monday dismantled Palestinian structures in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank for lack of building permits, according to a Palestinian anti-settlement activist.

“An Israeli force raided the Bedouin community in al-Hadidiya in the Jordan Valley and confiscated several structures there,” Aref Draghma told Anadolu Agency.

He said Israeli forces sealed off the area and made it off-limits for locals and reporters.

He said structures in the area had been repeatedly demolished by Israeli forces on claims of being built without permit in Area C.

There was no comment from the Israeli military on the report.

Israel seeks to expel some 10,000 Bedouin residents of what is known as the E1 Zone, which sits on 15 square kilometers (5.8 square miles) of land in East Jerusalem, to make way for a series of Jewish-only housing units linking Jerusalem to the Ma'ale Adumim settlement.

If implemented, the plan would effectively cut the West Bank in two, preempting the possibility of a territorially-contiguous Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders.

Under the 1995 Oslo agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), the West Bank -- including East Jerusalem -- was divided into Areas A, B and C.

Area A falls under the PA’s administrative and security control; Area B falls under the PA’s administrative control and Israel’s security control; and Area C falls under the exclusive administrative and security control of Israel.

Area C is currently home to around 300,000 Palestinians, the vast majority of whom are Bedouins and herding communities who predominantly live in tents, caravans and caves.