Despite HCJ ruling, military trains in Kh. Jenbah fields, South Hebron Hills

[Jefferson23]

The village of Khirbet Jenbah is one of the communities that Israel is attempting to expel from the area designated Firing Zone 918. These communities, home to roughly 1,000 individuals, are among the poorest in the West Bank. The Civil Administration argues that the villagers are not allowed to live in their homes. Yet it does not allow them to construct new buildings or pave access roads. It also prohibits them from hooking up to the power grid or water pipelines. Over the years Civil Administration personnel have demolished service structures in the communities, including rain-water collection cisterns.

The issue of the fate of the communities in the area had been the subject of the High Court of Justice sessions for years and has recently been turned over to a mediation process. Pending its conclusion, the High Court justices issued an interim injunction forbidding the State from harming the homes or property of the villagers. The interim injunction also prohibits expulsion of the villagers. Nevertheless, in violation of the court order, the military last week conducted training in Kh. Jenbah’s grain fields, which resulted in damage to the crops, the source of livelihood for many of the villagers.

Pursuant to a query by ACRI, the military denied that it had conducted training in the village fields. Two days later, ACRI conveyed to the military GPS readings by B’Tselem which confirm that training had indeed taken place on Kh. Jenbah land. Accordingly, the military discontinued training in the area.

Photos were taken by Nasser Nawaj'ah, our field researcher in the Southern Hebron Hills.


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http://www.btselem.org/photoblog/jenbah