Israeli forces on Tuesday evicted seven Palestinian families from their homes in the West Bank area of al-Aghwar, citing “military exercises”, according to a local Palestinian official.
The Israeli army says it will use the area to conduct military training as of Tuesday morning.
“The army started military exercises in a number of areas in al-Aghwar, with the participation of tanks and armored vehicles,” Moataz Bisharat, a local official responsible for monitoring Israeli settlement building in Tubas and al-Aghwar, told Anadolu Agency.
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Bisharat accused the Israeli army “of intentionally carrying out its training in the area in order to destroy Palestinian farmlands and force them to leave for building settlements”.
There was no comment from the Israeli military on the accusation
Some 65,000 Palestinians live in al-Aghwar area in 34 communities, while around 13,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements there.
International law regards both the West Bank and East Jerusalem as occupied territories and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity there illegal.
Guterres said the situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, continues to pose a “significant challenge” to international peace and security.
“The promise of the independence of the Palestinian state remains unfulfilled. Political, economic and security conditions across the Occupied Palestinian Territory are deteriorating as Palestinians experience high levels of dispossession, violence and insecurity,” said Guterres.
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He urged all parties to take concrete steps, which he said will enable a return to the path of meaningful negotiations and just and lasting peace.
The solution should focus on efforts to end the occupation in line with UN resolutions, international law and agreements.
According to Mousa Hamayil, a grassroots activist, after a month, the settlers left the caravans at the top of the mountain — a dangerous sign for Palestinians, as it leaves open the possibility that the settlers will return, particularly since they are trying to legalize their outpost.
The people of Beita gathered documents through an Israeli military association demonstrating their ownership of the land and submitted them to the Supreme Court to challenge any attempt by settlers to legalize their presence on Jabal Sbeih.
“Keeping the caravans (on the mountain) has convinced us that their departure is temporary and that they are waiting for the moment to take control of the mountain,” Hamayil told Anadolu Agency.
Andalou with additional input by GVS