| Some 1,000 residents of the eight hamlets that make up Masafer Yatta are slated for expulsion, an order Israel’s Supreme Court upheld in May after a two-decade legal battle. |
According to images shared by local residents and
Shaab al-Butum sits inside an arid area of the West Bank known as Masafer Yatta, which the Israeli military has designated as a live-fire training zone. Some 1,000 residents of the eight hamlets that make up Masafer Yatta are slated for expulsion, an order Israel’s Supreme Court
...the political football known as The Highest Court in the Land, home of penumbrae and emanations...upheld in May after a two-decade legal battle.
Ma’in sits just outside the firing zone, some two kilometers (1.2 miles) from Shaab al-Butum.
Guy Butavia, an
Most residents of the area have remained in place since the ruling, even as Israeli security forces periodically roll in to demolish structures. But they could be forced out at any time.
Local officials and rights groups said Israeli defense officials have informed them that they would soon forcibly remove more than 1,000 residents from the area.
COGAT, the Israeli defense body that deals with Paleostinian civilian affairs, declined to comment.