The Israeli Supreme Court, in a decision considered historic, ruled on Wednesday night (4) that about a thousand Palestinians from a rural area of the West Bank can be removed from the site. The verdict, which paves the way for the demolition of eight villages, puts an end to a two-decade-long legal debate.
The Masafer Yatta region, in the southern West Bank province of Hebron, was declared a shooting zone by the Israeli state in the 1980s, to be used exclusively for the purpose of military exercises – civilians are prohibited there. Palestinian citizens, however, have long claimed rights to the territory.
Residents, who receive support from Israeli human rights groups, argue that many of the Palestinian families have permanently resided in the 3,000-hectare area since before Israel occupied the West Bank during the Six-Day War in 1967, and that, therefore, the eviction would constitute a violation of international law.
Under the Geneva Conventions on Humane Treatment in War, it is illegal to expropriate occupied land for purposes that do not benefit the people living there or forcibly transfer the local population. The Supreme Court overturned the argument, saying the rule does not apply to a domestic court.
The Israeli high court accepted the state’s argument that Palestinian residents had maintained a nomadic way of life over the generations, based on agriculture and herding, so they did not permanently reside in the area when the Israeli military first declared a military maneuver zone.
The court, however, urged the parties to seek a settlement, asking villagers to agree with the Israeli Armed Forces on ceding parts of the land for military use, reducing the planting zone.
The Israel Civil Rights Association, which, along with residents of Masafer Yatta, filed a petition against the eviction, said the decision would have unprecedented consequences. “The Supreme Court has officially authorized leaving entire families, with children and the elderly, without a roof over their heads,” the organization said in a statement.
The mayor of Masafer Yatta, Nidal Abu Younis, accused the court of being part of the Israeli occupation. “We are not going to leave our homes,” he told the Reuters news agency.
The episode, which took place the week the country celebrates the 74th anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel, comes amid a time of growing tension with the Palestinians. It also rehashed some of what fueled the 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas in the first half of 2021.
The threat of eviction of four Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood at the time contributed to the escalation of conflicts. The central dispute involved the removal of residents who, by decision of the Jerusalem regional court, had to return the land to Jewish families. The case, at the time adjourned, is still under evaluation in the courts.
This Thursday (5), Israeli police and Palestinian protesters clashed again on the Mosque Esplanade, in Jerusalem, on the return of the Jewish faithful after the break in Ramadan. Israeli policy said in a statement that one agent was wounded and argued that it only “repulsed rioters who threw projectiles at the scene”.
The esplanade is the third holy site in Islam and the holiest site in Judaism. In late April, at the Al-Aqsa mosque, another clash had left 42 Palestinians wounded and triggered reprisals.
Since the middle of last month, recurring clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian citizens have left nearly 300 injured, according to an AFP agency count, in the complex alone. Most are Palestinian.
Last week, the leader of the Hamas group in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, threatened Israel with rocket fire if there was what he described as renewed aggression at the Al Aqsa mosque, where Israeli forces have increased the presence of security agents.
