UAWC succeeds in postponing the demolition order for Al-Rahwa residents south Hebron
Hebron – Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) succeeded in postponing the demolition order issued by the Israeli Occupation Authorities’ court, which ordered deporting all of Al-Rahwa’s inhabitants. The postponement was through legal proceedings conducted by the Union within the project “Defending Our Rights” funded by the Norwegian People’s Aid, in coordination with Insan Center for Democracy and Human Rights to follow-up the warning orders legally.
The Israeli Occupation Authorities prevented UAWC from continuing their work on a project for constructing cisterns, in Al-Rahwa, where the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) stopped the machines and the workers and prevented them from continuing their wok under the pretext that the C-Area is under the Israeli security control, mentioning that the Israeli Occupation Authorities demolished 16 residential tents in this area since the beginning of this year.
Mohammad Aweidat, coordinator of UAWC, declared: “the Israeli Occupation Authorities handed demolition warnings to Al-Rahwa residents before two months to demolish their homes, tents and sheep pens. UAWC followed up the warnings in the Occupation’s court and demolitions were postponed.
He pointed out that UAWC donated two cisterns, each one’s capacity is 70 cubic meter of water, within the project “Defending Our Rights” funded by the Norwegian People’s Aid, but the IOF raided the area and stopped the work claiming that it is a closed military zone.
Although the farmers living in Khirbet Al-Rahwa, who have nearly 600 head of cattle, asked the Israeli Occupation Authorities to show them a written order that prevent them from working in their area and that it is a closed military zone, the IOF detained them for 3 hours.
Al-Rahwa residents insist on staying on their lands despite the persistent threats targeting their existence to expand “Tinh” colony, which was originally built on their property. However, the residents live in homes made up of tents, tin barracks and caves, and they depend on livestock breeding, planting their lands with rainfed crops and buying water tanks to meet the needs of their livestock and their daily needs.
Murad Jabarin, a resident of Al-Rahwa, indicated that: “the area is suffering from draught since five years which forced some of the residents to sell all of their sheep because of the indebtedness due to the high price of fodder and water. Others were forced to sell part of their sheep to keep the rest, which added a great suffering apart from our suffering from the occupation’s ongoing harassments aimed at deporting us.”
It is noteworthy that Khirbet Al-Rahwa, with a population of 200 people, is facing harassments began by putting cement cubes by the Israeli Occupation Authorities at the entrance to the village, where the residents filed a lawsuit and the cubes were removed. In addition to the harassments, the sheep cannot cross the so-called Road (316) to graze because it is surrounded by iron fence, the wall built by the Israeli Occupation Authorities in 2002, “Tina Amariam” colony which extends at the account of the village’s lands as well as to the demolition warnings which aim at deporting them from their land.
The village’s residents appealed to the local and international institutions and human right organizations to stand with and protect the farmers from the occupation’s attacks, support their steadfastness on their lands and provide them with the necessities of life, especially the media to highlight these areas that their residents are exposed to evacuation.