Israel gives 30-Day eviction notice to Palestinian village in occupied Hebron

Occupied West Bank (Quds News Network)- Israeli authorities have issued a 30-day ultimatum to the residents of Khirbet Zanuta, a Palestinian village located south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, threatening to demolish their homes by October 1 if they do not comply with an Israeli relocation plan.

According to a report by the Times of Israel, the eviction notice comes just weeks after the village residents won a legal victory in the Israeli Supreme Court. The court had ordered the Israeli military and police to allow the villagers to return to their homes after they were forced to flee in October last year due to ongoing settler violence and harassment.

Attorney Qamar Mashraqi, representing the residents, said that the Israeli government is continuing the work of settlers trying to expel Palestinians from their homes. She highlighted that the demolition orders, which Israel is now pushing to enforce, had been suspended for seven years.

In 2017, following years of legal battles, the Israeli government agreed to hold off on demolishing the buildings in Khirbet Zanuta, claiming it was revising its planning criteria. The Supreme Court had ordered the government to give 30 days’ notice before moving forward with any demolition plans.

Since October 7 there has been a marked increase in settler violence against Palestinians across the West Bank, particularly in the South Hebron Hills and the Jordan Valley. Over 1,000 native Palestinians, including 150 from Khirbet Zanuta, have fled their homes due to the violence. Several homes and buildings in the village, including an EU-funded school, were destroyed by settlers after the residents fled.

In August, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the military and police to allow the villagers to return. While around 40 residents have since returned, the military has prevented them from repairing their homes, including fixing the metal roofs they took with them when they fled last year, forcing them to live without adequate shelter.

The 30-day notice, which was issued on September 1, means the villagers must respond by October 1. The residents have not yet replied to the eviction proposal, but their lawyer pointed out that the alternative site offered by Israel is claimed by other Palestinian residents in the West Bank.

Mashraqi argued that Israel’s timing of the eviction plan, coming right after the villagers’ return by court order, is a strategic move to complete the ethnic cleansing of Khirbet Zanuta. She said the goal is to formalize the forced displacement initiated by settlers.

On Monday, Israeli settlers, under police protection, attacked Khirbet Zanuta, which is adjacent to the illegal settlement of Shima. The settlers reportedly stole a sheep belonging to a local resident from the Battat family. Villagers accuse the settlers and the Israeli authorities of using these attacks to pressure them into abandoning their lands and homes, as Israel seeks to seize tens of dunams in the area.

Data from the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission shows that settler violence has surged in 2024, with over 1,760 attacks killing nine natives. Around 32% of these attacks targeted Bedouin communities in the eastern slopes and the Jordan Valley, where Israel is intensifying efforts to force these communities to leave in clear violation of international law.

The commission also reported that the Israeli settlement council, an arm of the Civil Administration, has imposed hefty fines on Palestinians in the Jordan Valley to further pressure them to abandon their land. Since the beginning of 2024, fines totaling 430,000 shekels (approximately $115,000) have been levied against Palestinians for grazing sheep on their land. The commission condemned these actions as state-sponsored terrorism aimed at stripping Palestinians of their basic rights.