Foreign and Commonwealth Office written question – answered at on 17 February 2016.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the demolition of 22 structures in Khirbet Jenbah in order to create an army training zone.
Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv recently raised the demolitions in a high-level meeting with a senior Israeli defence official. We also regularly raise our concerns with the Israeli authorities over demolitions in general.
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Annotations
Avril Wooster
Posted on 19 Feb 2016 3:31 pm (Report this annotation)
Firing Zone 918
Published: 1 Jan 2013
Updated: 10 Feb 2016
In October and November of 1999 the Israeli military expelled the approximately 700 Palestinian residents of a dozen small villages in the southeastern Hebron Hills, east of Route 317. The residents of these villages have lived there in natural and man-made caves – some on a permanent basis, others only seasonally – even before the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. The expulsion orders noted they were given on the grounds of “illegal residence in a live-fire zone.†Firing Zone 918, which encompasses approximately 30,000 dunams [3,000 hectares], was declared a restricted military zone as far back as the 1970s.
Avril Wooster
Posted on 19 Feb 2016 3:32 pm (Report this annotation)
Israeli authorities demolished 22 homes in Firing Zone 918 in the South Hebron Hills
Published: 2 Feb 2016
This morning, 2 February 2016, Civil Administration and military forces came to the Palestinian communities of Khirbet Jenbah and Khirbet al-Halawah in the South Hebron Hills, which lie in an area declared by the military as Firing Zone 918. In Khirbet Jenbah, the forces demolished fifteen structures that were home to sixty people, including 32 minors. In Khirbet al-Halawah, they demolished seven structures that were home to fifty people, including 32 minors. The forces also confiscated three solar panels in Khirbet Jenbah and two solar panels in Khirbet al-Halawah, all of which were donated to the communities by a humanitarian aid organization.
Avril Wooster
Posted on 19 Feb 2016 3:34 pm (Report this annotation)
Human rights groups have repeatedly challenged Israel’s claim to the land, arguing it is illegal to establish a military zone in occupied territory. Tuesday’s demolitions were described by the Israeli veterans group Breaking the Silence – which has long supported the villages – as one of the biggest demolitions in the past decade.
Avril Wooster
Posted on 19 Feb 2016 3:35 pm (Report this annotation)
The above annotations are proving that "Representations" to Israel are ineffective.