The Israeli army will begin military exercises in the occupied West Bank area of Masafer Yatta on Tuesday, despite opposition from Palestinian residents, The New Arab reported
Rocket-propelled grenades, tanks, machine guns, bulldozers, and other types of heavy weapons and machinery will be used in the military exercises, which will take place from 12-6 pm local time, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Yesterday the Israeli Supreme Court Chief Justice, Esther Chayut, approved a military exercise in Masafer Yatta, saying: "With regards to the safety measures detailed in order to prevent harm to people or property […] the instruction [is] not to pass through agricultural land > pic.twitter.com/VSboNDsB7c
— أوري جبعاتي Ori Givati (@origivati) June 21, 2022
The drill, which will continue for a month, will be the largest in 20 years, the newspaper said.
Some 1,200 Palestinians from Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron (Al-Khalil), risk being expelled from their homes to make way for an army firing zone after a decades-long legal battle that ended last month in Israel’s highest court.
JOIN US TOMORROW FOR A TWITTER STORM TO #DefendMasaferYatta!
The Israeli colonial court has approved “army training with LIVE FIRE” near Palestinian homes in Masafer Yatta. They’re being forced out, homes demolished. Israeli war crimes must stop! See toolkit for tomorrow in 🧵 pic.twitter.com/MtoKHaSF7k
— Palestinian Youth Movement (@palyouthmvmt) June 20, 2022
The ruling opened the way for one of the largest displacements since Israel occupied the territory in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinian residents are refusing to leave, hoping their resilience and international pressure will keep Israel from carrying out the expulsions.
(The New Arab, PC, Social Media)
