Yesterday, enforcement was carried out on about nine illegal building clusters in Firing Range 918 in South Hebron Hills, near the Israeli settlements of Carmel and Maon.
The demolition concludes a long process that began with demolition orders issued in the 1990s, continued with legal petitions against the expulsion lasting over twenty years, and finally, a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court in June 2022 declaring the building illegal and must be demolished.
IDF forces, using several engineering vehicles, demolished illegal structures in three locations in the firing zone: Geneva, Khirbet Al-Fakhit, and Khalet a-Daba. The inhabitants, along with left-wing activists, published videos of the demolition online on social media, stating: "The Israelis are demolishing Khalet Al-Sabeh east of the city of Yatta accompanied by many occupation soldiers."
In the early 1980s, the IDF closed a firing zone of about 30000000 square meters in South Hebron, allowing nearby Yatta residents to enter the area for grazing purposes with prior coordination. Over the years, local Arabs conducted construction without authorization. The IDF acted to enforce the law and remove invasions as required. In 2000, left-wing organizations petitioned the Supreme Court, claiming the firing zone declaration aimed to dispossess Palestinians from their land, allegedly hosting ancient settlements, and demanded not to demolish the structures.
In the discourse, the court ordered a temporary injunction, effectively freezing the situation on the ground: no demolition of structures and, on the other hand, no continued illegal construction; thus sending the parties to mediation and compromise attempts. Years passed, during which there was continued construction, paving of roads, and building public and religious structures, leading to a point where the IDF had to stop training in the area.
Mediation attempts over two decades were unsuccessful, and in the final hearing in mid-2022, the Supreme Court rejected all claims of the left-wing organizations, essentially paving the way for enforcement.
Eliram Azoulay, governor of the Hebron Regional Council, stated, "After years of invasion, these buildings should have been demolished long ago as per the Supreme Court ruling to evacuate illegal construction on the firing zone; today, demolition of several structures was carried out. I welcome the move and hope soon to see the completion of all the rulings that will mark the way to prevent the wild and criminal takeover of state lands. The test will be in continued actions and not words. I thank the Civil Administration's enforcement and supervision unit, the Settlement Directorate led by Smotrich, and the Minister of Defense."
Roi Drucker, Coordinator of Judea and Samaria in the Regavim Movement, added: "After more than three decades of state procrastination, we are witnessing determined action to restore justice, even within a complex reality and heavy international pressures. The State of Israel is taking responsibility for its assets, law, and mainly security, doing what it should have done a long time ago. Besides the Ministry of Defense's activity, action from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is required against BDS organizations exploiting the situation for delegitimizing the IDF and the State of Israel as a whole."