Villagers vow to rebuild despite devastating mass demolition in West Bank

Khirbet al-Tabban, occupied West Bank – The signs of the mass demolition were visible everywhere in Khirbet al-Tabban: destroyed homes, scattered rubble, empty animal pens, and water tanks and essential facilities that were no longer there.

A woman sits beneath a tractor trailer, trying to shelter from the heat of the sun. Beside her are some of the belongings she had managed to save from the demolition.

On Wednesday, Israeli forces arrived unannounced in this small village in the southern West Bank’s Masafer Yatta region, and demolished all of its 12 homes, as well as most of the community’s other structures, leaving about 70 people homeless.

Nidal Younis, head of the Masafer Yatta Council, describes the demolition as “wiping the village off the face of the earth”. But he’s insistent that the villagers will not leave, despite repeated attempts by Israel to force Palestinians out across Masafer Yatta.

“The decision to remain and stand firm is the people’s own decision,” Younis says. “They see no alternative to this land.”

But in Khirbet al-Tabban, remaining means sleeping in the open.

With water sources and sanitation facilities destroyed, Younis says the residents’ immediate priorities are shelter, drinking water and sanitation facilities.

He warns that tents will not be sufficient against the strong winds and cold that will arrive in the next few months, especially for children, women, older people and the sick.