fDriving south from Jerusalem, the landscape changes visibly shortly after Hebron. The terraces on which grapes are grown are disappearing, it is becoming sparse and traffic is scarce. Just before reaching the “Green Line”, the border between the West Bank and Israel, begins a hilly region known by various names: South Hebron Hills or Masafer Yatta. But many also call the area the “Wild West” of the West Bank – because in the poor, remote region, even more so than elsewhere in the occupied Palestinian territories, the law of the strongest applies. The stronger ones are the Israeli army and the Jewish settlers.
Just recently, a demolition squad came again. Accompanied by a police and military escort, two bulldozers rolled into At-Tuwani, one of the largest Palestinian villages in the area, this morning. There they destroyed a house under construction that had been intended for a family of nine. It continued to the village of Al-Fakheit, where six buildings were demolished. The women were previously allowed to take their belongings out of the houses.