Demolition in south Hebron Hills: Israel enforces construction laws

Israeli authorities carried out enforcement operations on nine clusters of illegal buildings in Firing Range 918, located in the South Hebron Hills near the settlements of Carmel and Maon.

The demolitions marked the conclusion of a legal battle spanning over two decades. The process began with demolition orders in the 1990s and continued through years of court petitions opposing the expulsions. In June 2022, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the structures were illegally built and must be removed.

IDF forces, utilizing engineering equipment, dismantled structures in three areas within the firing zone: Geneva, Khirbet Al-Fakhit, and Khalet a-Daba. Videos of the demolitions, shared by residents and left-wing activists on social media, described the events as an Israeli operation carried out with military support.

The origins of the dispute trace back to the early 1980s when the IDF designated a 30-million-square-meter area in South Hebron as a military training zone. While residents of nearby Yatta were allowed to graze livestock with prior coordination, unauthorized construction increased over the years. In 2000, left-wing groups petitioned the Supreme Court, arguing that the firing zone was declared to displace Palestinian communities from historically inhabited land.

The court issued a temporary injunction, freezing the situation: no demolitions of existing structures, but also no further unauthorized construction. However, over the years, building continued, including roads and public facilities, leading to a situation where military training in the area became impossible.

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."