Israel Hands Out Demolition Orders To Palestinians In The Jordan Valley

Israeli troops in the west Bank- Photo by Ghassan Bannoura 2008

On Tuesday, Israeli troops handed out demolition orders targeting buildings belonging to Palestinian farmers from different areas in the Jordan valley.

Local sources reported that the demolition orders targeted animal barns and farming infrastructure used by local farmers.

According to the military, the farmers were building close to Israeli settlements and military bases, which were built originally on lands illegally taken from those farmers.

Over the last several years, Israeli authorities have launched a massive campaign to rid the eastern part of the Jordan Valley (the most fertile land in the West Bank) of its Palestinian inhabitants.

Military basis and settlements have sprung up in isolated areas in the Jordan Valley far from any other Israeli built-up area, but strategically located to encircle the entire West Bank.

Due to the fact that the Jordan Valley borders the Jordan River, which is the eastern border of the West Bank, local residents fear that the ongoing takeover of the area by Israeli forces and settlers will further isolate the indigenous Palestinian population into isolated enclaves totally isolated from the rest of the West Bank and the anticipated Palestinian state.