The ever present issue of how Israeli authorities deal with illegal housing is again brought to the fore, this time in relation to the village of Sussiya, a community of 340 Palestinians located in the hills south of the West Bank city of Hebron.
All of the homes in the village are built illegally.
Israeli officials, poised to demolish the homes, say they are simply enforcing the law – a decision focused on the legality of the structure, not the ethnicity of its residents. In this case, they argue that authorities are acting because of pressure from nearby Jewish community built on post-1967 land that allegedly seeks the land the illegal houses sit upon for their own town.
Rabbi Arik Ascherman of Rabbis for Human Rights tells The Media Line’s Linda Gradstein that the government should at least delay the demolitions until the court hears the residents’ appeal in early August.
Palestinians, foreigners and Israeli peace activists hold banners as they demonstrate in the southern West Bank village of Sussya against the demolition of the Palestinian village and in support of the citizens in the southern area near the town of Hebron on June 5, 2015. (Photo: HAZEM BADER/AFP/Getty Images)