Israel Demolishes Homes and School in Palestinian Village

Buildings Leveled for Being in Military 'Firing Zone'

by Jason Ditz, 

Israeli forces have destroyed dozens of buildings, homes as well as a school, in the occupied West Bank this week, targeting the village of Khirbet Tana, just south of Nablus. The UN reported 41 buildings destroyed overall, saying the demolitions are at their highest level since 2009.

The village is located within a Israeli military “firing zone,” which means it is illegal for the civilians to build homes there, but since they are herders and own the land for grazing livestock, they also can’t realistically leave. This has led to repeated rounds of military crackdowns, demolishing buildings.

This is a recurring problem across the occupied West Bank, where the Israeli military has designated about 18% of the overall land as “firing zones” for the purpose of training, and subsequently made a large number of Palestinian towns and villages “illegal.”

Israel has been accused of using the “firing zone” declarations as a way to remove Palestinians from certain areas, with an eye toward preventing a contiguous Palestinian state from being possible in prospective peace talks.

http://news.antiwar.com/2016/03/04/israel-demolishes-homes-and-school-in-palestinian-village/