HEBRON (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces demolished 22 buildings in a Palestinian village south of Hebron on Monday, displacing 120 villagers, residents told Ma'an.
Twenty Israeli military vehicles accompanied bulldozers to raze the 16 domestic tents and six animal shelters in Khirbet al-Rahwa, they said.
Villager Salim Salem al-Tal told Ma'an forces also demolished a well that was the village's only water source. Soldiers did not give the villagers any time to remove their possessions from their homes, he said.
Rateb al-Jabareen, whose home was demolished, said that the soldiers told them they would have to leave the village. Israel hopes to expand the neighboring Jewish-only settlement Tene Omerem by pushing them from their village, he added.
He vowed the villagers would remain despite repeated demolitions.
Hebron governor Kamel Hemaid said Israeli authorities were systematically destroying Palestinian homes in order to expand Israeli settlements throughout the West Bank.
He appealed for international intervention to halt the demolitions.
The number of Palestinians displaced by demolitions doubled in 2011 compared to 2010, according to UN figures.
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