B’Tselem-The Israeli Information Center for the Human Rights in the Occupied Territories - July 29, 2005 - Back to Resources Page

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In the southern West Bank, in an area that Palestinians refer to as Masafer Yatta, (satellite villages of the town of Yatta), close to one thousand Palestinians live in caves and earn a livelihood from farming (hereafter: “the cave residents” or “the residents”). In the 1970s, Israel declared this area a “closed military area.” Relying on this declaration, Israel has been attempting to expel the cave residents.

In November 1999, Israeli military forces, accompanied by Civil Administration officials, expelled the cave residents and confiscated their few possessions – tents, produce, clothes, and other personal property. The army sealed caves, destroyed wells and outhouses, and prohibited the residents from returning to the area. The cave residents petitioned the High Court of Justice against their expulsion. The High Court issued a temporary injunction, returning the residents to the area and enjoining the state from expelling them until the court reached a final decision in the matter. The petitions are still pending.1 In addition to the threat of expulsion that has been hanging over their heads since they returned following the High Court’s order, the cave residents have suffered from repeated attacks and abuse by settlers from nearby settlements that have caused injury to person and property.

Recently, the army, too, has damaged their property. Furthermore, Israeli planning officials have ignored the cave residents’ needs, refusing to issue building permits that would provide them with needed housing and demolishing structures that have been built in the villages. This report is a follow-up to B’Tselem’s report in 2000 that documented Israel’s attempt to expel the cave residents in November 1999.2 The present report documents Israel’s efforts to complete the expulsion through the legal proceedings that have been taking place ever since, and describes the lives of the cave residents under the threat of settlers, the military, and the Civil Administration.

The report has six chapters. The first chapter offers a brief factual background of the area, the local population, and its unique way of life. The second chapter gives a chronology of the legal proceedings during the five-year period since the court ordered the state to allow the residents to return. The third chapter analyzes the declared and hidden motives behind the desire to expel the cave residents. Chapter Four discusses the settler violence against the cave residents and examines Israel’s law enforcement policy regarding the settlers. Chapter Five examines the state’s acts and omissions that obstruct the residents’ daily lives. The last chapter analyzes the violations of the residents’ human rights in the light of international law.

To download the full report please click below:

Attachment	Size
200507_South_Mount_Hebron_Eng.pdf	1.16 MB

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B’Tselem-The Israeli Information Center for the Human Rights in the Occupied Territories - July 29, 2005 - Back to Resources Page