Israeli Army to Proceed with Masafer Yatta Drills despite Protests

Palestinians living in Masafer Yatta are increasingly struggling with access to basic necessities (Photo: Ahmad al-Bazz, via ActiveStills.org)

The Israeli army will begin military exercises in the occupied West Bank area of Masafer Yatta on Tuesday, despite opposition from Palestinian residents, The New Arab reported

Rocket-propelled grenades, tanks, machine guns, bulldozers, and other types of heavy weapons and machinery will be used in the military exercises, which will take place from 12-6 pm local time, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

The drill, which will continue for a month, will be the largest in 20 years, the newspaper said.

Some 1,200 Palestinians from Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron (Al-Khalil), risk being expelled from their homes to make way for an army firing zone after a decades-long legal battle that ended last month in Israel’s highest court.

The ruling opened the way for one of the largest displacements since Israel occupied the territory in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinian residents are refusing to leave, hoping their resilience and international pressure will keep Israel from carrying out the expulsions.

(The New Arab, PC, Social Media)

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