ISRAELI OCCUPATION FORCES DESTROY PALESTINIAN PROTEST VILLAGE

       Hebron, 30 Rajab 1434/9 June 2103 (MINA) – Israeli Occupation forces destroyed the Palestinian protest village of Canaan on Saturday for the third time, a local committee said.

       Yousef Abu Maria, spokesman for Beit Ummar’s committee against the wall, told Ma’an that Palestinian and international activists rebuilt the village after it had been destroyed months earlier by Israeli military forces.

       A fire broke out in the area as Israeli troops fired tear gas canisters and sound bombs to disperse activists, who vowed to continue building the village and fight against Israeli plans to confiscate Palestinian land, Abu Maria said.

       The village is built on land belonging to the village of al-Jaba, which is slated to be confiscated to expand surrounding illegal settlements in the Gush Etzion bloc.

       According to Maan News Agency report quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA), Palestinian activists first set-up a village called Canaan in the south Hebron hills in February, before Israeli forces destroyed the structures and arrested several people.

         In January, the Bab al-Shams village was set up in an area where Israel plans to build the “E1” settlement, severing the West Bank from Jerusalem.

         Then, locals established the al-Karamah (Dignity) village in Beit Iksa, northwest of Jerusalem, which is set to be tightly encircled by Israel’s separation wall.

         A week later, activists set up the Al-Asra, or prisoners, protest village in the village of Anin, northwest of Jenin and activists then established the “Al-Manatir neighborhood” encampment in an area of Burin village that is slated for confiscation by a neighboring settlement.

         Israeli forces have moved to evacuate each of the camps and dismantle their structures.(T/P05/E1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)