The international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) called on the Israeli government to immediately stop the demolition of Palestinian homes, schools, properties, and infrastructure in Masafer Yatta area to the south of Hebron, in the southern occupied West Bank.
It also called on Israel to stop the issuance of new demolition orders, and to abide by international and humanitarian law.
MSF, in a documentary report that was presented today in its office in Hebron, denounced the Israeli policies and called on the Israeli authorities to immediately halt its forcible expulsion plans, urging the international community to take all the necessary measures to protect Palestinians there and ensure respect of their humanitarian rights.
David Cantero-Pérez, MSF Head of Mission in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, called on the Israeli authorities to assume its obligations under international law and human rights law and immediately stop the demolitions, including the demolition of schools and homes.
He further called on the Israeli authorities to stop its night raids into Masafer Yatta.
He said that the Israeli occupation authorities are imposing enormous pressure on the residents of Masafer Yatta to force them to leave the area, which he stressed may amount to forced transfer, which is prohibited under international and humanitarian law.
MSF head of mission said the occupation authorities have intensified their measures since May 2022, after the Israeli Supreme court issued a ruling to remove all legal restrictions that impede the forced displacement of Palestinians in the region, which left a phycological impact on the population and their access to basic services, including medical care.
The report included one-one-one interviews and focused debates with residents of Masafer Yatta villages, including Umm Qassah, Umm al-Khair, al-Majaz, al-Markaz, Sha’ab al-Butum, and Khirbet a-Safai al-Foqa, and the documentation of the suffering inflicted upon them as a result of the repressive measures and political violence of the Israeli occupation and settlers, which aim at forcibly expelling Palestinians from the area.
MSF called on the international community, particularly the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations, to promptly intervene and pressure Israel to stop its violations of international human rights and humanitarian laws in Masafer Yatta, and to demand accountability for the demolition of buildings that were built from funding of international donors.
(WAFA)
