International chorus grows against demolition of Palestinian village

Israeli activists, the UK and US have urged the Israeli government to halt its plans to destroy a village in the occupied West Bank it says was built "illegally".

Khirbet Susiya, a village of about 340 people located in Area C and under full Israeli control, has faced demolition since May, after authorities won a court order declaring it to be illegal.

A number of Israeli activists have volunteered to take shifts to sleep in the village in order to prevent the bulldozers from moving in.

Amiel Vardi, a teacher from Jerusalem who is organising the shifts, told The Independent: "It is very important to be with the Palestinians so that they feel they are not alone and that there are people who care."

Israeli NGO, Rabbis for Human Rights, with funding from the UK government, is meanwhile waging a legal battle against the demolition, which is expected to be renewed with a high court hearing on August 3.

The army announced last week that the demolition could occur anytime between July 20 - which marked the end of the Islamic festival Eid al-Fitr - and August 3.

Destruction of the village would "create a severe humanitarian crisis" with 340 people, including 140 children, being "thrown out without any social or public network to absorb them," Rabbis for Human Rights said.

'Ethnic cleansing'

	Activists have been calling for a halt in demolition plans [Getty]

EU foreign ministers on Tuesday called on Israel to pause plans for the "forced transfer of population and demolition of Palestinian housing", reiterating an earlier warning from the US government.

"Demolition of this Palestinian village or of parts of it, and evictions of Palestinians from their homes would be harmful and provocative," said John Kirby of the US State Department on Friday.

"Such actions have an impact beyond those individuals and families who are evicted. We are concerned that the demolition of this village may worsen the atmosphere for a peaceful resolution and would set a damaging standard for displacement and land confiscation, particularly given settlement-related activity in the area," Kirby said.

Mustafa al-Barghouti, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative Movement, referred to the plans as "ethnic cleansing".

"Demolishing the village reinforces that the Israeli settlers, who expropriated the land, are thieves," Barghouti said in a statement.

Palestinians of Khirbet Susiya were expelled from their original village in 1986 to make way for an archaeological park and then moved to nearby agricultural land they own. But the Israeli government claims the villagers never got permission to do so.

Many activists and locals have highlighted the difficulty of obtaining building permission due to Israel's discriminatory planning practices.

"All of the residents' attempts over the years to obtain building permits were rejected by the army," said Rabbis for Human Rights.

"Today they are facing another expulsion. There is a chance to prevent it but it depends on the amount of public and international pressure we can muster. That is the only thing that can defend the village," Amiel Vardi added.