Four settler homes demolished in overnight West Bank operations

Israeli security forces carried out another overnight wave of evacuations and demolitions in the West Bank on Thursday, targeting several hilltops and farms in Judea and Samaria. Hundreds of Border Police officers and Civil Administration personnel raided the sites, demolished the homes of four families, damaged equipment, and confiscated animals.

At Tel Telpiyot in Binyamin, near the Shilo bloc, about 150 Border Police officers arrived around 2:30 a.m. and destroyed the homes of three families. One family had welcomed a baby daughter just two days earlier, and after leaving the hospital, the mother returned to find the family homeless. Residents said the demolition was violent, brutal, and swift, and that much personal property was damaged. A Civil Administration officer ordered a bulldozer to demolish two of the houses together with their contents, including a baby pen, mattresses, blankets, and other furniture. Forces also seized one resident’s horse and tried to confiscate the flock of sheep.

At the Kochav Yehuda farm between Tekoa and Efrat in Gush Etzion, more than 100 additional police officers entered, threw stun grenades at residents, and demolished both the family home and the living quarters of a group of young men. At Shaagat Yehuda farm in northern Samaria, dozens more officers carried out a total demolition of the site. Another settlement outpost near Ash Kodesh in Binyamin was also destroyed.

The article said May set a new record for demolition actions in the settlement enterprise, with 57 incidents recorded that month, an average of almost two per day including Saturdays.