Settlement sprawl forces Hebron’s Palestinian families to live in caves
Palestinian children in the cave where they live outside Hebron, 22 July 2020
Taghreed Ali reports in Al-Monitor:
In the foothills of the rocky mountains of Hebron, Munther Abu Aram, 48, lives a primitive life inside a natural cave with his wife and four children. When the Israeli authorities demolished Abu Aram’s home, they were left with no choice but to live in a cave with no infrastructure, electricity, water or sanitation.
The small cave of some 150 square meters (500 square feet) is located in Khirbet Janba in the occupied West Bank. “Life inside the cave is very difficult, but we got used to it after the Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished my home in 2018, which was built out of bricks, cement and tinplate, because it was built without a license. It was rebuilt and demolished again in 2019,” Abu Aram told Al-Monitor.
According to a report by the Turkish Anadolu Agency in December 2019, about 19 Palestinian families — some 100 people — are living in the caves of southern Hebron, without access to electricity or water, schools or roads.
Israel forbids Palestinians from building in Area C and demolishes the houses they do put up. According to a report by the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem published Feb. 6, 2019, Israeli forces demolished 1,401 Palestinian homes in Area C, resulting in the displacement of 6,207 Palestinians, including 3,134 children under the age of 16, between 2006 and 2018.