(English) Cave-dwelling Palestinian farmers facing eviction from homes

A unique way of life in the West Bank is under threat after Israel renewed a legal bid to evict more than 1,600 cave-dwelling Palestinian farmers from their land in the desert hills near the Biblical city of Hebron.

Hamid Jabareen and his family in their cave in Jenba, a Palestinian town in the Hebron hills of the West Bank which Israel deems a military training zone. Photo: Quique Kierszenbaum.

Israel’s defence ministry is expected to seek court approval this week to destroy up to 12 traditional «fellaheen» communities situated in an area designated as a training zone for the occupying Israeli army.

The issue has threatened to heighten tensions with the Palestinian leadership, which has refused to resume peace talks with Israel as long as it continues to build settlements on land it occupied in the Six Day War of 1967.

It has also set the Jewish state on a collision course with European powers, particularly the British government which funded the construction of cisterns and sanitation facilities for the cave-dwelling communities, home to some of the poorest Palestinians in the West Bank.

«The UK takes any reports of projects funded by the UK taxpayer being demolished seriously,» a Foreign Office spokesman said on Sunday. «We are aware of the legal proceedings and are monitoring the outcome of the case.»

The EU’s 27 foreign ministers will issue a strongly worded rebuke on Monday, denouncing Israel for expanding Jewish settlements and demanding Palestinians be allowed to build on their own land without fear of having their homes demolished.

Source: The Telegraph