Israel Orders Palestinian to Pay for His Own Home Demolition in West Bank First-of-Its-Kind Ruling

Watan-In a dangerous and unprecedented development, an Israeli occupation court has ordered Khader Al-Amour, a resident of Al-Tuwani village in Masafer Yatta, southern West Bank, to pay 4,000 shekels as the cost of the equipment used to demolish his own home on April 22, 2025. The payment deadline is May 23, 2025.

Observers labeled this court ruling as the first of its kind in the occupied West Bank and a clear sign of the beginning of Israel’s annexation of Palestinian lands in Masafer Yatta.

This comes after the Israeli Knesset approved legislation to annex Palestinian lands in the South Hebron Hills and Masafer Yatta, integrating them into the Negev.

Previously, Israeli authorities had ordered residents to demolish their own homes, another move widely condemned as a dangerous precedent. This latest court ruling follows that pattern, embedding the cost of occupation into the lives of the oppressed.

Community Response:

Mohammad Al-Raba’i, head of Al-Tuwani village council, condemned the decision as a “serious precedent,” stating that the occupation is now forcing residents to destroy their own homes and pay for it, based on military orders issued at the start of the year.

He added that daily settler violence in Al-Tuwani includes:

• Assaults on residents

• Destruction of agricultural property

• Land theft

• Establishment of nine new settler outposts

Al-Raba’i noted that since October 7, Israeli forces have prohibited access to specific areas, and he called for urgent action to stop the intensifying violations.

He also revealed that villagers filed several petitions to Israeli courts to prevent demolitions—paying money for non-demolition orders—but all efforts were ignored.

Escalating Settler Violence:

• In Khirbet Al-Rakeez, settlers from the “Avigail” outpost uprooted 30 olive and almond trees belonging to Ibrahim Abu Aram.

• In Khirbet Al-Halawa, settlers released livestock into crops owned by Ahmad Ismail Abu Aram to destroy harvests.

• Over 14 herds of sheep are being deliberately unleashed by settlers across multiple villages in Masafer Yatta, with full Israeli army protection, as part of efforts to displace farmers and expand settlements.

Attacks Across the West Bank:

• In Tel Rumeida, Hebron: Armed settlers attacked homes near the “Ramat Yishai” settlement, throwing stones, shouting insults, and terrifying women and children under the protection of Israeli soldiers.

• In Husan, west of Bethlehem: Israel issued a new settlement plan to rezone land in the “Wadi Al-Hamra” area for:

  • Residential units

  • Public buildings

  • Fuel stations

  • Narrowing Road 375 from 100m to 50m to make room for settler infrastructure.

• In Qarawat Bani Hassan, Salfit: Settlers vandalized a farming room in the “Al-Ras” area.

• In Far’a, a farmer was attacked near Badran Spring, a site where youth-led environmental campaigns are trying to protect local springs and farmland from an expanding settler outpost.