Twelve Palestinian villages in Masafer Yatta face imminent demolition following an Israeli decision to designate the area as a military firing zone.
Local communities warn that the move paves the way for further displacement and settlement expansion.
By Roberto Cetera, Reposted from Vatican News, June 21, 2025
Not even the international acclaim and Oscar recognition of the documentary No Other Land have been enough to halt the advance of Israeli bulldozers threatening the destruction of twelve Palestinian villages in the area of Masafer Yatta, located in the hills south of Hebron. The region falls within what the Oslo Accords defined as “Area C” of the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank. On the contrary, the current shift in international attention toward the conflict between Israel and Iran seems to be paving the way for a final blow: the demolition of homes sheltering some 2,800 Palestinians.
On Wednesday, June 18, Israel’s Higher Planning Council for the West Bank issued a final decision designating the entire area as a military firing zone, officially titled “Firing Zone 918,” for use in live-fire training exercises by Israeli forces.
The legal battle surrounding Masafer Yatta has spanned decades, with repeated appeals by residents yielding no lasting protection. This latest decision now appears to mark the end of their efforts. Palestinian families have long argued that the military designation serves as a pretext for expanding Jewish settlements rather than genuine defense needs. While military exercises in the area have been infrequent, at least a dozen new outposts have been established, often under the protection of Israeli soldiers.
Escalation of tensions and violence
Residents report an escalation of tensions and violence associated with these settlements. A particularly harrowing scene is captured in the final moments of No Other Land, which shows the cousin of the film’s protagonist and co-director, Basel Adra, being brutally killed by a group of settlers as Israeli Defense Forces stand by.
Palestinian claims that the military zone designation serves a broader goal of forced displacement date back to the origins of the dispute in the 1980s, when then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reportedly expressed intentions to initiate a population transfer in the area. In 2022, Israeli Judge David Mintz rejected the community’s appeals, ordering them to vacate lands inhabited by their families for generations. Since then, as the documentary illustrates, demolitions have become systematic and frequently accompanied by acts of violence.
The most recent ruling not only halts all legal processes related to land registration in the area, citing unspecified “security concerns,” but also risks opening the door to a new wave of demolitions in the coming days.
As the region faces the prospect of intensified displacement, the people of Masafer Yatta are urgently calling upon the international community and the media not to allow their forced exodus to be overlooked amid the wider geopolitical conflict.
Roberto Cetera, a journalist with a background in theology, has been serving as a Middle East correspondent for Vatican News, operating from Jerusalem.
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