Umm al-Khair, a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank that was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, is bracing on Monday for the arrival of Israeli military bulldozers.
Residents say that Israel has ordered the demolition of 14 structures, including the community centre, greenhouse and family homes. It is unknown when the demolitions will occur, but a press release from the community says they could begin Tuesday.
Israel says the structures were built illegally. Residents, determined to stay on their land, say it is impossible to secure permits to build in the West Bank, leaving them little choice but to rebuild their homes following demolitions.
The film No Other Land chronicles villagers’ attempts to survive rounds of state-backed demolitions and rampant violence from Israeli settlers.
Bimkom, an Israeli rights group that focuses on urban planning, says that between 2016 and 2021, Israel rejected 99 percent of Palestinian requests for building permits in Area C of the West Bank, where Umm al-Khair is located.
The village was founded in the 1950s by traditionally nomadic people, known as Bedouin, who settled there just after being uprooted from the Negev desert during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation. Two decades later, Umm al-Khair fell under Israeli security control when Israel captured the West Bank.
Settler attacks, residents say, began in the 1980s, after Israel built the settlement of Carmel close to Umm al-Khair.
Earlier this year, an internationally-sanctioned Israeli settler shot and killed a community leader, Awdah Hathaleen, as he was standing inside the community centre – now slated for imminent demolition.