Israel confiscates Hebron family land for 'military purposes'

At least 12 acres of Palestinian land has been confiscated by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank allegedly for military purposes, local media has reported.

Locals told Bethlehem-based Ma’an News Agency on Wednesday that the land in al-Thahiryeh village located in southern Hebron was seized by Israel.

Al-Thahiryeh mayor Ratib al-Sabber told Ma'an that locals were startled last Sunday when an Israeli confiscation order was put up on the entrance of the Mitar checkpoint in the southern part of the village close to the pieces of land that were confiscated. 

The order said Israel is confiscating the land for the Israeli army to use for military purposes.

Initially, a verbal agreement was previously made between Palestinian locals and Israeli officials that the confiscated land would be used as a parking lot for Palestinians who cross the checkpoint into the Israeli city of Beersheba for work, said Sabber.

The Israelis refused to stick to their promise and altered the purpose for confiscating the land.

The land belonged to the Abu Allah family, Sabber added. They are currently filing an appeal against the confiscations.

A spokesperson from COGAT, the Israeli agency responsible for implementing Israeli policies in the occupied Palestinian territory, has not yet commented.

On Tuesday, Israeli forces demolished two Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem under the pretext that they were constructed without a building permit.

In 2016, Israeli demolitions reached a 10-year high in the occupied territories, with over 1,560 Palestinians displaced by the destruction of homes and agricultural structures, according to UN data.