Palestinian family forced out of home as Israel gears up for West Bank annexation

Hassan Brejeya, director of the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission in Bethlehem, told Palestinian Authority news agency WAFA that Israeli forces handed Bassam Ghnaim, a local citizen the eviction notice on Sunday.

He is being ordered to leave his 6,000 square metre land in al-Khader village, close to the illegal Israeli settlement of El’azar. 

Read also: Parallel struggles: West Bank separation wall mural draws attention to 'Palestinian George Floyd'

Residents of al-Khader are repeatedly subjected to settlers’ violence and violations such as land razing, uprooting of trees and prevention of farmers from accessing their land.

Israel has occupied the West Bank illegally since 1967, and commits various abuses against Palestinian civilians, human rights groups say.

More than 600,000 Israeli Jews live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, in constructions considered illegal under international law.

The Oslo agreement of 1995 divided the occupied West Bank into three: Area A, Area B and Area C.

Area A is under the administrative and security control of the Palestinian Authority (PA). Area B's administration is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, with Israel controlling security. Area C is under full administrative and security control of Israel.

The move comes amid widepsread controversy over Israel's intentions to annex parts of the West Bank.

The plans to annex approximately one third of the West Bank was greenlighted by US President Donald Trump's so-called "Deal of the Century". The plan also envisages the creation of a severely restricted Palestinian state. 

The annexations have been criticised as a barrier to "lasting peace" by opposition and Palestinains are denouncing it as yet another violation of their sovereignty and human rights.

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