A Palestinian man looks out of a tent in Sussiya village, south of the West Bank city of Hebron July 20, 2015. (photo credit: MUSSA QAWASMA / REUTERS)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu caved to US pressure and halted the demolition of seven structures in the illegal West Bank Palestinian herding village of Sussiya, settlers charged on Tuesday morning.
“The Israeli government’s folly is indescribable,” said South Hebron Hills Regional Council head Yochai Damri charged.
He spoke after the Hebrew language website Ynet published a story claiming that the IDF and police had been prepared to entered the Palestinian herding village on Tuesday morning, but that Netanyahu called off the operation late last night.
Ynet said Netanyahu did so under pressure from the international community and the Trump Administration which is scheduled later this week to send its envoys Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt to Israel.
“Due to the pending visit by two American envoys, the government has delayed until an unknown date, the demolition of illegal houses built in defiance of a High Court of Justice injunction and which have been sitting on state land for years,” Damri said.
On Monday Defense Minster Avigdor Liberman also charged that he had been pressured to delay the demolitions against illegal Palestinian structures in Sussiay in the South Hebron Hills and the Khan Al-Ahmar Beduin herding village, which is located just outside of the Kfar Adumim settlement.
Last month the High Court of Justice rules that the village and its adjacent school can be razed. In February the HCJ rules that seven structures in Sussiya can be razed.
Liberman told reporters in the Knesset, “I have tried to carry out these orders four times. Each time, at the last moment, including in the last days, I have received all kinds of objections from the National Security Adviser.”
“There are court rulings with regard to Sussiya and Khan Al-Ahmar and I intend to carry them out,” Liberman said.
He cautioned, “if there are direct orders from the Prime Minister (to halt the demolitions) then I will obey.”
“But at this moment we are preparing for demolition in Khan Al-Ahmar and Sussiya.
The delay in the Sussiya demolitions comes as security forces carried out two High Court of Justice rulings in the last week against illegal settler homes.
Security forces demolished 15 permanent homes in the Netiv Haavot outpost on June 12 and took down 10 modular structures in the Tapuach West outpost on Sunday.
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