Israel Approves Military Takeover of Masafer Yatta Villages

Israel’s Higher Planning Council has approved a military order authorizing live-fire exercises in Masafer Yatta’s 918 firing zone, threatening the demolition of 12 Palestinian villages and the displacement of nearly 2,800 residents in what rights groups warn is the final phase of forced expulsion.

Military Order Paves Way for Village Destruction

The June 18 decision allows the Israeli army to conduct combat training within a region of the occupied West Bank that has been home to generations of Palestinian families. The affected villages, featured in the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, have faced demolition threats for years under the pretext of military necessity.

"This order formalizes de facto annexation and opens the door to ethnic cleansing," said a representative of the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem.

No Public Hearing, No Consultation

The military order was issued without public disclosure or civil consultation. Legal experts say it provides the army with unprecedented authority to carry out demolitions and forced evictions under the banner of security, bypassing longstanding court battles waged by local communities.

“The state has dropped all pretense,” said a Palestinian legal advisor familiar with the case. “This is no longer about zoning or legality. It’s an erasure.”

Final Barriers: Activism and Diplomacy

With legal avenues effectively closed, lawyers and residents say only two paths remain: mass on-the-ground resistance and urgent diplomatic intervention from the international community. EU missions and the United Nations have previously condemned forced evictions in Masafer Yatta but have stopped short of imposing consequences.

Local leaders are calling on global institutions to act before the demolitions begin. “We need solidarity not tomorrow—but today,” said a village elder in Al-Fakhit.