The Israeli forces stormed Jabal al-Baba neighborhood in al-Ezariya town on Thursday morning.

The Israeli bulldozers then demolished a number of Palestinian homes, including two structures belonging to Bedouins of the Jahalin tribe. Some 25 people were living in the two structures.

Jahalin tribesmen were displaced by Israel from their villages in the Negev Desert in 1948. They currently live east and northeast of al-Quds, near the illegal Maale Adumim settlement.

The demolition came without a warning, with a local official saying that the move was part of Tel Aviv’s plan to empty the area to extend the Maale Adumim settlement that lies in the E1 area.

E1 is a sensitive zone between East al-Quds and the West Bank and its expansion has been on Israel’s agenda since the 1990s.

More than half a million Israelis live in illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds in 1967.

The Israeli settlements are considered illegal by much of the international community. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the settlement construction is part of Tel Aviv’s policy and will not stop.

RA/NJF