BICOM

Key Points:

• Khirbet Susiya is a small Palestinian village of temporary structures in the West Bank, which the Israeli High Court has ruled were constructed illegally and without planning permission. It lies between the Jewish settlement of Susiya and an archaeological site.
• The Israeli High Court ruled in May that the IDF had the legal authority to carry out demolition of these structures, though the EU and US have urged Israel not to do so. The Israeli military authorities have held discussions with the residents about the ruling and the High Court is to hold another hearing on 3 August.
• The issue has caused controversy within Israel, with over 200 Israeli artists and public figures, including Amos Oz and A.B Yehoshua, writing an open letter against any demolition.

What is Khirbet Susiya?

• Khirbet Susiya is a small Palestinian village of temporary structures housing around 300 Bedouins in the south Hebron hills. The village is the subject of a long running legal dispute, with pro-settlement Israeli activists seeking to remove the village, claiming it is constructed illegally.
• The IDF forced the village to move to its present location in 1986, saying that it was located in the middle of an archaeological site featuring an ancient synagogue. The Palestinian dwellings are now located between the archaeological site and the adjacent Jewish settlement of Susiya, which was established in 1983.
• Villagers rebuilt their homes of tents and temporary structures on agricultural land they owned. The courts have accepted the claim that the buildings under threat of demolition – a total of about 15 houses – were constructed illegally without planning permission. The villagers and their supporters claim they built on their own agricultural lands, and that Palestinians are severely discriminated against when it comes to planning permission in Area C of the West Bank.
• The dispute over the legality of the village has gained international prominence, with both the US State Department and the EU Council urging Israel not to carry out the demolition.

What is the Israeli government position?

• On 5 May 2015, the Israeli High Court rejected a petition from Palestinian residents to freeze demolition orders. In a statement, the Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said that, “The group of houses in Susiya were built illegally and adjacent to an archaeological site. The illegal building had been expanded on over the course of several years. House building at this site continued despite legal notice to stop construction immediately. The building also had ignored a series of temporary court orders to stop construction which had been issued by the Supreme Court of the State of Israel. According to the law in Judea and Samaria [West Bank], all building in Area C must be approved by Israeli planning authorities.”
• COGAT has since stated that, “Maj. Gen. Yoav (Poly) Mordechai, and representatives of the Civil Administration have met with the residents of Susiya and their representatives in order to discuss the High Court’s decisions and examine alternative solutions in accordance with the planning considerations.”
• On 3 August 2015, a petition from the residents of Khirbet Susiya will be heard by the High Court, but there are currently no legal barriers on demolition taking place.

What are voices within Israel saying?

• The issue of Khirbet Susiya has generated political controversy within Israel. Over 200 Israeli artists, authors and public figures penned an open letter in opposition to any demolition of Khirbet Susiya. The letter, whose signatories include high profile authors A.B Yehoshua and Amos Oz, claim that any demolition of structures and eviction of residents would be ‘cruel, immoral and illegal’.
• Right-wing NGO Regavim, who initiated the complaint about the illegal construction in Khirbet Susiya, supports the demolition. Some right wing activists claim that the Palestinians have consistently been offered better locations to live where they could continue to cultivate their farmland, but they have refused this. Others claim that the area was only used as temporary dwellings by Bedouin shepherds for part of the year.
• The issue has also led to clashes in the Knesset, with Arab List MK Dov Khenin responding forcefully to claims from Deputy Defence Minister Eli Ben Dahan (Jewish Home) that there  was never a Palestinian village of Susiya at the site.