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Destruction and ethnic cleansing of Khalet al-Dabaa

05 May, 2025 - 11 Jun, 2025
West Bank, Masafer Yatta, Khirbet al-Daba, Khalet al-Dabaa

On 11 June, 2025, Despites 80% of the village was destroyed on May 5, sraeli forces return for demolishing what remained: tents, caves, homes. Residents were expelled again, left with no shelter, water, or power while under summer heat & armed settler watch.

On Monday, 5 May 2025, in the morning hours, Civil Administration personnel, escorted by Border Police officers and soldiers and equipped with an excavator and bulldozer, arrived in the community of Khirbet Khalet a-Dabe’ in the South Hebron Hills. The forces demolished ten homes, leaving 49 people, including 27 minors, without shelter.

  • Additionally, the forces demolished 11 sanitation structures, two kitchen structures, 11 water tanks, five water cisterns, three structures used as sheep pens (including a cave), a hospitality hall, an electricity room, a solar power network and water infrastructure.

  • The community was left with the school building and four residential homes that are still under legal proceedings. Families whose homes were demolished received tents from a humanitarian organization and remained in the community area.

Context:

Khirbet Khalet a-Dabe’ is one of the communities in the Masafer Yatta region of the South Hebron Hills, which Israel declared a “closed military zone” in the early 1980s, with the aim of seizing the area and expelling its residents.

Since then, the state has prohibited the development of the communities—many of which predate the occupation of the West Bank—prevented their connection to water and electricity infrastructure, and repeatedly demolished their homes, any infrastructure they tried to build, and even the roads leading to the communities.

In recent years, the communities have also suffered repeated settler attacks, often with army assistance, which also allows settlers to establish outposts within the declared “firing zone” adjacent to them.

Testimony of Mohammad_Hesham_Huraini @MHureini

"Today 5 May 2025 in just 2.5 hours Israeli occupation forces destroyed nearly the entire Palestinian village of Khalet Al-dabaa in the South Hebron Hills, part of my community Masafer Yatta.

In the short window of 9:00 to 11:30 AM :

  • They demolished 9 homes, 6 caves, 10 water tanks, 4 animal barns, 11 toilet rooms, 7 water wells, 400 meters of agricultural fencing, the community center, the electricity room, all solar panels, internet systems, and security cameras. Only 2 or 3 houses remain standing.

  • Shrieks of horror can be heard as the sounds compete: the metallic noise of bending steal and crushed cement, as the people who have lived in this village for centuries are forced to look on without recourse, solution or consolation.

  • Families were uprooted and left with nothing: no shelter, no water, no power, no means to survive. This is not just demolition it is another deliberate act of ethnic cleansing in Masafer Yatta, unfolding in daylight and met with silence."

Videos

(15 of 17)
Thumbnail preview image for the video titled: Israeli forces returned in another attempt to uproot the residents of Khirbet al-Daba’a

Israeli forces returned in another attempt to uproot the residents of Khirbet al-Daba’a

11 June, 2025
Thumbnail preview image for the video titled: In Khallet al-Daaba, residents were expelled again, left with no shelter,

In Khallet al-Daaba, residents were expelled again, left with no shelter,

11 June, 2025
Thumbnail preview image for the video titled: In Khallet al-Dabaa, , Israeli forces are threatening mass expulsion of Palestinians under the false pretext of a firing zone

In Khallet al-Dabaa, , Israeli forces are threatening mass expulsion of Palestinians under the false pretext of a firing zone

11 June, 2025
Thumbnail preview image for the video titled: Israeli forces are attempting to expel the remaining residents of Khillet al-Dabaa from their village

Israeli forces are attempting to expel the remaining residents of Khillet al-Dabaa from their village

11 June, 2025
Thumbnail preview image for the video titled: Israeli forces expelling the residents of Khillet al-Dab‘ from their village

Israeli forces expelling the residents of Khillet al-Dab‘ from their village

11 June, 2025
Thumbnail preview image for the video titled: Israeli forces forcibly displaced residents from the village of Khallet al-Dabaa

Israeli forces forcibly displaced residents from the village of Khallet al-Dabaa

11 June, 2025
Thumbnail preview image for the video titled: The Israeli army is demolishing the remaining homes in Khallet al-Dabaa

The Israeli army is demolishing the remaining homes in Khallet al-Dabaa

11 June, 2025
Thumbnail preview image for the video titled: The Israeli army is demolishing the remaining homes in Khallet al-Dabaa

The Israeli army is demolishing the remaining homes in Khallet al-Dabaa

11 June, 2025
Thumbnail preview image for the video titled: Israeli forces evicting remining residents from Khallet al-Dabaa

Israeli forces evicting remining residents from Khallet al-Dabaa

11 June, 2025
Thumbnail preview image for the video titled: Since May 5, settlers are in Khalet Al-Dabia village 24/7 after the army destroyed it

Since May 5, settlers are in Khalet Al-Dabia village 24/7 after the army destroyed it

29 May, 2025
Thumbnail preview image for the video titled: What remains of the village of Khalet al-Dabaa after Hyundai excavator demolished the village

What remains of the village of Khalet al-Dabaa after Hyundai excavator demolished the village

6 May, 2025
Thumbnail preview image for the video titled: Only 4 structures are left standing in Masafer Yatta’s Khallet al-Dabaa after massive destruction by Israeli authorities

Only 4 structures are left standing in Masafer Yatta’s Khallet al-Dabaa after massive destruction by Israeli authorities

5 May, 2025
Thumbnail preview image for the video titled: In 2.5 hours, Israeli forces erased the entire Palestinian village of Khalet al-Dabaa

In 2.5 hours, Israeli forces erased the entire Palestinian village of Khalet al-Dabaa

5 May, 2025
Thumbnail preview image for the video titled: Israeli authorities removed all residents from the village of Khirbet al-Dabaa in what appears to be a total demolition

Israeli authorities removed all residents from the village of Khirbet al-Dabaa in what appears to be a total demolition

5 May, 2025
Thumbnail preview image for the video titled: Khillet al-Dab‘a community in Masafer Yatta has been almost completely demolished and evicted

Khillet al-Dab‘a community in Masafer Yatta has been almost completely demolished and evicted

5 May, 2025

The details for each video come from social media. None of it has been verified.