Khallet al-Daba, occupied West Bank – At nine o’clock on a Monday morning in May, the quiet of Khallet al-Daba was shattered by the sound of bulldozers and other demolition vehicles approaching. Accompanying them were Israeli soldiers pouring into the village, forcing families out of their homes and driving livestock into the open.

By the end of May 5, the small community in the heart of Masafer Yatta had been reduced to rubble. It was just one of at least four mass demolitions conducted by Israeli forces this year. For residents, the repeated demolitions are nothing less than a “new Nakba ” – an echo of the mass displacement and ethnic cleansing Palestinians suffered in 1948.

Dozens of military vehicles, armoured carriers and jeeps sealed off the village as the demolitions took pla

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