During 2011 the small village of Amniyr in South Mountain Hebron was demolished five times by the Israeli authorities. Although ten families were forcefully displaced, Mohammed Hussain Jabour and his wife Zaffra refuse to leave.
Photos by: Anne Paq and Keren Manor/Activestills.org
Palestinian residents and solidarity activists roaming around amongst the remains of the demolished homes, May, 2011
Mohammed Hussain Jabour sitting in the makeshift tent he erected after his home was demolished, July, 2011
Zaffra Jabour holding one of her chickens that was crushed during the demolitions, standing with her husband Mohammed next to the remains of their demolished home, February, 2011
Mohammed Hussain Jabour standing next to a water well sealed by the israeli authorities in the same day of the demolition operation, July, 2011
A Palestinian woman erecting a makeshift tent after her home was demolished, March, 2011
Palestinian women sitting inside a makeshift tent that was erected after their homes were demolished, May, 2011
A Palestinian woman making tea amongst the remains of her demolished home, February, 2011
A Palestinian man trying to collect the remains of his demolished home, May, 2011
A portrait of the Jabour family forced to live in a cave after their home was demolished, February, 2011. The cave was later on sealed as well as part of the second demolition operation carried out a month later
Zaffra Jabour and her husband Mohammed standing next to a cut down Olive tree, one out of dozens that were cut down by the Israeli army, February, 2011
A makeshift tent erected after the family home was demolished, March, 2011
Elderly Palestinian women and a small child sitting amongst the remaining belongings of their home after it was demolished, May, 2011
A view of Amniyr after it was demolished, May, 2011
A Palestinian woman standing near her demolished home overlooking an army jeep as it pulled away from her home. After completing the demolition operation that day, the army sent regular jeep patrols to the area to make sure the residents would not build their homes again, February, 2011
Palestinian children standing next to the ruins of their demolished home, March, 2011
A placard written in Hebrew advertising for “Susya- the ancient Hebrew city”. The archaeological site named - “Susya-the ancient Hebrew city” was in fact home of ancient Palestinian Susya residents that were forcefully displaced from their land, their village completely demolished and they were forced to move to the other side of what is today the Hebrew archaeological site , March, 2011
Amniyr is a small village of 11 shepherds and farmers families in the South Hebron Hills, just northeast of the Palestinian village of Susiya and the Israeli settlement of the same name. The village is located next to the ancient susiya which was completely demolished and its residents were displaced in mid 1980s when Israel declared the area as an archaeological site. During 2011 the village of Amniyr was demolished five times by the Israeli authorities. In the first demolition, took place on February 22, Israeli bulldozers advanced and destroyed seven tents in addition to two water wells and uprooted tens of olive trees. The tents were destroyed with the contents and belongings of the families. Following the demolition the IDF declared the site a "closed military area", from which they are banned. New structures had been donated to the community in the form of emergency aid and the cisterns were rebuilt with the help of Israeli activists from Ta’ayush. The following demolitions were no late to come. During the months of March, May, June and July 2011, the village was completely demolished time after time. Ten of the families now sleep in Yatta and come during the day to tend to their olive and almond trees as they have no place to stay and no water. But Mohammed Hussain Jabour and his wife Zaffra refuse to leave.