In the Masafer Yatta region, where approximately 1200 Palestinians live, many houses are being demolished under the supervision of Israeli soldiers. The presence of Jewish settlers in the region is also increasing.
Israel declared this area as a “military training ground”. The Israeli Supreme Court also stood by this claim in May, and tensions increased in the region.
If it proceeds as planned, the region could experience the largest mass evacuation in decades.
The Palestinians interviewed by the BBC are concerned about the developments in the region and say that they cannot see a future for themselves.
Israel has already started demolition work, saying that the houses for which it has not given construction permits are “illegal”. On the other hand, getting permission is not easy for Palestinians.
The issue of settlements has long been debated between Israel and the international community.
Hundreds of thousands of Jews live in settlements established by Israel in the West Bank and East Jerusalem after the 1967 occupation.
United Nations Security Council resolution 2334 calls for “Israel to immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.”
In the years following the 1967 war, Israeli settlers began to move to the West Bank.
Some saw it as a “return to their holy homeland” as written in the Torah.
This settlement, which started slowly, reached large numbers after the mid-1980s.