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Khirbet Zanuta
A tiny Palestinian village in the Hebron hills could soon cease to exist after a nine-year legal battle with Israeli authorities who say its 167 residents live on an archaeological site.
Israel's supreme court is expected to make a final decision on the fate of Khirbet Zanuta soon.
The village in the south of the occupied West Bank, around 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the Israeli city of Beersheba, includes makeshift homes made of stones, metal, clay and even tyres.
Caves in the area have also been used as homes in the past, and its residents farm the hundreds of hectares of surrounding land, raising sheep and goats."I was born here before 1967,"said village head Rashad al-Tal, 65, referring to the year when Israel's occupation of the West Bank began.
"We lived in a cave and we walked seven kilometres to go to school in Dahriya,"the closest city, he added as his daughter stirred milk behind him to make curd.
He said villagers began to build houses in the 1970s without having permits from the Israeli authorities and were fined for doing so.
Such permits are extremely difficult to obtain for Palestinians living in most of the West Bank."We showed them all the ownership papers for our land and asked for construction permits,"said Tal.
While Israeli authorities say structures in the village are illegal and are built on an archaeological site, the villagers themselves suspect other motives. They allege that Israel wants to clear more space for settlers, since a settlement industrial zone called Meitarim is located less than a kilometre away.
Villagers say explosives were used to develop the industrial zone and question why this would have been done if the nearby area was archaeologically important.
The legal battle over Khirbet Zanuta has been waged since 2007. With the two sides unable to settle, Israel's supreme court is expected to issue a ruling soon.
Israeli authorities have said in court filings that"Khirbet Zanuta is an archaeological site and residents'presence in the area can have an impact on the site."As a result, they must leave the area."
But some have pointed out that Jewish construction is allowed on much more important archaeological sites.
