Israeli bulldozers on 29 April demolished a mosque and three homes in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, a Palestinian official said. “Eighteen Israeli military jeeps and two bulldozers stormed Kherbt al-Taweel early this morning and declared the village a closed military zone,” Ghassan Daghlas, the Palestinian Authority official in charge of the settlements file, was reported as saying.
The Israeli forces have since withdrawn from the village but have beefed up security its entrances. Jawdat Bani Jabr, head of the village council, said the Israeli bulldozers had demolished the only mosque in Kherbt al-Taweel and displaced 25 Palestinians. “Israel has long sought to control the village because of its strategic location, which overlooks the Jordan Valley,” he added.