Settlement sprawl forces Hebron's Palestinian families to live in caves
Dozens of Palestinians are living in caves in Hebron as the Israeli authorities repeatedly demolish their homes built without impossible-to-obtain permits.
HEBRON, West Bank — In the foothills of the rocky mountains of Hebron, Munther Abu Aram, 48, lives a primitive life inside a natural cave with his wife and four children. When the Israeli authorities demolished Abu Aram’s home, they were left with no choice but to live in a cave with no infrastructure, electricity, water or sanitation.
The small cave of some 150 square meters (500 square feet) is located in Khirbet Janba in the occupied West Bank. “Life inside the cave is very difficult, but we got used to it after the Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished my home in 2018, which was built out of bricks, cement and tinplate, because it was built without a license. It was rebuilt and demolished again in 2019,” Abu Aram told Al-Monitor.
