Hamas forcibly expels residents from their homes in Rafah

The Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip began a campaign to expropriate state-owned lands near the Rafah border crossing, as part of a project to expand the crossing, leaving many citizens homeless and jobless.
A general view taken on December 10, 2020 shows a crowded main square in Rafah, one day before a comprehensive lockdown was imposed on weekends in the southern Gaza Strip, as cases of infections with the coronavirus surged in the Palestinian coastal enclave. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP) (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)
A general view shows a crowded main square in Rafah, one day before a comprehensive lockdown was imposed on weekends in the southern Gaza Strip, as cases of coronavirus infections surged in the Palestinian coastal enclave, Dec. 10, 2020. - Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images
Rasha About Jalal.jpg
Rasha Abou Jalal
@rashaaboujalal1

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Mohammed Abu Shteiwi was woken up on the morning of Jan. 3 by the roar of the bulldozers of the Hamas police force near the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The dredging operations are one of the largest that included demolitions and bulldozing of Palestinian homes and farms on an area of ​​55 dunums (13.6 acres) east of Rafah.

The Abu Shteiwi family is one of 23 families that have lived in and cultivated this area of ​​land for decades. They were surprised by these bulldozers coming to put an end to their presence in the area, claiming the lands are government-owned. On Dec. 15, the Palestinian Land Authority affiliated with Hamas in the Gaza Strip issued a decision to expropriate these lands with the aim to expand the Rafah land crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt for commercial purposes.

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