Heavy rainfall caused by a regional weather depression led to a partial collapse of the apartheid wall near the city of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, in addition to soil slides along roads in central areas of the West Bank. A recorded video showed complete destruction of a concrete section of the wall.
Due to the weather depression and the heavy rain striking parts of occupied Palestine, a section of the Israeli apartheid wall near Hebron collapsed as a result of flooding and fast-moving water.
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth described the event as the “most serious incident” from a security standpoint near the village of Al Ramadin in the South Hebron Hills, after a major and lengthy section of the separation wall completely gave way under the pressure of rainwater and mud. The area is considered a “highly sensitive border zone”.
The location is near what the Israeli account described as “hostile villages”, which fall under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority. Meanwhile, the newspaper reported that the occupation army has begun dealing with the issue, while the so-called “Border Administration” is assessing the damage and determining the required procedures for repairing the wall.
The report added: “The army has been instructed to provide security measures at the collapsed section to prevent infiltration through the opening that has emerged.”
On another front, the landslides and soil erosion caused disruptions on main and secondary roads west of Ramallah in the central West Bank. Several vehicles were damaged, though no injuries were reported. Meteorologist Qusai Al Halaika confirmed that “the country witnessed large amounts of rainfall within a few hours across wide areas”. He noted that the highest precipitation levels were recorded in northern parts of the West Bank, ranging from 80 to 100 millimetres.
He added that the western areas of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Hebron received substantial rainfall, while the amounts decreased further east. Since Tuesday morning, Palestine has been experiencing a state of atmospheric instability accompanied by heavy rain and strong winds, along with warnings of flooding in low-lying areas and the possibility of additional road collapses.
The Israeli apartheid wall, referred to by the occupation as the “security barrier to prevent terrorist operations”, is officially called the “Annexation and Expansion Wall” by the Palestinian government. The government of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon began constructing it on 23 June 2002, along the armistice line of 1949 between the West Bank and the occupied Palestinian territories.
The occupation claims the wall aims to prevent Palestinians from entering Israel or nearby settlements, while Palestinians assert that it is an attempt to obstruct their daily lives and annex West Bank land into Israel. In 2004, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion condemning the wall and calling for its dismantling, demanding that Israel halt its construction and compensate those harmed. The Court also urged states not to recognise the situation created by it.
The wall cuts through inhabited and agricultural areas in the West Bank, crossing 8 Palestinian governorates that include 180 communities. Its total footprint consists of 47 percent agricultural land, around 15 percent settlements and military bases, and approximately 34 percent open spaces and forested areas.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in 2022, the wall stretches approximately 713 kilometres, with 85 percent of it built inside West Bank territory. Its width ranges between 60 and 150 metres, and its height reaches 8 metres. The length of the eastern wall extending north to south is estimated at around 200 kilometres. Through it, Israel has effectively taken control of the Jordan Valley, considered the food basket of Palestine and the primary source of sustenance for the Palestinian population.
In the Jerusalem area, the wall reaches a height of 8 metres and a length of around 168 kilometres, of which only 5 kilometres follow the Green Line, while the rest extends 22 kilometres deep into the West Bank. Israeli restrictions have prevented Palestinians from utilising more than one-third of the West Bank’s total land area.
