Israeli soldiers invaded on Tuesday, at dawn, the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and initiated the destruction of a dairy factory that belongs to the Islamic Charitable Society for Orphans, in the city. Eyewitnesses said that dozens of soldiers, accompanied by armored bulldozers, broke into the dairy factory in the ar-Rahma neighborhood, east of Hebron, and declared the area a closed military zone, preventing journalists and residents from entering it.
Sheikh Hatem al-Bakri, head of the administrative board of the Islamic Charitable Society, said the factory provides the needed means for caring for the orphans in the Hebron District.
“What is happening is an attack on the orphans themselves: several months ago, the army confiscated various machines with an estimated monetary value of $2 million,” al-Bakri told the Maan News Agency. “This factory is essential for the services, and charitable aid we provide.”
He added that the society contacted its legal advisor, lawyer Jawad Boulos, who informed them that Israel alleges the factory, and the charitable society are “run by Hamas”.
“However, the children, the orphans, are the ones who pay the price for Israel’s assaults and allegations,” Boulos stated.
The Charitable Society decided to open this factory in order to fund services it provides to the orphans, especially with the rising costs amidst the tough conditions in the Palestinian territories, under Israel’s illegitimate occupation.