Israeli forces today destroyed and blocked all roads linking the villages of Masafer Yatta area, south of the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, with one another, according to local sources.

The Alliance for Human Rights, a group of activists allied to document human rights abuses in Palestine, said that since the early morning, Israeli forces used a big military bulldozer to block and demolish several agricultural and main roads connecting more than 17 villages in Masafer Yatta, and cut off the water network to these villages.

Masafer Yatta is a collection of almost 19 hamlets which rely heavily on animal husbandry as the main source of livelihood.

Located in Area C of the West Bank, under full Israeli administrative and military control, the area has been subjected to repeated Israeli violations by settlers and soldiers targeting their main source of living - livestock.

It has been designated as a closed Israeli military zone for training since 1980s and accordingly referred to as Firing Zone 918.