{"id":406391,"date":"2026-01-13T12:07:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T12:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/406391\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T12:07:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T12:07:08","slug":"the-west-bank-soccer-field-slated-for-demolition-by-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/406391\/","title":{"rendered":"The West Bank soccer field slated for demolition by Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n              Updated 13 January 2026            <\/p>\n<p>\n                January 13, 2026 09:50              <\/p>\n<p>\n              The West Bank soccer field slated for demolition by Israel\n            <\/p>\n<p>              <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4675288-1892059700.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/>            <\/p>\n<p>                                      The move is likely to eliminate one of the few \u200bspaces where Palestinian children are able to run and play<\/p>\n<p>\n                  Updated 13 January 2026                <\/p>\n<p>\n                  Reuters                 <\/p>\n<p>\n                  January 13, 2026 09:50                <\/p>\n<p>\n\tBETHLEHEM: Israeli authorities have ordered the demolition of a soccer field in a crowded refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, eliminating one of the few \u200bspaces where Palestinian children are able to run and play.<br \/>\u201cIf the field gets demolished, this will destroy our dreams and our future. We cannot play any other place but this field, the camp does not have spaces,\u201d said Rital Sarhan, 13, who plays on a girls\u2019 soccer team in the Aida refugee camp near Bethlehem.<br \/>The Israeli military \u200cissued a demolition \u200corder for the soccer field on \u200cDecember \u206031, \u200bsaying \u200cit was built illegally in an area that abuts the concrete barrier wall that Israel built in the West Bank.<br \/>\u201cAlong the security fence, a seizure order and a construction prohibition order are in effect; therefore, the construction in the area was carried out unlawfully,\u201d the Israeli military said in a statement.<br \/>Mohammad Abu \u2060Srour, an administrator at Aida Youth Center, which manages the field, said the \u200cmilitary gave them seven days to demolish \u200dthe field.<br \/>The Israeli military \u200doften orders Palestinians to carry out demolitions themselves. If they \u200ddo not act, the military steps in to destroy the structure in question and then sends the Palestinians a bill for the costs.<br \/>According to Abu Srour, Israel\u2019s military told residents when delivering \u200bthe demolition order that the soccer field represented a threat to the separation wall and to Israelis.<br \/>\u201cI \u2060do not know how this is possible,\u201d he said.<br \/>Israeli demolitions have drawn widespread international criticism and coincide with heightened fears among Palestinians of an organized effort by Israel to formally annex the West Bank, the area seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel accelerated demolitions in Palestinian refugee camps in early 2025, leading to the displacement of 32,000 residents of camps in the central and northern West Bank. Human Rights Watch has called the demolitions a war crime. \u200cIsrael has said they are intended to disrupt militant activity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated 13 January 2026 January 13, 2026 09:50 The West Bank soccer field slated for demolition by Israel&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-406391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}