Israel orders demolition of eight Palestinian-owned homes in West Bank
Israeli authorities have handed down notices ordering the demolition of eight Palestinian-owned homes in the northern part of the West Bank, as the Tel Aviv regime presses ahead with its land expropriation policies in the occupied territories irrespective of international outcry.
Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian activist who monitors Israeli violations in the area, announced on Sunday that the notices were distributed among inhabitants of eight buildings in Furush Beit Dajan village, located 10 kilometers (six miles) east of Nablus.
Daghlas noted that one of the Palestinian-owned homes targeted in the demolition notices predates Nakba Day or “Day of Catastrophe,” when Israel was created in 1948 at the expense of the forced expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homeland.
Azzam Hajj Ali, the mayor of the village, told the official Palestinian news agency WAFA that three more demolition notices had earlier been handed over to villagers on Thursday.
Daghlas added that extremist settlers have also swarmed Palestinian lands in the towns of Aqraba and Majdal Bani Fadel, and bulldozed them.
On Saturday, the United Nations announced that Israeli authorities and military forces demolished 54 Palestinian-owned structures in East al-Quds in the largest division of the occupied West Bank during the current month, citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits that are almost impossible to obtain.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), a total of 66 Palestinians, including 34 children, were displaced as a result of the demolitions that took place between July 5 and 24, and the livelihoods of more than 795 others were affected.
The UN body went on to say in its report that sixteen of the affected structures were provided by donors, of which fifteen were demolished in a single incident in al-Muntar area of al-Quds, while the sole remaining structure was destroyed in Beit Jala town.
The report highlighted that 80 percent of the affected structures (43) were in Area C of the West Bank, which constitutes about 61 percent of the territory and is under full Israeli military control.
Israel routinely demolishes Palestinian houses in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds, claiming that the structures have been built without permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. They also sometimes order Palestinian owners to demolish their own houses or pay the costs of the demolition.
Israel has already occupied thousands of dunums of Palestinian agricultural land to construct and expand new illegal settler units in various areas in the West Bank.
More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and al-Quds.
All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The United Nations Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.
Israeli forces detain 9 Palestinians in several raids across West Bank
Meanwhile, Israeli troops have stormed Palestinian homes in different parts of the occupied West Bank, detaining nine people.
WAFA, citing local sources, reported that Israeli soldiers arrested three young Palestinians in al-Quds.
In the southern West Bank city of Yatta, Israeli forces detained a Palestinian man after breaking into his house.
Another military raid was carried out in the town of Deir Sammit, located eight kilometers (4.9 miles) west of al-Khalil. Two Palestinians were arrested as a result.
The other Palestinians were arrested in the towns of Qarawat Bani Hassan and Haris.
Israeli forces launch raids on various cities of the West Bank almost on a daily basis under the pretext of detaining what it calls “wanted” Palestinians. The raids usually lead to violent confrontations with residents.
Over the past months, Israel has ramped up attacks on Palestinian towns and cities throughout the occupied territories. As a result of these attacks, dozens of Palestinians have lost their lives and many others have been arrested.
Thousands of Palestinians are held in Israeli jails. Hundreds have been imprisoned under the practice of administrative detention, which allows incarcerating Palestinian inmates without trial or charge.
Some Palestinian prisoners have been held in administrative detention for up to eleven years.
