Israel continues its policy of demolition of Palestinian-owned structures: 53 in two weeks - UN

12-02-2022

The Israeli occupation authorities demolished, confiscated or forced owners to demolish 53 Palestinian-owned homes and other structures in Area C of the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits. As a result, 26 people were displaced, including 13 children, and the livelihoods of about 400 others were affected, today said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory. Overall 50 structures, five of which had been provided as humanitarian assistance in response to previous demolitions, were demolished in Area C, it said in its biweekly Protection of Civilians report covering the period between 25 January and 7 February. On 1 February, 30 market stalls were confiscated near al Jalama checkpoint in Jenin, affecting the livelihood of 120 people, including 45 children. Twenty more structures, including seven residential ones, were demolished in eight different communities in Area C. Three structures were demolished in East Jerusalem, including two homes by their owners, in Silwan and Jabal al Mukabber, to avoid municipal fees and possible damage to personal belongings and to nearby structures. On 1 February, the Israeli authorities partially demolished an apartment and sealed off the rest of it, displacing a Palestinian household comprising six people, including three children, in Shufat refugee camp in East Jerusalem. This punitive measure followed the killing of an Israeli man in the Old City of Jerusalem by a family member in November 2021, who was shot and killed on the spot by Israeli forces. The Israeli authorities issued demolition orders against one kindergarten and one residential structure in Khirbet Sarura and Khirbet al Fakheit, both in Masafer Yatta, in the Hebron district, an area that had been designated by Israeli authorities as a “firing zone” for military training and where Palestinian face a coercive environment putting them at risk of forcible transfer. In Kardala area of the northern Jordan Valley, on 7 February, Israeli forces conducted military training in an area designated as a ‘firing zone’ around the herding community of Kardala, killing two cows, injuring three others, and disrupting the community’s access to services. The OCHA report also said a total of 215 Palestinians, including 28 children, were injured by Israeli forces across the West Bank. The majority, 204 people, were wounded during anti-settlement protests near Kafr Qaddum (70), Beita (15), and Beit Dajan (119). Israeli forces carried out 70 search-and-arrest operations and arrested 126 Palestinians across the West Bank. On 1 February, said OCHA, the outgoing Israeli Attorney General authorized the re-establishment of the evacuated Israeli settlement of Evyatar, on land privately owned by Palestinians, near the Palestinian village of Beita (Nablus). Since regular protests against Evyatar outpost and other settlements began in early May 2021 near Beita, nine Palestinians have been killed and over 5,300 have been injured, including 186 by live ammunition and 965 by rubber bullets; the rest were treated for inhaling teargas. It said Israeli settlers injured two Palestinians in two incidents and damaged Palestinian property in 20 instances across the West Bank.

Reference:
http://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/128015