35 Palestinians displaced as Israel demolishes 33 structures

Israeli occupation authorities demolished 33 Palestinian-owned structures over the course of three days, according to an update from UN OCHA. The demolitions displaced 35 Palestinians, a third of them children, with more than 100 also affected.

Between 26 and 28 September, 33 residential and livelihood-related structures were demolished in nine different Palestinian communities across occupied East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank, all on the grounds of lacking building permits.

The incidents took place in the northern Jordan Valley, the Hebron region, the Nablus and Jerusalem governorates, and in East Jerusalem.

According to UN OCHA, these demolitions bring the total number of structures destroyed or confiscated by the Israeli authorities in the West Bank since the beginning of 2016 to 878.

This constitutes a 60 per cent increase compared to the total figure for all 2015, and, the UN agency adds, “is the largest number of structures targeted in any full year since 2008.”

As UN OCHA explains, “due to discriminatory and unlawful planning processes, it is almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain building permits” in East Jerusalem and Area C.

“The systematic destruction of property in this context, along with other factors, contributes to the generation of a coercive environment pressuring residents to leave,” UN OCHA adds.