Israel demolishes Palestinian property in Salfit

Israeli forces demolish three residential barracks and four tents in the village of Deir Ballut, west of Salfit in the central occupied West Bank on 5 April 2017 [Ma’an].

Israeli forces demolish three residential barracks and four tents in the village of Deir Ballut, west of Salfit in the central occupied West Bank on 5 April 2017 [Ma’an].

Israeli forces today demolished three residential barracks and four tents in the village of Deir Ballut, west of Salfit in the central occupied West Bank, displacing a Palestinian family for the second time.

Activist Khaled Maali said military force accompanied by bulldozers and crews belonging to the Israeli Planning and Building Committee entered the outskirts of the village of Deir Ballut and began demolition works.

The owner of the structures, Muhammad Shahbir, was served demolition orders on Sunday under the pretext that the units were built in Area C without the difficult-to-obtain Israeli-issued building permits.

Shahbir said the demolitions were “part of the occupation government’s policies to exert pressure on Palestinians and push them towards forcible transfer off their lands.”

The Shahbir family has already suffered under the occupation as they were forcibly moved from the Deir Daqla area after being told their homes were built too close to the Separation Wall’s route.

The Shahbir family is originally from Hebron, and have been residing in Salfit for the past 45 years, he added.

Maali said other families in the village were issued demolition orders giving them days to evacuate. This is part of Israel’s policy to confiscate land for illegal settlements, he explained.

Settlements have taken over one third of Salfit’s historical land, Maali explained. “Palestinians are prevented from approaching these areas and the nearby lands.”