UN calls on Israel to stop demolishing Palestinian homes

The United Nations yesterday called on the Israeli authorities to halt the demolition of Palestinian homes.

“Our humanitarian colleagues in the occupied Palestinian Territory tell us that on Wednesday, in the community of Ras Al-Tin in Ramallah governorate, 84 Palestinians lost their homes when Israeli forces confiscated at least 49 structures,” the deputy spokesman for the UN’s secretary-general, Farhan Haq, told reporters in New York.

He pointed out that the Palestinians were using the targeted land “for grazing every summer”, warning that they were at “heightened risk of forcible transfer from the area.”

Haq added that the Israeli forces had also dismantled and confiscated a residential structure in the Jordan Valley’s northern district of Humsa Al-Baqi.

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“The UN has repeatedly called on Israel to halt its demolition and confiscation of Palestinian property and adhere to its obligations as an occupying power under international humanitarian law,” the official said.

According to the UN official data, Israeli occupation forces have so far demolished at least 421 Palestinian-owned buildings in the occupied West Bank since the start of 2021.