Israel occupation forces demolish mosque in Qalqilya

Israeli occupation forces this morning demolished an under-construction mosque in southern Qalqilya, reported Wafa news agency.

Israeli forces escorted a bulldozer into the town of Arab Al-Ramadin and razed the mosque to the ground after Palestinian citizens received military notices ordering them to stop building and demolish themselves. The mosque is located behind the illegal Separation Wall in the occupied West Bank.

Israel destroys Palestinian-owned homes and structures on a daily basis across the occupied West Bank.

According to local sources, the demolition activities are in preparation for the construction of new illegal settlement units.

READ: 20,000 flats threatened with demolition in occupied Jerusalem, PA warns 

The Israeli army justified the measure by claiming that the homes and buildings are located in ‘Area C’ of the occupied West Bank, which is under its military and administrative control.

Palestinians are prohibited from making any structural changes or building any new structures in Area C without an Israeli permit, which is almost impossible to obtain.

The Oslo II Accord signed in 1995 divided the occupied West Bank into three zones: Area A under Palestinian nominal control; Area B under Israeli security control and Palestinian civil and administrative nominal control; and Area C under Israeli civil, administrative and security control. Area C covers around 60 per cent of the West Bank.