Israeli army issues demolition orders for six homes west of Hebron

Israeli occupation forces issued demolition orders on Monday for six homes under construction in the town of Tarqumiya, west of Hebron, in the southern occupied West Bank.

Eyewitnesses said Israeli forces raided the Sha‘ab al-Bir area of Tarqumiya and handed demolition orders for six multi-storey homes owned by Palestinians Anas and Muhammad Mahmoud Fatafta, Abd al-Fattah Samir Abu Haltam, Muhammad Rasmi Abu Ra‘iya, and two brothers, the sons of Musa Ja‘afra. The witnesses said the owners possess official documents proving ownership of both the land and the homes.

They added that the targeted homes are located several kilometres from the settlements of Telem and Adora, which were built on Palestinian land in the Tarqumiya area.

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The homeowners appealed to international human rights and humanitarian organisations to intervene urgently to halt what they described as occupation and settler practices aimed at forcing Palestinians from their homes and land in preparation for settlement expansion.

In a related development, Israeli forces also issued stop-work orders for four houses in the village of Al-Asakra, east of Bethlehem, in the southern West Bank.

Eyewitnesses said the orders targeted the homes of Fadel and Hamza Saud Asakra, as well as Ahmed and Muhammad Saeed Asakra, on the grounds that they allegedly lack building permits.

Such demolition and stop-work orders across towns and villages in the West Bank are part of a long-standing Israeli policy that restricts Palestinian urban development under the pretext of construction without permits, despite what residents describe as deliberate and systematic obstacles imposed by the occupation authorities on the permitting process.

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