Israeli Cabinet minister brags about demolishing 5,700 Palestinians homes in 1 year, vows to demolish more

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir bragged Wednesday about demolishing 5,700 Palestinian homes over the past year, vowing to demolish more buildings amid ongoing Israeli military escalation against Palestinians.

“I demolished 5,700 homes in the past year alone,” Ben-Gvir said during a conference in Tel Aviv, as cited by Israel’s Channel 12.

“I will continue demolishing more and more homes in Bedouin communities,” he vowed.

Palestinian Bedouin villages and communities are spread across northern and southern Israel, including the Negev, as well as in the occupied West Bank.

In a report on June 10, Amnesty International said Israel has accelerated policies targeting Bedouin and herding communities in the occupied West Bank through land seizures and related measures.

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“At least 117 predominantly Bedouin and herding Palestinian communities have faced either full or partial displacement between January 2023 and April 2026, according to OCHA. By the end of April 2026, at least 5,910 people had been forcibly displaced,” Amnesty said, citing the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The West Bank has seen escalating demolitions and attacks by occupiers and the Israeli army on Palestinians and their property, aimed at displacing residents and expanding illegal settlements in the occupied territory.

Since Oct. 8, 2023, Israeli escalation by the army and occupiers in the West Bank has killed 1,173 Palestinians, wounded 12,666, led to the arrest of about 23,000 and displaced 33,000, according to official Palestinian figures.

Palestinians warn that the attacks are paving the way for Israel to formally annex the occupied West Bank, which would end the possibility of establishing an independent Palestinian state under UN resolutions.

Israel was established in 1948 on lands occupied by armed Zionist groups, and in 1967 occupied the remaining Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the eastern part of Jerusalem.

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