Israeli forces demolish residential building, bulldoze land in Bethlehem’s al-Walaja

Israeli forces demolished an occupied residential building and bulldozed agricultural land in the village of al-Walaja, north-west of Bethlehem, on Wednesday, displacing five families and destroying dozens of fruit trees and agricultural facilities, local sources said.

The sources said the three-storey building belonged to four brothers, Yahya, Mustafa, Hamza and Mohammed Yousef Rabah, with each floor covering about 170 square metres.

The building housed five families comprising 12 people, putting them at risk of losing their homes and belongings, the sources added.

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Israeli forces also bulldozed half a dunum of land belonging to Khaled Mousa al-A’araj, uprooting more than 50 olive and almond trees.

They also demolished a 35-metre-long, 15-metre-wide retaining wall and a staircase, and destroyed water tanks at the site.

Al-Walaja, north-west of Bethlehem, has faced Israeli measures targeting homes and agricultural land amid restrictions on Palestinian urban expansion in Area C of the occupied West Bank.

Such measures form part of ongoing restrictions on Palestinian communities in parts of the occupied West Bank, where residents face the threat of home and agricultural building demolitions, as well as difficulties obtaining construction permits.

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