BETHLEHEM, August 22, 2018 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Wednesday delivered a demolition order for a Palestinian house in al-Khader village, south of Bethlehem, said a local activist.

Hassan Breijah, Coordinator of Anti-Wall and Settlement Committee, said that Israeli forces raided the town and handed Sameeh Ahmad Salah an order to demolish his house, which occupies an area of 120 square meters, under the pretense of unlicensed building.

The order grants Salah a seven-day period to empty the house, located in the southern section of the town, known as Khirbet ‘Alya, of furniture and all other belongings.

He pointed out that the planned demolition is connected with an Israeli plan to construct a settler-only bypass road that would serve as a northern entrance to Efrat settlement.

The planned demolition came as Israeli authorities decided to seize and reallocate 100 dunums (24.7 acres) of agricultural land belonging to the village to expand Efrat settlement.

The settlement expansion would be carried out at the expense of Palestinian landowners and farmers on al-Khader and Artas villages in the southern Bethlehem district.

K.F.