JERUSALEM, June 10, 2015 (WAFA) – The Israeli authorities Wednesday demolished a Palestinian-owned residential tent near the town of Yatta, south of Hebron, and razed a farm in Jerusalem’s neighborhood of Issawiya, according to local sources.

Coordinator of the Anti-Settlement Committee in Hebron, Rateb Jabour, told WAFA an Israeli army force accompanied by heavy machinery broke into the area and demolished a tent owned by local Bedouins under alleged security pretences.

Meanwhile, the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem razed a Palestinian-owned farm and uprooted some 150 almond, peach, palm and pomegranate trees in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya.

Owner of the land, Adnan Darwish, said he has authentic documents issued by an Israeli court proving his ownership of the land. He said the razing by the municipality violates even the Israeli law.

Hani al-Issawi, a local anti-settlement activist, said the razing of the land comes as part of the Israeli E1 plan, which aims to link illegal Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem with the adjacent settlements in the West Bank, mainly the illegal settlement of Ma’ale Adomim, just east of Jerusalem.

Settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the Golan Heights, both occupied since 1967, are considered illegal in international law.

The settler population in the West Bank is estimated at 531,000: in late 2012 the population of the West Bank settlements was 341,400; in late 2011 there were 190,423 individuals living in Israeli neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.

B’Tselem the Israeli human rights group said, “The settlements have been allocated vast areas, far exceeding their built-up sections. These areas have been declared closed military zones by military orders and are off limits to Palestinians, except by special permit. In contrast, Israeli citizens, Jews from anywhere in the world and tourists may all freely enter these areas.”

M.N/M.H