NABLUS, May 25, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli forces on Wednesday demolished a Palestinian-owned house and two animal barns in the village of Duma, to the south of Nablus in the West Bank, according to local sources.

Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activities in northern West Bank, told WAFA that an Israeli army force broke into the village and notified two Palestinian families about their intent to demolish a house and two animal barns of their own, under the pretext of construction without permission.

The Israeli authorities have regularly demolished Palestinian homes in Area C since occupying the West Bank in 1967, but rights groups and Palestinian officials have grown increasingly alarmed by Israel’s renewed demolition campaign this year, accompanied by unprecedented land grabs.

UN figures released in April revealed a four-fold increase from last year in the rate of Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes and structures, that have left a record-high 808 Palestinians displaced since the start of 2016.

According to UN documentation, the Israeli authorities have destroyed some 588 Palestinian structures across the occupied Palestinian territory since January.

The over 800 Palestinians to be displaced this year far surpasses the number displaced during the entirety of 2015, while well over 1,000 Palestinians were also affected after losing structures related to their source of income.

M.N