JERUSALEM, July 27, 2016 (WAFA) - In the first half of 2016, Israeli authorities demolished more homes in the West Bank than in the entire previous year of 2015, according to data compiled by B’Tselem, The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories.
“From January to the end of June 2016, the Civil Administration demolished 168 homes in the West Bank, leaving 740 Palestinians homeless – 384 of them minors.
In some communities, residents had their homes demolished more than once. In comparison, throughout 2015 the Civil Administration demolished 125 homes, leaving 496 Palestinians, including 287 minors, homeless.
According to the information released by B’Tselem, the number of homes demolished over the last half year is greater than the number of homes demolished every year over the last decade; with the exception of 2013, in which the number was slightly higher, amounting to 175.
Over the last decade, from the beginning of 2006 to 30 June 2016, Israel demolished at least 1,113 homes of Palestinians in the West Bank (not including East Jerusalem), leaving at least 5,199 people, including at least 2,602 minors, homeless.
Most of the demolitions were carried out in small, underprivileged communities located far from Palestinian population centers, primarily in the Jordan Valley, in the South Hebron Hills, and in the east of Jerusalem, in and around E1, derived from East 1 is a term applied by the Israeli Ministry of Housing to an area located just east of the Jerusalem municipal boundary, on the hills between the illegal Ma’aleh Adummim settlement and Jerusalem
Israel has full control of planning and building matters in these locations, which are part of the area defined Area C under the Oslo Accords, and refuses to recognize these communities.
Efforts to expel these communities include repeated demolition of the homes of the same families.
Over the last decade, until 30 June 2016, Israeli authorities demolished the homes of at least 656 Palestinians, including 284 minors, more than once in the Jordan Valley and the South Hebron Hills.
In Nablus District, the same occurred with 65 Palestinians, including 27 minors, and E1 area, with 48 Palestinians, including 29 minors.
These figures only relate to homes that were demolished on the grounds that they were built without a permit. They do not include homes demolished as collective punishment for the families of Palestinians who carried out attacks against Israelis, which B’Tselem documents separately.
In every demolition, the Civil Administration demolishes not only homes but also various structures that the communities rely on for their livelihoods, such as livestock pens, bathroom facilities, and storage sheds.
B’Tselem will present the data in the Israeli Knesset during a conference on Israel’s policy of Palestinian home demolition in Area C.
M.H
