JERUSALEM, January 14, 2017 (WAFA) – Dozens of Palestinians are at risk of displacement if Israel proceeds with threats to demolish dozens of homes in Jabal al-Mukabber neighborhood in East Jerusalem, the United Nations warned on Friday.
In the aftermath of the January 8 truck ramming attack in Jerusalem in which a Palestinian resident of Jabal al-Mukabber killed four Israeli soldiers and wounded others, the Israeli authorities demolished four structures in Jabal al Mukabber and issued warning notices against dozens of homes belonging to the extended family of the perpetrator, citing lack of building permits, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA).
The family home of the perpetrator was reportedly measured by the authorities in advance of its punitive demolition.
“These measures have placed dozens of Palestinians at risk of displacement,” said OCHA in its bi-weekly Protection of Civilians report that covers the first 10 days of January.
In addition to the collective punitive demolitions and threats of demolitions in Jabal al-Mukabber in occupied East Jerusalem, Israel has also demolished or seized during the reporting period more than 80 structures in Area C of the West Bank and East Jerusalem on the grounds of the lack of building permits, displacing 160 Palestinians, including 91 children, and affecting more than 370 others, said OCHA.
The largest incident took place in the herding community of Khirbet Tana near Nablus in the north of the West Bank, involving the demolition of 49 residential and livelihood-related structures, including 30 structures previously provided as humanitarian assistance.
The community is located in an area designated by the Israeli authorities as a "firing zone" for military training. Such areas constitute nearly 30 per cent of Area C and are inhabited by more than 6,200 Palestinians.
The number of structures targeted in the first week of 2017 is over three times higher than the weekly average for 2016, which recorded more demolitions than in any year since OCHA began systematically monitoring in 2009, said the report.
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