BETHLEHEM, August 3, 2017 (WAFA) – The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) succeeded Thursday in obtaining an Israeli court ruling halting a decision to demolish nine homes in the village of al-Walajeh, near Bethlehem in southern West Bank, according to a local source.

NRC succeeded the day before in getting a court order freezing demolition orders in another seven homes in the same area. A total of 28 Walajeh homes are under threat of demolition under the pretext they were built without permit.

Hasan Burajiya, who monitors settlement activities in Bethlehem, said NRC attorney Ghayath Nasser, and after filing a petition with the Israeli Supreme Court against the demolition decision, was able to obtain a ruling halting demolition of nine additional homes slated for demolition in al-Walajeh.

He told WAFA that the court ruling is only temporary and that it is going to give its final ruling at a later date, expressing belief that the court is going to uphold the stop demolition ruling.

NRC, active in Palestine since 2009, “provides humanitarian assistance and promotes respect for international law in one of the longest-running displacement crises in modern history,” according to the website of the Norwegian non-governmental organization.

M.N./M.K.