JENIN, August 11, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli army on Thursday demolished a stone-cutting workshop in the village of Bartaa, to the west of Jenin in the West Bank, under the pretext of construction without a permit, according to local sources.

An Israeli military force accompanied by heavy machinery broke into the village and demolished a stone-cutting factory owned by Waleed Ajaj, a local Palestinian, citing construction without permission as a pretext behind the demolition. The army also seized some of the content of the workshop.

Following the demolition, clashes erupted between the army and local youths, during which the former used teargas canisters and stun grenades to disperse them.

The army further closed the entrances of the village for several hours, denying the entry and exit of drivers and passengers into and out of the village.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), some 900 Palestinians have been left homeless by Israeli home demolitions since the start of the year.

The majority were demolished in Area C, the more than 60 percent of the occupied West Bank under full Israeli control, which includes Susiya.

OCHA found that between 2010 and 2014, only 1.5 percent of 2,020 building permit requests submitted were approved.

M.N