BETHLEHEM, Thursday, January 16, 2020 (WAFA) – Israeli authorities today morning demolished a tent and a mobile home in the area of Beir Ouneh, near Beit Jala city, located to the west of the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, according to local sources.
Mohammad Zuraina, a resident, told WAFA that Israeli forces escorted a bulldozer into the area, where the heavy machinery tore down his tent, mobile homes for the fifth time since 2016.
He added that his the retaining walls surrounding his home and gate were also torn down.
Israel has intensified its efforts to incorporate Beit Ouneh area into Jerusalem, which is separated from the largely Christian city of Beit Jala by Israel’s segregation barrier, through home demolitions.
Israel has been demolishing the homes of the Palestinian residents of the area purportedly for being constructed without licenses to eventually push them to leave their land and leave it up for grab by Israel.
The Zrinehs are refugees from 1948 when they were expelled from their homes in Malha area in Jerusalem after it was taken over by the Jewish militias and moved to settle in nearby Bir
K.T./ K.F.
