BETHLEHEM , Thursday, June 18, 2020 (WAFA) –  Israeli forces today demolished a Palestinian-owned house in al-Khader town, located to the south of the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, according to WAFA correspondent.

He said that a large army forces escorted a bulldozer into town, where the heavy machinery demolished a two-room house belonging to Samir Salah.

This was not the first time that Israeli forces demolish Salah’s house. Six months ago, soldiers demolished his first house, which occupied 150 square meters, prompting him to build the other one, which was demolished today.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces tore down a car wash in El-Mansheya village, close to Tuqu‘ town, located to the east of Bethlehem.

Mayor of Tuqu‘ Tayseer Abu Mifreh confirmed that an Israeli military unit raided the village and proceeded to demolish a car wash belonging to Ali al-Khatib.

Both demolitions were carried out because the structures were purportedly built without permits.

Israel demolishes Palestinian houses and structures almost on a daily basis as a means to achieve “demographic control” of the occupied territories.

Israel denies planning permits for Palestinians to build on their own land or to extend existing houses to accommodate natural growth, particularly in Jerusalem and Area C, which constitutes 60 percent of the occupied West Bank and falls under full Israeli military rule, forcing residents to build without obtaining rarely-granted permits to provide shelters for their families.

In contrast, Israel argues that building within existing colonial settlements is necessary to accommodate the “natural growth” of settlers. Therefore, it much more easily gives the estimated 550,000 Jewish Israeli settlers there building permits and provides them with roads, electricity, water and sewage systems that remain inaccessible to many neighboring Palestinians.

K.T./ K.F.