QALQILIYA, March 10, 2016 (WAFA) - Israeli forces Thursday handed demolition notices for 13 Palestinian houses in Azzun village, east of Qalqiliya, in the northern West Bank, reported WAFA correspondent.

Israeli troops handed notices to the homeowners of 13 houses in the village, ordering them to immediately halt construction.

The homeowners were threatened that their houses would be demolished if they fail to immediately comply with the notices.

Meanwhile, forces handed a stop-construction order for an Islamic cemetery in Idhna, a town to the west of Hebron, in the southern West Bank.

Israeli troops and so-called ‘Civil Administration and Planning’ officers broke into the town and handed a notice ordering the construction of a local Islamic cemetery to be halted purportedly for being located in Area C.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territory said, “Over 60 percent of the West Bank is considered Area C, where Israel retains near exclusive control, including over law enforcement, planning and construction.”

It said in 2013 approximately 150,000 Palestinians lived in Area C in 542 communities, 281 of which are located entirely or mostly (50% or more of their built up area) in Area C.

However, most of Area C has been allocated for the benefit of Israeli settlements, which receive preferential treatment at the expense of Palestinian communities, including with regard to access to land and resources, planning, construction, development of infrastructure, and law enforcement.

K.F/M.H