Israeli forces, on Thursday, demolished two Palestinian homes and two animal barns in Masafer Yatta, southern Hebron hills, under the pretext they were built without a permit, according to local sources.
Coordinator of the Popular Committees Against the Wall and Settlements in the southern West Bank, Rateb Jabour, told WAFA that Israeli forces raided several areas in Masafer Yatta and demolished two 80-square-meter residential structures in al-Mafqara and in Rakiz hamlets.
Another local activist, Fouad Amour said that Israeli army bulldozers demolished two animal barns in Saffi hamlet in Masafer Yatta, in Area C, where Israel has full military and administrative control over the occupied West Bank.
Israeli occupation authorities regularly demolish Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank, using a lack of an Israeli building permit as justification for destroying people’s homes. This, along with the fact that Palestinian’s are very rarely granted a permit, allows Israel to control the demographics of the occupied territories, allowing illegal Israeli settlers to build and expand on Palestinian lands, while forcing Palestinians out.
Human Rights Group, B’Tselem says International Humanitarian Law (IHL) establishes the people who lived in the occupied territory prior to the occupation are considered “protected persons” and may not be subjected to collective punishment or violence, their private property may not be confiscated, their dignity may not be violated and they may not be expelled from their homes.
Additionally, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3 states that every person has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
