(WAFA) – The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, urged Israel to cease the demolition and seizure of Palestinian property throughout the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and to allow Palestinians to develop their communities.
A briefing to the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East said that Israeli authorities demolished or seized 170 Palestinian-owned structures in Area C and 10 in East Jerusalem, displacing some 314 Palestinians, including 67 women and 177 children. The demolitions were carried out due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain.
In a particularly concerning series of incidents, on 1, 3, 8, 16, and 22 February, the Israeli forces demolished or confiscated 80 structures in the Palestinian Bedouin community of Humsa al-Bqai’a in an Israeli declared firing zone in the Jordan Valley. The actions displaced 63 people, including 36 children multiple times, and followed a similar demolition in November 2020.
On 23 February, my Deputy and the Humanitarian Coordinator visited the site and called on Israeli authorities to cease further demolitions in accordance with international law and allow the humanitarian community to provide shelter, food, and water to this most vulnerable community, said Wennesland.
