On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers demolished a Palestinian home in Beit Hanina, a town north of the occupied Palestinian capital, Jerusalem, in the West Bank.
Media sources reported that a large police and military force, accompanied by bulldozers, invaded the town before demolishing a 120-square-meter home owned by the Sharouti family.
The Israeli army claimed the home was built without a license from the City Council in occupied Jerusalem.
It is worth mentioning that the Wall & Colonization Resistance Commission documented the demolition of 156 structures in February, including 109 inhabited homes and five vacant homes, in addition to 34 agricultural structures.
The Commission stated that the demolitions were concentrated in Hebron (55 demolitions), followed by Jenin (26), Jerusalem (19), and Salfit (15).
While Israel continues to build and expand its illegal colonies, Palestinian communities and towns in occupied Jerusalem and various areas in the occupied West Bank continue to be denied the right to build homes and property under various allegations meant to prevent the expansion of Palestinian towns and neighborhoods.
All of Israel’s colonies in the occupied West Bank, including those in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention, in addition to various United Nations and Security Council resolutions. They also constitute war crimes under International Law.
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” It also prohibits the “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory.”
