On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers demolished two adjoining Palestinian homes in Sur Baher town, south of occupied Jerusalem in the West Bank.
Media sources said the soldiers invaded the town before forcing the families out of their homes and demolishing them.
The two adjoining homes were built only two years ago; each was 90 square meters and housed twelve Palestinians in the Um Toba area in Sur Baher.
The homes are owned by Sami Abu Teir and his family, along with his sister and her family; the Palestinians tried to appeal the demolition orders in Israeli courts but to no avail.
Video By Al-Qastal News
The demolition of homes, residential and commercial buildings in occupied Jerusalem has seriously escalated due to Israel’s illegal policies barring the Palestinians from building on their lands in and around the occupied city and across Area C of the occupied West Bank.
|Report: Area C Building Permits Allowed for 1% of West Bank Palestinians|
|Israeli authorities have obstructed the Palestinian development of Area C and much of the rest of the West Bank through military orders. These orders bar Palestinians from registering land, thwart them from building, and forbid local and district planning committees. As a result, Palestinians are excluded from participating in the processes that steer spatial development, while Israel confiscates land for purported public services such as roads built for Jewish Israeli use.
As such, only 30 percent of Area C land is designated for development by Palestinians. The remaining 70 percent is classified as closed military zones that are off-limits unless they obtain special permits from Israeli authorities. These stringent restrictions on Palestinians’ spatial development continue to intensify despite the fact that without Area C, a Palestinian state is inconceivable. Indeed, Area C holds valuable natural resources and a rich cultural heritage, and it represents the bulk of available areas for the spatial development of a future Palestinian state. Read More About Area C – Ahmad El-Atrash on September 27, 2018, for Al Shabaka Palestinian Policy Network.|
