Israeli authorities demolished 300 buildings in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since the beginning of the year, according to data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The data is composed of each permanent closure or destruction of a Palestinian residential or commercial property, or key piece of infrastructures such as water pipes, roads and network facilities.
Israeli occupation forces attack the press crews in the vicinity of the Al-Rajabi family home, which is threatened with demolition in Silwan, occupied Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/A0IV6UOt8s
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) May 10, 2022
The report issued by OCHA also warned that an imminent Israeli demolition of a Palestinian residential building – consisting of 12 housing units and based in the Wadi Qaddum neighborhood of Silwan – will leave 74 Palestinians homeless, including 42 children.
The site on which the building is located has been designated by the Israeli authorities as an open green space, which will be used as a public garden.
The UN agency said it aims to prevent the demolition through engagement with relevant authorities, adding that it stands ready to support those displaced if the demolition goes ahead.
The Israeli occupation has notified the demolition of a four-storey residential building in occupied Jerusalem's Silwan town, that housing 100 Palestinians, some of whom the occupation demolished their homes and displaced them more than once. pic.twitter.com/ZNJtU5amfP
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) June 2, 2022
Demolitions of Palestinian-owned buildings in Silwan and other parts of occupied East Jerusalem are common, as Palestinians in the city face difficulties in obtaining building permits from the occupation’s municipality.
Israel widely uses the pretext of lack of construction permits to demolish Palestinian homes, especially in Area C in the occupied West Bank, which constitutes around 60 percent of its space.
Article taken from The Palestine Chronicle.