News / Palestine

UN: Israel demolished 197 Palestinian structures in occupied West Bank in 2018

Wednesday, 11 July 2018 1:15 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 11 July 2018 1:18 PM ]

Palestinians check the house of a Palestinian man after it was demolished by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on April 24, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says Israeli authorities demolished 197 Palestinian structures in West Bank during the first half of 2018 as the Tel Aviv regime presses ahead with its land expropriation policies in the occupied territories.

The world body, in a statement released on Wednesday, announced that eight homes, 10 livelihood-related structures and four retaining walls or fences were destroyed last month.

It added that Israeli military force and the so-called administrative control department demolished a structure in an area of the southern West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron), located 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Jerusalem al-Quds, in June.

Additionally, a residential apartment was demolished on punitive grounds in Eastern Barta'a town, displacing a family of three.

The OCHA further highlighted that demolitions within the first half of the current year in East Jerusalem al-Quds mark an increase of 12 percent compared to the same period in the preceding year.

A Palestinian boy checks the house of a man suspected of murdering an Israeli rabbi in January 2018, after it was demolished by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on April 24, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

The occupied territories have witnessed new tensions ever since US President Donald Trump on December 6, 2017 announced Washington's recognition of Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s “capital” and said the US would move its embassy to the city.

The dramatic decision triggered demonstrations in the occupied Palestinian territories and elsewhere in the world.

The status of Jerusalem al-Quds is the thorniest issue in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Palestinians see East Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of their future state.

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