Israeli forces demolish another Palestinian house in West Bank

The Israeli regime has torn down yet another Palestinian house in the occupied West Bank under the pretext of lacking a building permit.

The under-construction one-story house was razed by an Israeli bulldozer on Thursday in the city of Beit Jala, west of Bethlehem.

“A large force of the occupation army, accompanied by bulldozers, stormed the Bir Aouneh area in Beit Jala, and demolished their one-story house, which includes four apartments, with a total area of ​​400 square meters, under the pretext of not having a permit,” Wissam Zarina, son of the owner of the house told Palestine's official Wafa news agency.

He said that this is the second time that Israeli forces have demolished their house; they have brought down their six-story house earlier in the same area.

Israeli forces have, on numerous occasions, issued demolition and construction halt notices and flattened Palestinian houses in the area, accusing the owners of lacking building permits.

According to a United Nations study, such permits are “virtually impossible” to obtain.

Some owners have been left with no choice but to raze their homes themselves to avoid being charged thousands of shekels for the demolition costs.

Critics say the demolitions are political in nature and part of the Israeli regime’s policy of dispossession and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

The Israeli regime occupied the West Bank, including the western part of the holy city of al-Quds, in 1967. It later annexed East al-Quds, which Palestinians want as the capital of their future state.

Between 600,000 and 750,000 Israelis occupy over 250 illegal settlements that have been built across the West Bank since the 1967 occupation.

The UN Security Council has in several resolutions condemned the Tel Aviv regime’s settlement projects in the occupied Palestinian lands.

Israeli demolition in E al-Quds leaves 35 Palestinians homeless

The Israeli regime tears down a residential building in the occupied East al-Quds, leaving 35 Palestinians homeless.

13 Palestinians arrested in West Bank raids

Separately, Israeli forces detained 13 Palestinians on Thursday during several brutal raids across the West Bank, including in Ramallah and East al-Quds, according to Wafa.

Israeli forces frequently raid Palestinian houses and ransack them almost daily across the West Bank in search of "wanted" Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.

These raids, which also take place in areas under the full control of the Palestinian Authority, are carried out without a search warrant.

Under Israeli military law, army commanders have full executive, legislative and judicial authority over 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. Palestinians have no say in how this authority is exercised.

Rights group: Over 600 Palestinians held by Israel without charge

An Israeli rights group has revealed that the occupying regime is holding more than 600 Palestinian detainees without charge or trial in its detention centers across the occupied territories.

Palestinian rights organizations said on Wednesday that the Israeli military arrested about 690 Palestinians, including 76 minors and 19 women, in May alone.

The joint statement issued by the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Commission (official), the Palestinian Prisoner Club, the Addameer Foundation for Prisoner Care and Human Rights, and the Wadi Hilweh Information Center – al-Quds (non-governmental) said that “the Israeli authorities launched a massive arrest campaign during past month, concentrated in the city of [al-Quds].”

The statement added that the city “has witnessed during May the highest rate of arrests, as 401 cases were registered, including 58 minors and 16 women.”

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are held under so-called administrative detention, under which Israel keeps the detainees without charge for up to six months, a period that can be extended an infinite number of times.

The detention takes place on orders from a military commander and based on what the Israeli regime describes as ‘secret’ evidence. Some prisoners have been held in administrative detention for up to 11 years.

The statement further criticized the brutal arrests and the use of violence against the detainees and in some cases their families.

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