Israel demolished six residential structures, including donor-funded tents, and one commercial structure in Area C and East Jerusalem on the grounds of lack of building permits, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.

During the reported two-week period (December 1-14), the OCHA said one of the Area C incidents took place in the herding community of Al Hadidiya in the northern Jordan Valley, which has seen repeated demolition or confiscation of structures since 25 November.

The Israeli authorities served three Palestinian families with eviction orders in the Silwan neighbourhood of East Jerusalem to be implemented within 20 days. This follows an Israeli court ruling in favour of the ‘Ateret Cohanim settler organization, which claims ownership over the building.

The same organization also initiated legal proceedings against another three families in the same neighbourhood. According to the Israeli human rights organization Ir Amim, around 130 Palestinian families in East Jerusalem are subject to legal proceedings in the context of settlement activities in the heart of Palestinian neighbourhoods.

In Area C, the Israeli authorities bulldozed a farming area next to Shufa village (Tulkarm), on the grounds that it is “state land”, and in the process destroyed a large tomato greenhouse, 4.5 dunums of land planted with spinach, as well as an irrigation network, and uprooted and confiscated 150 olive and 40 lemon trees. The affected property was the main source of income for nine families, comprising 59 people.

According to Peace Now, in October of this year, the Israeli authorities declared 30 dunums of land in the villages of Jinsafut (Qalqiliya) and Deir Istiya (Salfit) as “state land”, for the retroactive legalization of structures as well as new construction in the Israeli settlement of Karnei Shomron.

Source: MENA