Israel has razed more Palestinian homes and other structures so far this year than in all of 2015, the United Nations said on Friday.

Israeli authorities in the occupied West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem have demolished 726 structures this year, displacing 1,020 Palestinians, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said in its latest weekly report on protection of civilians.

In the whole of last year there were 533 demolitions and 688 people displaced, Ocha said.

The structures included houses, shelters for livestock and other installations.

Between 2nd and 8th August, Ocha said, "in 14 separate incidents in Area C and east Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities destroyed, forced owners to destroy, or confiscated 42 structures for lack of building permits, displacing 30 people and otherwise affecting over 1200."

Six of the incidents occurred in Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities at risk of forcible transfer, enhancing the coercive environment pushing the residents to leave, Ocha said. "Twelve of the targeted structures had been previously provided as humanitarian assistance, including emergency shelters, animal sheds, latrines, a community centre, and a water connection; the confiscation of the latter means that nearly 1,000 Palestinians in five herding communities in the Jordan Valley will continue to suffer water scarcity. This brings the number of assistance items destroyed or confiscated since the start of 2016 to 200, almost double the figure for the entire 2015 (108)."

Source : WAM