the Israeli occupation forces demolished 506 Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank, including the city of Jerusalem, since the beginning of this year, under the pretext of unlicensed construction.
The United Nations said in the bi-monthly report issued by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of its "OCHA": "Among the buildings that were demolished 134 buildings in Jerusalem."
The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Jimmy McGoldrick, warned that illegal demolitions are witnessing a sharp rise during the Corona virus pandemic. He said: "When the Israeli authorities demolish or force homes or buildings that secure the livelihood of their owners, they usually invoke the lack of building permits, which for Palestinians to obtain is impossible due to the restrictive and discriminatory planning system, which leaves them with no choice but to Building without a license. "
He added that "the demolition of basic buildings during the Corona pandemic is of particular concern because it increases the complexity of the general situation in the West Bank." The claim of non-licensing is the pretext that the occupation always uses to demolish homes and level lands, with the aim of emptying the land from its owners, to implement its settlement plans.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Jimmy McGoldrick, called on the Israeli authorities, as an occupying power, to abide by international resolutions and laws, and to respect the human rights of Palestinians under occupation.
It stated that the occupation demolished 22 buildings during the past two weeks, under the pretext of lack of a license, as the occupation practices displaced 50 Palestinians and caused damage to about 200 others. It indicated that 12 demolitions were carried out by homeowners themselves in East Jerusalem, to avoid the fines and fees imposed by the occupation.
It said that the other ten buildings are located in Area C, which is about 60% of the West Bank and is under full Israeli control.
According to the report, Israeli settlers uprooted or destroyed about 500 trees owned by Palestinians in three incidents in the West Bank. The largest of these incidents occurred on lands cultivated by three families from Bidya village in Salfit governorate.
