Israeli army demolishes 4 more Palestinian homes in West Bank

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – The Israeli army demolished four Palestinian homes in a military raid in the West Bank town of Az-Zawiya on Thursday, a municipal official said.

The army cited a lack of building permits for the demolitions, Mayor Qasem Abu Nab'ah told Anadolu.

"The four homes were built on Palestinian-owned lands," he added.

Two homes were razed by the Israeli forces in the same area last month.

“Israel has issued demolition orders for 20 homes in the town since last year on claims of lacking building permits,” Abu Nab’ah said.

Israel widely cites the lack of building permits to demolish Palestinian structures in West Bank

According to the official Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, the Israeli authorities have demolished 689 Palestinian structures across the West Bank since Oct. 7, 2023.

The 1995 Oslo II Accord categorized West Bank lands into three areas: Area A, under full Palestinian control; Area B, under Palestinian civil control and Israeli security control; and Area C, under full Israeli control.

Tensions have been high across the occupied West Bank amid an ongoing Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has claimed over 42,000 Palestinian lives, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7 last year.

According to Palestinian sources, at least 749 Palestinians have been killed, and nearly 6,200 injured in the occupied territory during the same period.

The situation continues to escalate following a landmark opinion by the International Court of Justice on July 19, which declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar