Israel demolished 135 homes, facilities in occupied West Bank in July

RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Israeli army demolished 135 homes and other facilities in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in July alone, the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Committee reported on Saturday.

According to the committee's monthly report, "Israeli authorities carried out 98 demolition activities in July, affecting 135 structures, including 62 inhabited homes, 14 uninhabited homes, and 12 agricultural facilities."

The report also noted that the Israeli army issued demolition notices for 16 homes and other structures in several West Bank provinces.

Regarding illegal Israeli settler attacks, the report said "Illegal settlers carried out 196 assaults ranging from land seizures and expansion activities to extrajudicial executions, vandalism, land leveling, tree uprooting, property seizures, roadblocks, and the burning of homes and vehicles."

The report stated: "Israeli authorities reviewed 54 illegal settlement plans for the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem in July, approving 20, including one in Jerusalem and 19 in West Bank settlements."

Additionally, 33 plans were submitted for future approval, with one in Jerusalem and 32 in West Bank provinces.

According to the report, Israeli authorities also "legalized three new settlement outposts, adding to the 11 outposts already in the process of legalization since the beginning of the year."

Settlement outposts are small communities established by illegal Israeli settlers on privately owned Palestinian land without approval from the Israeli government.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi