Israel issues 6 demolition orders for homes, wells, and farm structures in occupied West Bank

RAMALLAH, Palestine / ISTANBUL

The Israeli army on Monday delivered six demolition notices for Palestinian homes, water wells, and agricultural facilities in the village of Asfi, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, according to local officials.

“The Israeli army distributed six demolition orders to six Palestinian families in the village of Asfi,” Nidal Younis, head of the Masafer Yatta local council, told Anadolu.

He said the notices covered “six tents and homes made up of one or several rooms, five water wells, and a tin shack (used to store animal feed and shelter livestock.)”

The orders came after Israeli authorities last month rejected an urban development plan for the village prepared by the local council, Younis added.

He said residents of the village are living in fear and uncertainty, expecting demolition operations to be carried out at any time.

Since the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza in October 2023, the Israeli army has carried out more than 1,014 demolitions in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, targeting 3,679 structures, among them 1,288 inhabited homes and 244 uninhabited ones, and issued 1,667 demolition notices for homes and other facilities, according to data from the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, a Palestinian government body.

Local authorities said that more than 1,056 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank, around 10,300 wounded, and over 20,000 arrested, including 1,600 children, since the Gaza war began two years ago.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.