Israel razes dozens of Palestinian homes, structures in occupied West Bank in August

RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Israeli army demolished 78 Palestinian homes and structures in the occupied West Bank last month, according to a Palestinian commission on Sunday.

The demolished buildings included 36 inhabited houses, while 74 more homes and structures face the risk of impending demolition by Israeli authorities, the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said in a statement.

The statement also reported 206 attacks against Palestinians by illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank in August, including armed assaults and theft of property.

At least two Palestinians were killed in Israeli settler attacks in the towns of Jit and Wadi Rahhal last month, the commission said.

Illegal settlers also established eight new outposts in August, while the Israeli army seized a total of 367 dunams (90.7 acres) of Palestinian land through five military orders, it added.

Tensions have been high across the occupied West Bank amid an ongoing Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has claimed over 40,700 Palestinian lives, mostly women and children, since October 7 last year.

According to Palestinian sources, at least 676 Palestinians have been killed, nearly 5,400 injured, and over 10,300 arrested in the West Bank 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 Ikram Kouachi