Israeli army demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem

RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Israeli army demolished two Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday, a local official said.

Israeli forces raided the village of Al-Walaja, south of East Jerusalem, and brought down the two structures on claims of lacking a building permit, local councilor Anwar Abu al-Teen told Anadolu.

He said several homes were demolished by the Israeli army in the village two weeks ago.

Abu al-Teen said there are around 70 homes in the village facing the risk of demolition for alleged lack of building permits.

According to Palestinian and Israeli rights groups, Israeli municipal authorities in occupied East Jerusalem offer building permits to Jewish settlements and impose severe restrictions on issuing such permits to Palestinians.

Figures released by Palestinian authorities showed that Israeli authorities have demolished over 500 homes and facilities across the occupied West Bank since Oct. 7 last year.

Israel widely uses the pretext of a lack of construction permits to demolish Palestinian homes, especially in Area C in the occupied West Bank, which constitutes around 60% of its space.

Under the 1995 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was divided into three portions – Area A, B, and C.

Area C is under Israel’s administrative and security control until a final status agreement is reached with the Palestinians.

Tension has been running high in the West Bank due to Israel’s brutal war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 44,700 people, mostly women and children, following a Hamas attack last year.

At least 807 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,450 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In July, the International Court of Justice issued a landmark advisory opinion that 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 Ahmed Asmar in Ankara