RAMALLAH, Palestine

Israeli forces demolished three homes and an agricultural structure Tuesday in the town of Beit Liqya west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, witnesses said, as demolition activity continues to rise.

Witnesses told Anadolu that Israeli troops entered the town with bulldozers and tore down the buildings, citing construction without permits.

This came on the seventh day of Ramadan in the Palestinian territories, suggesting that Israel disregarded the significance of the fasting month for Muslims.

Israel frequently demolishes Palestinian homes and structures in parts of the West Bank, citing a lack of building permits.

According to the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, an official agency, Israel carried out 59 demolition operations in January, affecting 126 Palestinian structures, including 77 inhabited homes. Authorities also issued 40 demolition notices, most of them in Hebron governorate.

Violence has escalated in the West Bank since the Gaza war began in October 2023. More than 1,116 Palestinians have been killed, about 11,500 wounded and roughly 22,000 arrested, according to Palestinian data.

In a landmark opinion in July 2024, 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.

*Writing by Lina Altawell from Istanbul