BETHLEHEM, Israeli occupation forces demolished today an agricultural room in the town of al-Khader, south of the southern West Bank district of Bethlehem, according to a local official.
Hassan Breijeh, director of the Bethlehem office of the Wall and Settlements Resistance Commission, said Israeli forces demolished an agricultural room in the town’s Um Rokba area, under the pretext of lacking an Israeli-issued permit. The room belongs to local resident Mohammed Salah.
He pointed out that army soldiers handed Salah an administrative order to demolish the room within 96 hours, which he said comes as part of the extremist Israeli government’s attack on area (C) of the occupied West Bank with the aim of emptying the area of its indigenous Palestinian population for the benefit of settlement expansion.
Earlier today, Israeli forces demolished two 120-square-meter agricultural rooms belonging to Palestinian residents in Abu Tayyah area to the southeast of Hebron.
Like other areas located within Area C, under full Israeli jurisdiction, the issuance of construction permits for Palestinians is strictly limited, forcing Palestinians residing in such areas to embark on construction without obtaining a permit.
Israel’s planning and building policy in the West Bank is aimed at preventing Palestinian development and dispossessing Palestinians of their land, said the Israeli information center for human rights in occupied territories.
“This is masked by the use of the same professional and legal terms applied to development in settlements and in Israel proper, such as “planning and building laws”, “urban building plans (UBPs)”, “planning proceedings” and “illegal construction.”
However, while the planning and building laws benefit Jewish communities by regulating development and balancing different needs, they serve the exact opposite purpose when applied to Palestinian communities in the West Bank, added B’Tselem.
“There, Israel exploits the law to prevent development, thwart planning and carry out demolitions. This is part of a broader political agenda to maximize the use of West Bank resources for Israeli needs, while minimizing the land reserves available to Palestinian,” it said.
Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency