Israeli Occupation Forces yesterday distributed Stop Work Orders against 11 Palestinian homeowners in the village of Al-Jiftlik near the Occupied West Bank city of Jericho, reported Wafa news agency.
According to local activist, Ayman Ghareeb, groups of Israeli soldiers stormed into the village in the morning and proceeded to issue the Stop Work Orders, which will see the demolition of houses built between 1960 and 1975, and others which are still in the construction stage.
Israeli Occupation authorities issue demolition and Stop Work Orders for Palestinian homes and facilities in the Occupied West Bank under the pretext that they lack the necessary building licences, explained Ayman.
However, Palestinians are rarely granted such permits by the settler-colonial state.
With growing families, therefore, Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories either have to extend their homes or build new ones without permits. This makes them subject to demolition by the Israelis. When a demolition notice is served on the homeowners, they are given the option of knocking down their houses themselves or paying the Israeli Occupation Forces to do it.
According to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Israel has demolished 278 Palestinian homes and facilities, most of which are in Area C, during the first three months of this year.
While this ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians is ongoing, more than 600,000 Israelis live in settlements for Jews only across Occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank. All of Israel’s settlements are built in violation of international law, under which they are classed as a war crime, as is the movement of citizens into an Occupied Territory.
READ: Israels High Court upholds ban on detained Jordan MPs lawyer meeting
Montather Rassoul