Jerusalem: Israeli forces demolished a Palestinian home Wednesday in an area between the towns of Bir Nabala and Beit Hanina, northwest of occupied East Jerusalem, a rights group said. The Bedouin rights organization Al-Baidar stated that the house was razed in the Arab al-Kaabneh area 'in the latest measure targeting Palestinian homes in Jerusalem and its surroundings.' It warned that the Israeli demolitions 'have humanitarian and social consequences' for affected Palestinian families and undermine their living stability.
According to Anadolu Agency, Israel usually demolishes Palestinian homes on the grounds that they were built on land classified as Area C. Under the 1995 Oslo II Accord, Area C is under Israeli civil, administrative, and security control and makes up about 60% of the occupied West Bank. Since the agreement was signed in 1995, Israel has intensified demolitions of Palestinian homes and structures to pressure Palestinians and displace them from their land to make room for settlement expansion, which the United Nations considers illegal.
Israeli authorities prevent construction or land reclamation in Area C without permits that Palestinians say are almost impossible to obtain. Israeli authorities carried out 70 demolitions in May, affecting 155 Palestinian structures, including 39 inhabited homes and 99 agricultural structures, according to figures from the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.
Attacks by the Israeli army and occupiers also include vandalizing homes and structures, setting fires, bulldozing farmland, and preventing farmers from reaching their land, especially in areas near illegal settlements and outposts. Palestinians warn that intensified Israeli attacks are paving the way for Israel to annex the occupied West Bank, which would eliminate the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state as outlined in UN resolutions.
Since October 2023, Israeli army and occupier attacks have killed at least 1,169 Palestinians, wounded 12,666 others, led to the arrest of about 23,000, and displaced 33,000, according to official Palestinian figures. Israel was established in 1948 on land occupied by armed Zionist groups that carried out massacres and displaced at least 750,000 Palestinians. Tel Aviv refuses to withdraw and allow the establishment of a Palestinian state as outlined in UN resolutions.