UN officials in occupied Palestinian territory gravely concerned over recent demolitions

Top UN officials in the occupied Palestinian territory voiced their grave concern over the demolitions by the Israeli Civil Administration in vulnerable Palestinian Bedouin refugee communities in Area C, near East Jerusalem, a UN spokesperson told reporters here Tuesday.

The concern was jointly expressed by Robert Piper, UN resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, and Felipe Sanchez, director of operations in the West Bank of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), UN associate spokesperson Vannina Maestracci said at a daily news briefing here.

A total of 22 structures were demolished Monday in four communities, displacing 78 Palestinians, including 49 children, the vast majority of whom are Palestinian refugees, Maestracci noted.

"According to UN records, this is the largest number of Palestinians displaced in the West Bank in one day in nearly three years," said the spokesperson.

Piper said these demolitions targeted some of the most vulnerable communities in the West Bank, while Sanchez noted that many of these refugee families have now been displaced four times in the last four years.

The four communities are among others in the central West Bank that are included in Israeli plans to transfer Palestinian Bedouin communities to three designated sites.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stated that the implementation of the proposed "relocation" would amount to forcible transfers and forced evictions, contravening Israel's obligations as an occupying power under humanitarian law and human rights law.

Piper and Sanchez called for an immediate freeze on demolitions in the West Bank. Endite