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Israeli forces demolish 42 Palestinian barns

Xinhua, February 12, 2016 Adjust font size:

Israeli military forces demolished 42 barns in the West Bank's Northern Valleys Thursday, Palestinian sources said.

Tubas government official Mu'taz Bisharat told Xinhua that the demolitions included "barns, solar panels and mobile sanitary facilities donated by the European Union (EU)."

Bisharat accused Israel of "carrying out a vicious demolition attack" in the Northern Valleys aiming at forceful evacuation of Palestinians. He pointed out that 250 similar demolitions have taken place in the same area since the beginning of this year.

According to the interim Oslo Accords signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel in 1993, the West Bank is divided into three zones: A, B and C, with Area (A) being under Palestinian control, (B) being under Israeli security control and Palestinian administrative control, and (C) being under full Israeli control. The Northern Valleys are mostly classified as Area (C).

The EU Commission in Jerusalem told Xinhua that the EU demands Israel stop its policy to demolish the EU-sponsored projects for Palestinians in Area (C), noting those are either humanitarian aid projects or developmental projects.

The peace talks between Israel and Palestine have been stalled since April 2014. The U.S.-sponsored talks that lasted for nine months achieved no tangible results. Endit