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Israeli forces demolish 3 homes, playground in West Bank

Xinhua, April 12, 2016 Adjust font size:

Israeli forces demolished Tuesday three homes that belong to Palestinians, bulldozed a playground and arrested 12 people in the West Bank, while its military vehicles carried out a limited incursion into Gaza Strip, said Palestinian sources.

Sources told Xinhua that Israeli forces demolished three homes in Al-Walaja town near Bethelehem. The Israeli authorities informed the house owners of the demolition orders two days ago, claiming it falls within the Jerusalem municipality jurisdiction.

Recent reports by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Palestinian territories (OCHA) underscored a significant increase in demolitions in the West Bank's areas (C).

On April 8, the UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid and Development Activities in the territories said that "thus far in 2016, Israeli authorities have demolished 539 structures in Palestinians' communities in Area C, compared to a total of 453 in Area C in all of 2015.

About 804 people have been displaced in Area C in 2016, compared to a total of 580 in 2015". The OCHA statistics show that Israeli authorities approved only 1.5 percent of building permits applied by Palestinians.

Israeli forces also bulldozed a children's playground and levelled it to the ground in Za'atara town near Nablus, saying it was built without permit. The playground was constructed six months ago.

Palestinian sources said the playground was funded by Belgian cooperation.

Israeli army said that 12 Palestinians were arrested Tuesday morning from different West Bank cities. The Israeli public radio said that ten of those are suspects of "terrorist activity."

In related news, Israeli soldiers carried out a limited incursion into Khani Younis city, south of the Gaza Strip carrying out land levelling operations into some farmlands in the area.

Residents of the area said the incursion was accompanied with intense gunfire, without reporting injuries.

The Israeli public radio reported that the incursions were a routine military activity. Endit