The Israeli occupation demolished more than 500 Palestinian houses in the West Bank during the past nine months

The Israeli occupation continues to commit ethnic cleansing crimes against the Palestinian people in implementation of the so-called “Deal of the Century”. The occupation forces have destroyed more than 500 houses in the West Bank including houses in occupied al-Quds since the beginning of this year, causing the displacement of thousands of Palestinians in a flagrant violation of international laws and relevant UN resolutions.

In a statement to SANA correspondent in occupied al-Quds, Hassan Ka’abneh, a Palestinian citizen from the town of Tal al-Sumadi in the Jordan Valley, talked about the pain he felt when the occupation demolished his house a month after his marriage.

 He said “the bulldozers of the occupation came and demolished the entire house and destroyed the furniture and other contents. My wife and I became homeless and this is the case for hundreds of Palestinian families which were displaced by the Israeli occupation. But, despite all the occupation’s practices and crimes, we will keep steadfast and adhere to our land, because we are the rightful owners  and the occupation will come to an end no matter how long it takes.”

A UN report has documented the occupation’s crimes of demolishing 506 homes in the West Bank since the beginning of this year, including 134 homes in al-Quds. This has increased the suffering of the Palestinians in the light of the occupation’s intensified settlement building activities, which include plans to establish thousands of settlement units after confiscating large areas of Palestinian lands as part of the occupation’s ongoing Judaization scheme, mainly in occupied al-Quds.

 The Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories Jamie McGoldrick warned that the occupation’s demolition of Palestinian homes has witnessed a sharp increase during the outbreak of the Coronavirus epidemic, calling for “Israel”, the occupying power, to abide by international resolutions and laws and to respect the human rights of the Palestinians under occupation.

Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Wasel Abu Yusef said that the occupation, supported by the United States, continues to impose the law of the jungle and to ignore the international decisions related to the Palestinian cause by intensifying house demolition and settlement operations in implementation of the so-called “Deal of the Century and colonialist annexation scheme. He clarified that the occupation continues to put pressure on the Palestinians in order to displace them and deprive them of their rights-a matter that requires the international community to provide urgent international protection for the Palestinian people from the crimes and Judaization practices of the occupation.

The Secretary-General of the Palestinian People’s Party Bassam Al-Salihi pointed out that the occupation is exploiting the America’s limitless support for it as well as the international community’s non-commitment to its obligations in order to empty occupied al-Quds and its vicinity from any Palestinian presence. He said that that the escalation of house demolition, displacement and arrest campaigns warns of a new Nakbeh for the Palestinian people while the world is watching.

On his part, Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative Mustafa al-Barghouti affirmed that the demolition of Palestinian houses is a systematic policy of the Israeli occupation and part of the displacement and ethnic cleansing scheme against the Palestinian people, aiming at liquidating the Palestinian cause in violation of international legitimacy resolutions.

Coordinator of the Popular Committee for Resisting the Apartheid Wall and Settlements Salah Al-Khawaja, on his part, stated that the demolition of Palestinian houses and properties has increased seven times this year compared to previous years. The occupation is going ahead with its policy of ethnic cleansing, building more settlements and displacing the Palestinians, especially in al-Khalil, Bethlehem, al-Quds and the Jordan Valley, in implementation of the colonialist annexation scheme which is completely rejected by the Palestinians.

Hamda Mustafa