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by IMEMC News
August 6, 2019 7:15 PM

Israeli forces, today, demolished four structures and a house under construction in Bir Oneh village, Beit Jala city, west of Bethlehem.

Head of the Bethlehem Office of the Anti-Wall and Settlement Committee Hassan Breija said that Israeli forces stormed and cordoned off the village, before a bulldozer demolished four barns and the foundations of a house under construction purportedly for being without a license.

The owners of the barns and the house under construction were identified as Mohammad Zreineh and Daoud Ghneim, respectively.

Zreineh’s barns were demolished twice although he has a title deed which proves he is the owner of the plot of land on which the barns are built.

Using the pretext of illegal building, Israel demolishes houses on a regular basis to restrict Palestinian expansion in occupied Jerusalem.

At the same time, the municipality and government build tens of thousands of housing units in illegal settlements in East Jerusalem for Jews with a goal to offset the demographic balance in favor of the Jewish settlers in the occupied city.

Although Palestinians in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian Territory that has been subject to Israeli military occupation since 1967, they are denied their citizenship rights and are instead classified only as “residents” whose permits can be revoked if they move away from the city for more than a few years.

They are also discriminated against in all aspects of life including housing, employment and services, and are unable to access services in the West Bank due to the construction of Israel’s separation wall.

Israeli bulldozers also demolished a Palestinian house and a retaining wall, in the occupied city of Jerusalem.

Israeli police cordoned off an area in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina, as a bulldozer proceeded to demolish a house belonging to Eyad Khalil Kiswani.

Kiswani told WAFA correspondence that the demolition took place even though he had not received any prior notice.

He added that he, himself, along with wife and three children, aged 13 to 16, were forced out of their 140-square-meter house by police at gun point before the demolition was carried out.

Meanwhile, Wadi Hilweh Information Center further reported that Israeli police raided the Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Eesawiyya, paving the way for a bulldozer to demolish a retaining wall and an outdoor ground.

The Silwan-based watchdog posted a video showing police blocking the entrance to a Palestinian house, whose owner is not identified, as the demolition was carried out.

Both structures were demolished again under the pretext that they were built without a permit.

At the same time, the municipality and government build tens of thousands of housing units in illegal settlements in East Jerusalem for Jews with a goal to offset the demographic balance in favor of the Jewish settlers in the occupied city.

Although Palestinians in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian Territory that has been subject to Israeli military occupation since 1967, they are denied their citizenship rights and are instead classified only as “residents” whose permits can be revoked if they move away from the city for more than a few years.

They are also discriminated against in all aspects of life including housing, employment and services, and are unable to access services in the West Bank due to the construction of Israel’s separation wall.

In related news, Israeli forces, this morning, seized a number of vehicles in Ras al-Ahmar, in the northern Jordan Valley.

Aref Daraghma, a local human rights activist, said that an Israeli military force raided Ras al-Ahmar community, where they seized a tractor and a private vehicle belonging to the local Palestinian farmers in addition to an Israeli truck.

The truck, which belongs to a Palestinian citizen of Israel, was unloading a shipment of fodder to a local family.

Almost a week ago, Israeli forces bulldozed several Palestinian tents and shacks in the community.

The Jordan Valley, which is a fertile strip of land running west along the Jordan River, is home to about 65,000 Palestinians and makes up approximately 30% of the West Bank.

Since 1967, when the Israeli army occupied the West Bank, Israel has transferred at least 11,000 of its Jewish citizens to the Jordan Valley. Some of the settlements in which they live were built almost entirely on private Palestinian land.

The Israel military has also designated about 46 percent of the Jordan Valley as a closed military zone since the beginning of the occupation in June 1967, and has been utilizing the pretext of military drills to forcefully displace Palestinian families living there as part of a policy of ethnic cleansing and stifling Palestinian development in the area.

Approximately 6,200 Palestinians live in 38 communities in places earmarked for military use and have had to obtain permission from the Israeli authorities to enter and live in their communities.

In violation of international law, the Israeli military not only temporarily displaces the communities on a regular basis, but also confiscates their farmlands, demolishes their homes and infrastructure from time to time.

Besides undergoing temporary displacement, the Palestinian families living there face a myriad restrictions on access to resources and services. Meanwhile, Israel exploits the resources of the area and generates profit by allocating generous tracts of land and water resources for the benefit of settlers.

Israeli politicians have made it clear on several occasions that the highly strategic Jordan Valley would remain under their control in any eventuality.