UN special envoy slams Israeli destruction, seizures in occupied territories

Israel has continued to destroy structures in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Tor Wennesland, UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the Security Council on Wednesday.

The council heard how Israel has since July demolished and seized Palestinian-owned structures across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Wennesland said Israeli authorities conducted the demolitions and seizures while “citing the absence of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain.”

UN investigations found that 302 structures were demolished or seized by Israeli authorities, or were destroyed by their owners to avoid being charged. This caused the displacement of some 433 people, including 251 children and 102 women.

Wennesland said Israeli authorities demolished around 30 structures, including 17 buildings that were given as humanitarian assistance, on July 7 in the Bedouin community of Humsa Al-Bqai’a in the Jordan Valley.

Israeli authorities, he added, confiscated at least 49 structures in the Bedouin community of Ras Al-Tin in Ramallah governorate on July 14, displacing 84 people.

Some 970 Palestinians currently face eviction in East Jerusalem.