WEST BANK (Dispatches) – The Zionist regime’s army, on Monday, demolished 18 Palestinian-owned structures north of occupied east Al-Quds, Anadolu News Agency reported.
Speaking to Anadolu, Abdullah Salaheddin, the director of the Hizma Municipality, said that without any prior notice, the Zionist regime’s army demolished the structures, which include stores and car maintenance workshops.
He added that the regime authorities claimed that the demolition was carried out to expand the road where the structures exist.
Salaheddin also said that more than 100 Palestinian families are affected by the demolitions.
The occupying regime routinely destroys Palestinian homes and structures under the pretext that they lack construction permits which are next to impossible to obtain.
Demolishing Palestinian structures as collective punishment is another extreme measure that the regime has employed against the Palestinians.
Punitive house demolitions have become a regular practice since 1967 after the regime extended its occupation to the West Bank and East Al-Quds.
By definition, this is intended to harm people who have done nothing illegal and are not suspected of any wrongdoing; they just happen to be related to someone who has, in most cases allegedly, attacked or attempted to attack Zionists.
Despite international outcry over the illegal practice, the Zionist regime keep on pressing ahead with the harsh policies to date.
Palestinians say the regime’s demolition drive is aimed at making room for illegal settlements in the West Bank.
The regime has stepped up its illegal settlement construction activities in defiance of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which pronounces settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Al-Quds “a flagrant violation under international law.”
More than 600,000 Zionists live in over 230 settlements built since 1967.
All settlements are illegal under international law. The UN Security Council has condemned the regime’s settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.
Meanwhile, the official Wafa news agency reported that at least 15 Palestinians were detained by the Zionist troops from several areas in the occupied West Bank.
Three Palestinians, including one child, were injured in Jenin and Bethlehem during the Zionist troops’ raids, according to the news agency.
The regime’s army frequently carries out wide-ranging arrest campaigns across the occupied West Bank and East Al-Quds on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians.