AL-QUDS (Dispatches) – The Zionist regime’s army demolished 33 Palestinian structures in the occupied East Al-Quds last month, a record number this year, an Israeli rights group said on Monday.
The demolished buildings included 16 residential units and 17 non-residential structures, Ir Amim organization said in a statement.
The demolitions brought the number of Palestinian buildings razed by the Zionist regime in the occupied city to 93, including 53 residential structures and 40 non-residential buildings, the group said.
Figures released by the Israeli group showed that 23 buildings were demolished in January, 15 in February, 14 in March, and eight in April.
The Zionist regime widely uses the pretext of a lack of construction permits to demolish Palestinian homes, as only a small number of permits are issued for Palestinians in East Al-Quds annually, according to Israeli, Palestinian, and international human rights organizations.
In contrast, there has been a rising number of permits issued by Israeli authorities for the construction of settlements on the territory of East Al-Quds.
During the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the Zionist regime occupied East Al-Quds, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located. It annexed the entire city in 1980, which was never recognized by the international community.
Germany on Monday slammed Israeli plans to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank, calling them “unacceptable.”
“We call on the Israeli regime to halt the expansion of the settlements, but above all, the practice of land seizure, destruction of homes and expulsion of the Palestinian population,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Josef Hinterseher said at a press briefing in Berlin.
He said Germany views the Israeli announcement “as unacceptable because it runs counter to a solution” and “naturally rejects any annexation efforts.”
On Thursday, Zionist war minister Israel Katz said the regime had approved the construction of 22 new West Bank settlements, which will include a series of new communities and the legalization of several wildcat outposts.