‘Israel’ steps up home demolitions in West Bank as "collective punishment”

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have escalated the demolition and detonation of homes and the bulldozing of land across the occupied West Bank in recent hours, in what human rights groups describe as a policy of “collective punishment.”

The intensified campaign targets families of detainees and those killed by ‘Israeli’ forces, alongside other pretexts such as construction without permits in areas classified by the 'Israeli' army as “C.”

- Homes blown up in Hebron and Jenin -

In Beit Awwa, south of Hebron, ‘Israeli’ forces raided the home of detainee Thabet Masalmeh before dawn today, forced its residents to evacuate, and then blew up the house, leaving the family homeless.

In Jenin governorate, the family of another political detainee in Qabatiya was served notice that their home would be demolished. 

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- Land bulldozed, new demolition orders issued -

The violations extended beyond home demolitions as bulldozers razed large swathes of farmland in al-Walaja, northwest of Bethlehem, and demolished an agricultural facility on the pretext of lacking a permit.

In southern Hebron, so-called “civil administration” teams distributed new demolition and stop-construction orders targeting several homes and structures in the Masafer Yatta area, threatening more families with displacement.

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- Part of a settlement expansion policy -

The Colonization & Wall Resistance Commission said the escalation is part of a systematic policy aimed at pressuring Palestinians to leave their lands, particularly in “Area C,” to pave the way for settlement expansion and entrenching ‘Israeli’ control.

The commission stressed that practices including blowing up homes and bulldozing land amount to “war crimes” and called on the international community to urgently intervene to protect Palestinians and hold 'Israel' accountable for its ongoing violations.