Bethlehem / PNN /

Israeli forces demolished two floors of a residential home, uprooted trees, and issued a demolition order for another house in the village of Al-Walaja, northwest of Bethlehem, on Thursday.

According to Khader Al-Araj, head of the Al-Walaja Village Council, Israeli bulldozers demolished the second and third floors of a home in the Ain Juwayza area belonging to local resident Bassam Abd Rabbo, under the pretext of lacking a construction permit.

Al-Araj told a PNN reporter that a force of Israeli soldiers, accompanied by heavy machinery and bulldozers, entered the village and carried out the demolition. During the operation, Israeli soldiers assaulted the home's residents and prevented them from approaching the site.

Additionally, Israeli forces destroyed a tent erected on the rubble of a previously demolished home belonging to Ahmad Nasser Abu Al-Teen, according to Al-Araj. The bulldozers also leveled his land and uprooted trees.

Al-Araj further stated that Israeli authorities issued a new demolition order for a 100-square-meter home owned by Muhammad Saeed Al-Sheikh Al-Araj, which is currently inhabited.

Since the start of the Israeli military campaign against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank on October 7, there has been a sharp increase in the demolition of homes and structures in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. These demolitions have been particularly concentrated in Area C, which makes up around 60% of the West Bank.

According to data from the Palestinian Authority’s Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, Israeli authorities carried out 62 demolition operations in August alone, affecting 78 structures, including 36 inhabited homes, 8 uninhabited structures, 13 agricultural facilities, and more. Additionally, 74 homes and structures were served demolition notices.