Israeli forces demolish Palestinian home in occupied Hebron

Israel has demolished a house south of the occupied West Bank, claiming it was built without a permit, according to a local Palestinian activist.

Mahmoud Awad told Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa that a house in the town of Beit Ummar northwest of Hebron was knocked down by the occupying forces.

Israeli bulldozers raided Khirbet al-Qut area of the town demolished the 150-square meter house that was under construction and owned by Palestinian Mohammad Khalil Sabarneh.

Permits are made expensive and difficult to obtain with Israeli authorities rarely accepting them. Often, they take years to process.

Between 2010 and 2014, only 1.5 percent of all Palestinian building permit applications across the occupied West Bank were approved by Israel, according to the UN.

The cost of a permit for a single home is estimated to be in the region of $30,000.

Israeli settlers in occupied Hebron are known to be especially prone to violence, yet act with almost total impunity while under the protection of Israeli forces.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than 600,000 Israeli Jews live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

All Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank are classed as illegal under international law, particularly article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which asserts that "the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies".

Israeli forces and settlers routinely attack Palestinians in the occupied territories, demolishing their homes, poisoning their livestock and vandalising their properties.

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