Israeli soldiers razed dozens of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem on Monday in a fresh wave of demolitions that sparked international condemnation.
United Nations officials said hundreds faced losing their property, while at least 17 were displaced from their homes as a result of the demolition.
Israel, which frequently bulldozes Palestinian buildings it says are illegally built, says the buildings needed to be removed for security reasons and that the houses were built too close to the barrier which it built around the West Bank.
“Preparations started past midnight as hundreds of armed Israeli occupying soldiers [and] bulldozers stormed the town. Families threatened with demolitions were woken up [and] moved out of their homes,” the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said on Twitter.
Palestinian activists in the neighbourhood of Wadi al-Hummus in Sur Bahir said buildings were being rigged with explosives and their inhabitants evacuated in preparation for the demolition of dozens of apartments.
The European Union and France slammed the demolition as contrary to international law. “We expect the Israeli authorities to immediately halt the ongoing demolitions,” EU foreign policy spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said.
The majority of the buildings are located in Area A and B of the West Bank, she said, where Palestinian Authority jurisdiction on civil issues applies in line with the Oslo Accords.
France said it was the first time that Israel demolished Palestinian homes in areas theoretically under Palestinian Authority civil jurisdiction.
“It is a dangerous precedent which directly threatens the two-state solution” to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the French Foreign Ministry said.
Palestinians argue that the barrier has divided their neighbourhood into sections that fall under the jurisdiction of the city of Jerusalem and others outside it.
The Palestinian Authority has administrative rights over some of those sections, while others are under full Israeli rule, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement last week.
“Today, 12 buildings and two building foundations – built on the outskirts of Sur Bahir illegally and without the required permits – were demolished,” said Nizar Amer, acting spokesperson of the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
“The demolitions were necessary for reasons of security. Structures along the fence can provide cover to terrorists hiding among the civilian population and accordingly endanger the lives of civilians and security forces alike,” Amer added.
United Nations officials last week called on the Israeli authorities to halt plans for the demolitions in Sur Bahir.
“Seventeen Palestinians, including nine Palestine refugees, face the risk of displacement,” the UN said in a statement.
Another 350 people – not yet living in the buildings as they were still under construction – risked massive property loss due to the Israeli authorities’ intention to demolish the buildings, which include around 70 apartments, they said.
On June 11, the Israeli High Court dismissed a petition that had been filed by some residents of Sur Bahir in 2017 against a demolition order of their homes, according to the OCHA.
One month ago, Israeli forces sent the residents an “Intent to Demolish” notice.
Walid Assaf, head of the PA Commission against the Wall and Settlements said the demolition “intends to create a buffer zone between Jerusalem and Bethlehem to separate them.”
He described the military order to demolish buildings near the barrier as “unfair and [it] will give Israel the pretext to demolish thousands of other buildings near the wall.”
Israel began to build the West Bank barrier in 2002 during a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings, and says there has been a significant decline in attacks since it was constructed.
A 2011 Israeli military order designated a buffer zone of 100-300 metres on both sides of the barrier in Sur Bahir where construction is prohibited, OCHA noted.
UN officials highlighted in a statement on Monday that in 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), ruled against the legality of the construction of the barrier “and found that the parts of it that run inside the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, cannot be justified by military exigencies and thus violates Israel’s obligations under international law.”