The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continued their violations and attacks against the Palestinian people, demolishing on Monday morning two houses under construction in Al-Walaja village, northwest of Bethlehem, under the pretext of being built without an Israeli permit.
Two two-story homes owned by residents Nabil Mahmoud Abu Al-Teen and Walid Abu Al-Teen were destroyed when the IOF overran the “Khalat Al-Hussein” neighbourhood at the village’s entrance, according to Khader Abu Al-Teen, the head of the Al-Walaja village council.
In addition to severely beating the owners of the two houses, the IOF used sound bombs and tear gas on the protesting citizens during the demolition process, causing several of them to suffocate.
As part of the Israeli displacement and settlement policy, the Israeli authorities recently stepped up their demolition efforts in the West Bank, carrying out 52 demolition operations in November that affected 63 facilities across multiple governorates.
A new massacre in the Gaza Strip was carried out by the occupation forces when shelling struck a tent housing displaced people in the central Gaza Strip town of Al-Zawaida, killing a Palestinian citizen and his wife and gravely wounding their infant daughter.
According to medical sources, Raed Khaled Ghabayen and his wife were the two deceased, and their wounded daughter was taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah for medical care.
This is in light of the ongoing Israeli war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, and has so far killed over 44,700 civilians, the majority of whom are women and children, and injured over 106,000 more with various injuries. Thousands of homes and facilities have also been destroyed, and rescue teams are still unable to reach many of the victims because of the continuous shelling.
International humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, which forbid the targeting of civilians and civilian property and criminalise the practice of collective punishment, is flagrantly violated by the ongoing Israeli occupation’s serious violations against the Palestinian people, ranging from the demolition of homes in the West Bank to the targeting of civilians in the Gaza Strip.
In order to ensure the protection of the Palestinian people and their fundamental rights, such as the right to live in freedom and dignity on their land, international human rights organisations must urge the international community to fulfil its moral and legal obligations and to act quickly to put an end to these crimes and hold those responsible.
