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Israel demolished more Palestinian homes in West Bank in first half of 2016 than in all of 2015

Israel demolished more Palestinian homes in West Bank in first half of 2016 than in all of 2015

29 July 2016 in 2016

In the first half of 2016, Israeli authorities demolished more homes in Palestinian communities in the West Bank than in the entire previous year. This information, compiled by B’Tselem, will be presented today (Wed, 27 .7.2016) in a Knesset conference on Israel’s policy of Palestinian home demolition in Area C. In fact, the number of homes demolished over the last half year is gre...ater than the number of homes demolished every year over the last decade – with the exception of 2013, in which the number was slightly higher, amounting to 175.

From January to the end of June 2016, the Civil Administration demolished 168 homes in the West Bank, leaving 740 Palestinians homeless – 384 of them minors. In some communities, residents had their homes demolished more than once (when a family home is demolished more than once, B’Tselem counts the people made homeless only once). In comparison, throughout 2015 the Civil Administration demolished 125 homes, leaving 496 Palestinians, including 287 minors, homeless.

Over the last decade, from the beginning of 2006 to 30 June 2016, Israel demolished at least 1,113 homes of Palestinians in the West Bank (not including East Jerusalem). As a result, at least 5,199 people, including at least 2,602 minors, were left homeless. Most of the demolitions were carried out in small, underprivileged communities located far from Palestinian population centers, primarily in the Jordan Valley, in the South Hebron Hills, and in the east of Jerusalem, in and around E1. Israel has full control of planning and building matters in these locations, which are part of the area defined Area C under the Oslo Accords, and refuses to recognize these communities.

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