© Reuters
In 2016, Israeli authorities had sped up demolishing homes of Palestinians in the occupied territories, rights group B'Tselem reported. The number was the highest in 12 years, during which the group kept systematic statistics of the demolitions.
B'Tselem
says the demolitions campaign intensified in August 2015 and unofficially halted later in the year, only to be resumed in 2016.
Last year Israel demolished 274 homes in the West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem), thereby rendering homeless 1,134 individuals, including 591 minors.
In East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities demolished 73 Palestinian homes in 2016, while 15 others were demolished by their owners on orders from the municipality. Violation of the orders would have carried hefty fines and would not likely prevent the demolitions or being charged the cost of carrying them out. Together those actions rendered 295 people homeless, including 160 minors, B'Tselem said. The authorities also demolished 48 non-residential buildings.
"Despite the differences between Area C and East Jerusalem in terms of which authorities operate in each area and the laws applied by Israel, the policy Israel pursues in the two areas is similar, and designed to minimize the number of Palestinians in as much land as possible," the group said.
"Authorities cynically cite illegal construction as a pretext for the demolitions, while at the same time authorities are the ones that prohibit legal construction by Palestinians."
Comment: See also: Convergence of Trump & Putin Derangement Syndromes