Israel demolishes Palestinian warehouse near occupied Hebron

Israel demolishes Palestinian warehouse near occupied Hebron
The commercial structure was based in the village of Beit Einun, to the east of Hebron, and demolished under the pretext of being built without a permit.
2 min read
28 November, 2017
More than 70% of Palestinians in occupied Hebron live under the poverty line [Getty]
A Palestinian building in an impoverished village near the occupied city of Hebron was demolished by Israeli forces on Monday.

The commercial structure, used as a warehouse, was based in the village of Beit Einun, to the east of Hebron, and demolished under the pretext of being built without a permit, according to Palestinian Authority’s state agency WAFA.

Occupying Israeli forces broke into the village and demolished the warehouse with a bulldozer.

It is common for Israeli forces to demolish buildings under the pretext of not having a permit and applying for building permits comes with various taxes and fees, which amounts to tens of thousands of dollars. This is unaffordable for many Palestinians in Hebron, as 77 percent of them live under the poverty line.

Applications for building permits are also known to take years to be processed, giving Israeli courts a loophole to increase Palestinian home demolitions by branding structures as "illegal".

Jerusalem has been a target of illegal Israeli settlements and home demolitions amid a wider plan to annex the Palestinian part of the city.

Earlier this month a Palestinian man in occupied Jerusalem’s Silwan neighbourhood was forced to demolish his own shop.

The Israeli-run Jerusalem municipality at the beginning of November threatened Amin Abbasi to destroy the store within a 30-day deadline, or "Israeli forces will demolish it" and force him to pay extortionate demolition fees should he refuse to tear down his premises.