Israeli demolitions left thousands of Palestinians homeless

The Israeli authorities demolished 538 Palestinian homes in the occupied territories in 2018, as thousands of Palestinians, including children, were left homeless. According to a Friday report issued by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)'s Abdullah Hourani Center for Studies and Documentation, the demolitions which were carried out in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, had left some 1,300 Palestinians, including 225 children, homeless, as reported by Anadolu Agency (AA).

The report goes on to note that Israeli demolitions of Palestinian property have increased by 24 percent this year compared to 2017. The Israeli authorities frequently raze the family homes of Palestinians allegedly involved in attacks on Israelis, a policy rights groups decry as "collective punishment." Under the 1995 Oslo agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was divided into Areas A, B and C. Israel also prevents Palestinians from carrying out construction projects in parts of the West Bank designated as Area C under the agreement. Area C falls under the administrative and security control of Israel. Area C is currently home to around 300,000 Palestinians, the vast majority of whom are Bedouins and herding communities who predominantly live in tents, caravans and caves. Palestinian schools have also been subjected to Israeli violence. Last month, Israeli military forces tore down a tent that was being used as a classroom for Palestinian students in the Jordan Valley region of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In October, Israeli forces, using the same excuse, dismantled a number of makeshift classrooms set up for Palestinian students in the same area.