Ramallah / Qais Abu Samra / Anadolu

Israeli forces demolished, on Wednesday, five inhabited houses in the towns of Nahhalin and Za'atara in Bethlehem Governorate, south of the occupied West Bank, and a car wash northwest of Jerusalem, under the pretext of building without a permit.

Local sources told Anadolu that Israeli forces, accompanied by military bulldozers, stormed the town of Nahhalin west of Bethlehem, and positioned themselves in the 'Sbeiha' area, before demolishing four inhabited houses under the pretext of building without a permit in the area classified as 'C' according to the Oslo Accords.

The sources added that the Israeli forces assaulted residents, fired tear gas and sound bombs, causing several to suffer suffocation, and arrested a Palestinian after beating him, while closing the area.

They noted that an Israeli court had earlier rejected a petition filed by the homeowners to stop the demolition of 14 houses in the town.

Naim Funoun, one of the affected family members, said that Israeli forces stormed their house in the morning and forced the family to leave before demolishing it.

He told Anadolu: 'This house carries all my memories, but we will rebuild it, God willing.'

He stated that he woke up to the storming of Israeli forces and became homeless within an hour.

For his part, Mahmoud Funoun, father of the owner of one of the demolished houses, said that his daughter and her husband spent about 12 years building the house before Israeli forces demolished it in less than an hour.

He told Anadolu that the house was built on land owned by the family and inherited from ancestors, and it housed five children who became homeless after the demolition.

He pointed out that Israeli forces destroyed the house including its furniture and belongings, and arrested his daughter Haneen Funoun after she protested the demolition.

He said that what is happening represents 'a policy of displacement and repression' targeting Palestinians, adding that the families are living in difficult humanitarian conditions amid ongoing demolition operations.

In the town of Za'atara east of Bethlehem, Israeli forces demolished the house of Palestinian Raed Hassan Abu Ra'iya, consisting of an entrance and two floors, each floor with an area of 110 square meters, housing seven people.

Abu Ra'iya told Anadolu that Israeli forces notified him on Tuesday to evacuate his house before carrying out the demolition on Wednesday morning.

In a related context, Israeli forces, accompanied by bulldozers, stormed the town of Rafat northwest of Jerusalem on Wednesday, through the eastern gate wall of Qalandia village, passing through the Rafat junction, before demolishing several structures near the town's junction, according to local sources.

Palestinian Nasri Taim, one of those affected, told Anadolu that the structures include a car wash, and that he had completed the necessary paperwork for obtaining a permit, but Israeli forces demolished it without warning.

He added: 'I have the papers for the permit, and in the morning they came and demolished the car wash without warning,' considering that the goal is to 'pressure Palestinians.'

No clashes or arrests were reported during the demolition, according to the same sources.

According to the Palestinian Commission against the Wall and Settlement, during the first half of this year, Israeli authorities carried out 341 demolition operations resulting in the destruction of 740 Palestinian structures, affecting 923 Palestinians, and issued 254 new demolition notices under the pretext of building without a permit.

Under the 'Oslo II Agreement' signed in 1995, the West Bank is divided into three areas: 'A', 'B', and 'C'. Areas 'A' are under full Palestinian control, areas 'B' are under Palestinian civil and Israeli security control, while areas 'C' are under full Israeli control and constitute about 60 percent of the West Bank.

International humanitarian law prohibits the demolition of civilian property except for imperative military necessity, according to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949.

The United Nations says that Israeli demolition operations during 2025 have displaced more than 1,700 Palestinians.

Palestinians say that demolition operations, along with attacks by the Israeli army and settlers, including killing, bulldozing agricultural land, and preventing farmers from accessing it, aim to forcibly displace them and undermine the possibility of establishing an independent Palestinian state on the lands occupied in 1967.

The West Bank has been witnessing an escalation in attacks by the Israeli army and settlers since October 2023, resulting in the killing of 1,182 Palestinians, in addition to the arrest of nearly 24,000 Palestinians, according to official data.