7 feb 2016
Israeli authorities on Sunday gave a notice of "closure and confiscation" on the family homes of four Palestinian teens, aged 16-19, accused of causing an Israeli driver's death by throwing stones at his car in early September, the families said.
The families of Mohammad Salah Mohammad Abu Kiff, Walid Fares Mustafa al-Atrash, Abed Mahmoud Abed Rabbo Dawiyat and Mohammad Jihad al-Taweel, said that their homes in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sur Baher are being confiscated, in order to deter future attacks against Israelis.
The homes, which house 23 people, are to be closed and confiscated on February 10th.
The families said, according to Ma'an, that the decision to kick them out of their homes is unfair, particularly because the Israeli court has yet to reach a final judgement in the case of the four teens. The families added that the move amounted to collective punishment.
The families denied that their sons were responsible for the death of the Israeli driver, claiming that the four teens were in fact throwing rocks, but at least 500 meters away from where the accident occurred.
While it has become common practice during the past several months for Israeli forces to demolish homes of attackers as a method thought to deter attacks, it is unclear why Israeli authorities have ruled to confiscate the homes, instead of destroy them.
The families of Mohammad Salah Mohammad Abu Kiff, Walid Fares Mustafa al-Atrash, Abed Mahmoud Abed Rabbo Dawiyat and Mohammad Jihad al-Taweel, said that their homes in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sur Baher are being confiscated, in order to deter future attacks against Israelis.
The homes, which house 23 people, are to be closed and confiscated on February 10th.
The families said, according to Ma'an, that the decision to kick them out of their homes is unfair, particularly because the Israeli court has yet to reach a final judgement in the case of the four teens. The families added that the move amounted to collective punishment.
The families denied that their sons were responsible for the death of the Israeli driver, claiming that the four teens were in fact throwing rocks, but at least 500 meters away from where the accident occurred.
While it has become common practice during the past several months for Israeli forces to demolish homes of attackers as a method thought to deter attacks, it is unclear why Israeli authorities have ruled to confiscate the homes, instead of destroy them.
Iroshalim Hebrew newspaper disclosed a new settlement project plan to be constructed over a land owned by a the Greek Orthodox Church in Abu Tour district in eastern occupied Jerusalem.
According to Friday's issue of the weekly newspaper, the plan includes luxurious settlement units overlooking the neighborhoods of Occupied Jerusalem in order to attract settlers.
Housing structures and a hotel with an area estimated at ten dunums will be constructed over the plot possessed by the church and was let to Jewish investors one hundred years ago.
About 400 residents signed a petition to object on changing that historic site and underlined that the area has no infrastructure. The plan is still in the first phase of construction, but coordination is going on with Israeli competent authorities, the newspaper stated.
Israeli forces tend to implement settlement projects in Occupied Jerusalem via investment companies and settlement institutions under different names in order to cover its real objectives of establishing new settlements.
Recently, deals with Christians have been made for selling or letting lands to Israeli settlement societies. Such deals sparked debates among the Christian figures who refuse the Israeli occupation and its aggressive practices.
According to Friday's issue of the weekly newspaper, the plan includes luxurious settlement units overlooking the neighborhoods of Occupied Jerusalem in order to attract settlers.
Housing structures and a hotel with an area estimated at ten dunums will be constructed over the plot possessed by the church and was let to Jewish investors one hundred years ago.
About 400 residents signed a petition to object on changing that historic site and underlined that the area has no infrastructure. The plan is still in the first phase of construction, but coordination is going on with Israeli competent authorities, the newspaper stated.
Israeli forces tend to implement settlement projects in Occupied Jerusalem via investment companies and settlement institutions under different names in order to cover its real objectives of establishing new settlements.
Recently, deals with Christians have been made for selling or letting lands to Israeli settlement societies. Such deals sparked debates among the Christian figures who refuse the Israeli occupation and its aggressive practices.
6 feb 2016
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Israeli forces prepare the illegal invasion of Palestinian houses by settlers
On February 3rd, 2016, Israeli occupation forces violently opened the door of houses in the vicinity of the Ibrahimi Mosque by cutting the door locks with a disk grinder, and then entered these houses. The houses are located in al-Sahla Street near the Ibrahimi mosque, settlers illegally invaded and occupied them two weeks ago, but were then evicted by the police and army the next morning. After the Israeli army removed the door-locks of the two houses, Israeli construction workers took the external an internal dimensions of both Palestinian properties as if they are already owned by Israeli settlers. The settlers were protected during their illegal activities by big groups of soldiers. Palestinian residents who walked trough the checkpoint in front of these houses were body-checked and harassed by the soldiers. The video below illustrates how inhumane and degrading these body-searches and ID-checks are, with soldiers ordering Palestinians to take off clothing regardless of weather and treating them without even a slight bit of dignity. |
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) revealed that Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) demolished 42 Palestinian-owned structures in three communities in Area C and East Jerusalem in one week on grounds that they lack Israeli-issued building permits.
In its weekly report, OCHA documented the demolition of 42 Palestinian structures including 32 residences, seven water cisterns and one agriculture structure.
As a result, 168 people, including 94 children, were displaced and 24 others were otherwise affected. One of the affected communities, Ein Ayoub Bedouin community located in Ramallah governorate, was entirely demolished in December 2013.
The Israeli authorities, on the other hand, informed the Supreme Court about their intention to execute, without additional warning, demolition orders in the Palestinian herding community of Susiya (al-Khalil).
The orders were issued against structures that were allegedly built in contravention of a previous court injunction. According to information provided by the Israeli authorities verbally, this decision would affect up to 40 structures.
All the residents of the Palestinian herding community of Khirbet ar-Ras al-Ahmar (Tubas), 11 families, including 23 children, were temporarily displaced from their homes, for nine hours, to make way for an Israeli military training exercise on 27 January, the report pointed out.
This is one of 38 Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities (6,224 residents), located in areas designed by the Israeli authorities as a closed zone for military training (firing zones).
In two separate incidents across Area C, Israeli forces seized trucks and construction materials, on grounds that they were used to carry out “unauthorized works”. These included three trucks working on a rehabilitation project funded by a humanitarian donor in Ad-Deir community in the northern Jordan Valley (Tubas).
The Israeli Supreme Court dismissed pending petitions against the route of the Separation Wall next to the town of Beit Jala (Bethlehem). The petitioners argued that the Wall will undermine their agricultural livelihoods, damage the fabric of their communities and cause environmental damage to historic agricultural terraces.
OCHA weekly report also documented at least 17 incidents involving Israeli forces’ opening of warning fire at Palestinian civilians in the Access Restricted Areas (ARA) at land and sea in the Gaza Strip, resulting in no casualties but forcing farmers and fishermen to leave.
Power cuts of up to 20 hours per day were reported across the Gaza Strip during the week, compared to 12-16 hours previously, due to breaks in the feeder lines from Israel and Egypt and insufficient fuel supply to operate the Gaza Power Plant.
A 53-year-old man suffocated to death after inhaling toxic smoke while heating his home using charcoal.
In its weekly report, OCHA documented the demolition of 42 Palestinian structures including 32 residences, seven water cisterns and one agriculture structure.
As a result, 168 people, including 94 children, were displaced and 24 others were otherwise affected. One of the affected communities, Ein Ayoub Bedouin community located in Ramallah governorate, was entirely demolished in December 2013.
The Israeli authorities, on the other hand, informed the Supreme Court about their intention to execute, without additional warning, demolition orders in the Palestinian herding community of Susiya (al-Khalil).
The orders were issued against structures that were allegedly built in contravention of a previous court injunction. According to information provided by the Israeli authorities verbally, this decision would affect up to 40 structures.
All the residents of the Palestinian herding community of Khirbet ar-Ras al-Ahmar (Tubas), 11 families, including 23 children, were temporarily displaced from their homes, for nine hours, to make way for an Israeli military training exercise on 27 January, the report pointed out.
This is one of 38 Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities (6,224 residents), located in areas designed by the Israeli authorities as a closed zone for military training (firing zones).
In two separate incidents across Area C, Israeli forces seized trucks and construction materials, on grounds that they were used to carry out “unauthorized works”. These included three trucks working on a rehabilitation project funded by a humanitarian donor in Ad-Deir community in the northern Jordan Valley (Tubas).
The Israeli Supreme Court dismissed pending petitions against the route of the Separation Wall next to the town of Beit Jala (Bethlehem). The petitioners argued that the Wall will undermine their agricultural livelihoods, damage the fabric of their communities and cause environmental damage to historic agricultural terraces.
OCHA weekly report also documented at least 17 incidents involving Israeli forces’ opening of warning fire at Palestinian civilians in the Access Restricted Areas (ARA) at land and sea in the Gaza Strip, resulting in no casualties but forcing farmers and fishermen to leave.
Power cuts of up to 20 hours per day were reported across the Gaza Strip during the week, compared to 12-16 hours previously, due to breaks in the feeder lines from Israel and Egypt and insufficient fuel supply to operate the Gaza Power Plant.
A 53-year-old man suffocated to death after inhaling toxic smoke while heating his home using charcoal.
5 feb 2016
An Israeli group known as Saving Jewish Jerusalem called for the immediate establishment of a “security fence” in occupied Jerusalem in order to separate it from its eastern part.
The group was founded by the former cabinet minister Haim Ramon and a number of Knesset members and former army leaders, Maariv Hebrew newspaper revealed.
“Saving Jewish Jerusalem's platform, which will also be presented to the public, calls for handing control of 28 Palestinian villages in East Jerusalem to the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The villages in question had been an integral part of the West Bank until Israel annexed them in 1967.”
By removing some 200,000 Palestinians from the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem, the city’s Jews will constitute more than 80% of its residents, and the percentage of Palestinians will drop to less than 20%, from the nearly 40% today, according to the newspaper.
Not only that, the group stresses, revoking the Palestinians’ Israeli residency permits will ease the economic burden these villages impose on the Israeli taxpayer, some 2-3 billion Israeli shekels ($500-$750 million) in social and medical care.
Members of the movement argue that the Palestinian villages are massively detrimental to the prosperity of the Israeli capital in terms of security, demographic balance, standard of living and economic well-being.
The group was founded by the former cabinet minister Haim Ramon and a number of Knesset members and former army leaders, Maariv Hebrew newspaper revealed.
“Saving Jewish Jerusalem's platform, which will also be presented to the public, calls for handing control of 28 Palestinian villages in East Jerusalem to the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The villages in question had been an integral part of the West Bank until Israel annexed them in 1967.”
By removing some 200,000 Palestinians from the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem, the city’s Jews will constitute more than 80% of its residents, and the percentage of Palestinians will drop to less than 20%, from the nearly 40% today, according to the newspaper.
Not only that, the group stresses, revoking the Palestinians’ Israeli residency permits will ease the economic burden these villages impose on the Israeli taxpayer, some 2-3 billion Israeli shekels ($500-$750 million) in social and medical care.
Members of the movement argue that the Palestinian villages are massively detrimental to the prosperity of the Israeli capital in terms of security, demographic balance, standard of living and economic well-being.
Israeli soldiers stand guard as an excavator uproots olive trees to break ground for construction of the wall section.
In May of 2015, Israel commenced with the construction of the apartheid wall in the northern Bethlehem area; namely the area around the Cremisan Valley in Beit-Jala, without taking into consideration the valley’s potential of outstanding universal value.
The site is an integral part of the serial nomination ‘Palestine, Land of Olives and Vines’, which also includes the ‘Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir’.
On February 2nd, 2016 the Israeli Antiquities Authorities commenced with an archaeological excavation at Khirbet en-Najjar, which contains ruins of human settlements dating back to the Roman period.
In the absence of a final peace agreement, the Israeli occupation is bound by provisions to securing the occupied Palestinian state’s cultural and natural heritage, and is responsible for its protection in accordance with international law -- namely, the Hague Convention and Regulations of 1907, the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, and the Hague Convention and Protocol of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
These provisions are in addition to the UNESCO Recommendations on International Principles Applicable to Archaeological Excavations in New Delhi in 1956, the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, the 1972 World Heritage Convention, along with other resolutions and recommendations concerning cultural property in Palestine.
The archaeological excavation at Khirbet en-Najjar is, according to the PNN, being conducted by the Israeli cccupation’s Antiquities Authority, without informing Palestinians. The initial investigation conducted by the Palestinian Department of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage revealed that several artifacts and objects were found during the excavation, and were confiscated by the Antiquities Authority.
Moreover, the construction of the wall in the Cremisan Area, and the archaeological excavation at Khirbet en-Najjar, are considered a clear violation of international laws and agreements.
The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities condemned the occupation’s acts of destruction before cultural and natural heritage resources, and is appealing to the international community to immediately take all measures necessary in order to pressure Israel to permanently cease construction of the wall and excavations on and around the Cremisan Valley, and to refrain from further unilateral actions that could inflame the situation.
In May of 2015, Israel commenced with the construction of the apartheid wall in the northern Bethlehem area; namely the area around the Cremisan Valley in Beit-Jala, without taking into consideration the valley’s potential of outstanding universal value.
The site is an integral part of the serial nomination ‘Palestine, Land of Olives and Vines’, which also includes the ‘Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir’.
On February 2nd, 2016 the Israeli Antiquities Authorities commenced with an archaeological excavation at Khirbet en-Najjar, which contains ruins of human settlements dating back to the Roman period.
In the absence of a final peace agreement, the Israeli occupation is bound by provisions to securing the occupied Palestinian state’s cultural and natural heritage, and is responsible for its protection in accordance with international law -- namely, the Hague Convention and Regulations of 1907, the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, and the Hague Convention and Protocol of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
These provisions are in addition to the UNESCO Recommendations on International Principles Applicable to Archaeological Excavations in New Delhi in 1956, the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, the 1972 World Heritage Convention, along with other resolutions and recommendations concerning cultural property in Palestine.
The archaeological excavation at Khirbet en-Najjar is, according to the PNN, being conducted by the Israeli cccupation’s Antiquities Authority, without informing Palestinians. The initial investigation conducted by the Palestinian Department of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage revealed that several artifacts and objects were found during the excavation, and were confiscated by the Antiquities Authority.
Moreover, the construction of the wall in the Cremisan Area, and the archaeological excavation at Khirbet en-Najjar, are considered a clear violation of international laws and agreements.
The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities condemned the occupation’s acts of destruction before cultural and natural heritage resources, and is appealing to the international community to immediately take all measures necessary in order to pressure Israel to permanently cease construction of the wall and excavations on and around the Cremisan Valley, and to refrain from further unilateral actions that could inflame the situation.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnapped 11 Palestinian youngsters and notified the demolition of six civilian homes in an arbitrary sweep launched across the occupied West Bank and Occupied Jerusalem overnight Thursday and at dawn Friday.
A PIC journalist said the IOF kidnapped 20-year-old Hassan Urduniyeh after they wreaked havoc on his family home in eastern Nablus province.
Two more Palestinians were kidnapped by the IOF from Nablus. The IOF further kidnapped a Palestinian citizen from his own home in the central West Bank province of Ramallah and two others from their family homes in Occupied Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, five Palestinian civilians were kidnapped by the occupation troops from Jenin’s southern town of Qabatiya at predawn time. Jenin’s deputy governor Kamal Abu al-Rub said the occupation army tightened the siege imposed on Qabatiya and closed its access roads before Palestinian passengers and merchants.
He added that the heavy spates of teargas canisters discharged by the IOF on Wednesday burned down dozens of fruit and vegetable packages. The IOF also notified the confiscation and demolition of prisoner Amjad Aleiwi’s home on allegations of his connection with an anti-occupation attack carried out in eastern Nablus a few months earlier.
A similar notification was handed to the family of prisoner Zayd Amer in Amman Street, in Nablus. Some three months ago, the Israeli occupation knocked down the family homes of Palestinian prisoners on the same charges.
Meanwhile, IOF soldiers raided the family homes of the two slain Palestinians Ihab and Abdul Rahman Msudi in al-Sharif Mount, in al-Khalil, and ravaged the buildings at the crack of dawn, before they forced out the native inhabitants and took measurements of the homes.
The IOF further threatened to raze the homes of the two slain anti-occupation activists Omar Assaf and Anan Abu Habseh in the Qalandiya refugee camp, in northern Occupied Jerusalem.
A PIC journalist said the IOF kidnapped 20-year-old Hassan Urduniyeh after they wreaked havoc on his family home in eastern Nablus province.
Two more Palestinians were kidnapped by the IOF from Nablus. The IOF further kidnapped a Palestinian citizen from his own home in the central West Bank province of Ramallah and two others from their family homes in Occupied Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, five Palestinian civilians were kidnapped by the occupation troops from Jenin’s southern town of Qabatiya at predawn time. Jenin’s deputy governor Kamal Abu al-Rub said the occupation army tightened the siege imposed on Qabatiya and closed its access roads before Palestinian passengers and merchants.
He added that the heavy spates of teargas canisters discharged by the IOF on Wednesday burned down dozens of fruit and vegetable packages. The IOF also notified the confiscation and demolition of prisoner Amjad Aleiwi’s home on allegations of his connection with an anti-occupation attack carried out in eastern Nablus a few months earlier.
A similar notification was handed to the family of prisoner Zayd Amer in Amman Street, in Nablus. Some three months ago, the Israeli occupation knocked down the family homes of Palestinian prisoners on the same charges.
Meanwhile, IOF soldiers raided the family homes of the two slain Palestinians Ihab and Abdul Rahman Msudi in al-Sharif Mount, in al-Khalil, and ravaged the buildings at the crack of dawn, before they forced out the native inhabitants and took measurements of the homes.
The IOF further threatened to raze the homes of the two slain anti-occupation activists Omar Assaf and Anan Abu Habseh in the Qalandiya refugee camp, in northern Occupied Jerusalem.
Jerusalem’s Department of Islamic Awqaf (Endowment) and al-Aqsa Affairs urged the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) to cease its ongoing vandalism at the Umayyad Palaces, to the southwest of Muslims’ holy al-Aqsa Mosque.
Director-General of the Endowment Department, Azzam al-Khatib slammed the Israeli occupation for stepping up assaults on the Umayyad Palaces and called for ceasing excavation works beneath the site.
Al-Khatib called on the occupation authorities, in a protest letter sent to the Jerusalem police chief, to remove the metal and wooden platforms built in the southwestern corners of the holy al-Aqsa to allow Jewish prayers in the holy site.
He further urged the IOA to cancel a court rule, issued last week, to expand the prayer plazas for non-orthodox Jews at the expense of Muslims’ own rights at the Mosque.
Al-Khatib also spoke out against the Jewish names imposed on the site and the sacrilegious rituals performed by Israeli fanatics. He called for giving the Umayyad Palaces back to their original owners—the Jordanian Endowment authorities.
Director-General of the Endowment Department, Azzam al-Khatib slammed the Israeli occupation for stepping up assaults on the Umayyad Palaces and called for ceasing excavation works beneath the site.
Al-Khatib called on the occupation authorities, in a protest letter sent to the Jerusalem police chief, to remove the metal and wooden platforms built in the southwestern corners of the holy al-Aqsa to allow Jewish prayers in the holy site.
He further urged the IOA to cancel a court rule, issued last week, to expand the prayer plazas for non-orthodox Jews at the expense of Muslims’ own rights at the Mosque.
Al-Khatib also spoke out against the Jewish names imposed on the site and the sacrilegious rituals performed by Israeli fanatics. He called for giving the Umayyad Palaces back to their original owners—the Jordanian Endowment authorities.
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Thursday morning razed housing facilities in al-Maksar area in northern Jordan Valley for the claim of lacking construction permits.
Mutaz Bsharat, the official of the northern Jordan Valley file, told the PIC reporter that Israeli forces demolished housing tents and other structures used for raising animals.
The properties belong to two Palestinian families and shelter more than 20 persons, he elaborated. The residents of that area raise animals for a living and depend on livestock for their survival and now they have become homeless, Bsharat pointed out.
Continued Demolitions in Jordan Valley, Jerusalem
Israeli forces, on Thursday, demolished five homes and four other Palestinian-owned structures in the Jordan Valley town of Tammun, in the occupied West Bank.
A spokesperson for Israel's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) told Ma'an News Agency that Israel's Civil Administration, as well as security forces, demolished the structures because they were built illegally "without necessary permits."
"As part of this enforcement, five residential tents and three buildings that were used as sheds, and a tin construction used as a restroom were demolished," COGAT said.
Images sent by COGAT show a European Union symbol on the side of the structures, suggesting they may have been internationally donated.
Israel routinely demolishes “illegally built” Palestinian homes and structures in areas under military occupation, where building permits are difficult for Palestinians to obtain.
In the last week of January alone, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs documented the destruction 42 of Palestinian-owned structures across the occupied Palestinian territory. The demolitions displaced 168 people, including 94 children.
Palestinians living in the Jordan Valley -- nearly all of which lies under complete Israeli control in Area C -- are particularly vulnerable and have for decades faced pressure from Israeli authorities to leave the area.
Last month, the Israeli army forcibly displaced a Palestinian herding community known as Khirbet al-Ras al-Ahmar for nine hours, during a military training exercise.
The community is one of at least 88 Palestinian Bedouin herding communities who reside in areas designated by the Israeli authorities as closed military zones intended to be used for military training, according to the UNOCHA.
Israeli authorities, on Thursday, also demolished residential tents and animal barns village of Mekassar, in the northern Jordan Valley, as well as three agricultural structures in the village of Bil’in, near Ramallah, according to local sources.
Aref Daraghmeh, head of the local council of al-Maleh area, told WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency that an Israeli army force broke into the village in the early morning hours, before proceeding to demolish animal barns and tents used by local Palestinian Bedouins, again under the pretext of construction without a permit.
Meanwhile, witnesses said that the Israeli army broke into the village of Bal’in, west of Ramallah, and proceeded to demolish three structures used by local Palestinian villages for agricultural purposes, in addition to another room outside a swimming pool in the village.
Soldiers also cordoned off the area and used teargas canisters and light-bombs during the offensive in Bil’in.
Both villages are located in Area C in the West Bank, under complete Israeli military and civil control.
Over the course of 2015, Israel demolished 521 structures in Area C as well as in occupied East Jerusalem, displacing 636 people, according to the UNOCHA.
The vast majority of these demolitions were carried out on the grounds of construction without a permit. Between 2010 and 2014, only 1.5 percent of applications for building permits in Area C were approved by Israeli occupation authorities, UNOCHA further reports.
Also on Thrusday, Israeli authorities demolished a privately owned Palestinian hall in the town of al-Ezariya, east of Jerusalem, also under the pretext of construction without a permit, according to local sources.
Meanwhile, clashes erupted between Israeli troops and Palestinian youth in the nearby town of Abu Dis, shortly after troops raided a building in the town.
Soldiers used teargas and toxic gas canisters, stun grenades and firebombs to disperse the protesting youth, but there were no reports of human casualties.
According to the Ministry of Health, at least 168 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the beginning of unrest in the occupied Palestinian territories in early October 2015.
Mutaz Bsharat, the official of the northern Jordan Valley file, told the PIC reporter that Israeli forces demolished housing tents and other structures used for raising animals.
The properties belong to two Palestinian families and shelter more than 20 persons, he elaborated. The residents of that area raise animals for a living and depend on livestock for their survival and now they have become homeless, Bsharat pointed out.
Continued Demolitions in Jordan Valley, Jerusalem
Israeli forces, on Thursday, demolished five homes and four other Palestinian-owned structures in the Jordan Valley town of Tammun, in the occupied West Bank.
A spokesperson for Israel's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) told Ma'an News Agency that Israel's Civil Administration, as well as security forces, demolished the structures because they were built illegally "without necessary permits."
"As part of this enforcement, five residential tents and three buildings that were used as sheds, and a tin construction used as a restroom were demolished," COGAT said.
Images sent by COGAT show a European Union symbol on the side of the structures, suggesting they may have been internationally donated.
Israel routinely demolishes “illegally built” Palestinian homes and structures in areas under military occupation, where building permits are difficult for Palestinians to obtain.
In the last week of January alone, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs documented the destruction 42 of Palestinian-owned structures across the occupied Palestinian territory. The demolitions displaced 168 people, including 94 children.
Palestinians living in the Jordan Valley -- nearly all of which lies under complete Israeli control in Area C -- are particularly vulnerable and have for decades faced pressure from Israeli authorities to leave the area.
Last month, the Israeli army forcibly displaced a Palestinian herding community known as Khirbet al-Ras al-Ahmar for nine hours, during a military training exercise.
The community is one of at least 88 Palestinian Bedouin herding communities who reside in areas designated by the Israeli authorities as closed military zones intended to be used for military training, according to the UNOCHA.
Israeli authorities, on Thursday, also demolished residential tents and animal barns village of Mekassar, in the northern Jordan Valley, as well as three agricultural structures in the village of Bil’in, near Ramallah, according to local sources.
Aref Daraghmeh, head of the local council of al-Maleh area, told WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency that an Israeli army force broke into the village in the early morning hours, before proceeding to demolish animal barns and tents used by local Palestinian Bedouins, again under the pretext of construction without a permit.
Meanwhile, witnesses said that the Israeli army broke into the village of Bal’in, west of Ramallah, and proceeded to demolish three structures used by local Palestinian villages for agricultural purposes, in addition to another room outside a swimming pool in the village.
Soldiers also cordoned off the area and used teargas canisters and light-bombs during the offensive in Bil’in.
Both villages are located in Area C in the West Bank, under complete Israeli military and civil control.
Over the course of 2015, Israel demolished 521 structures in Area C as well as in occupied East Jerusalem, displacing 636 people, according to the UNOCHA.
The vast majority of these demolitions were carried out on the grounds of construction without a permit. Between 2010 and 2014, only 1.5 percent of applications for building permits in Area C were approved by Israeli occupation authorities, UNOCHA further reports.
Also on Thrusday, Israeli authorities demolished a privately owned Palestinian hall in the town of al-Ezariya, east of Jerusalem, also under the pretext of construction without a permit, according to local sources.
Meanwhile, clashes erupted between Israeli troops and Palestinian youth in the nearby town of Abu Dis, shortly after troops raided a building in the town.
Soldiers used teargas and toxic gas canisters, stun grenades and firebombs to disperse the protesting youth, but there were no reports of human casualties.
According to the Ministry of Health, at least 168 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the beginning of unrest in the occupied Palestinian territories in early October 2015.
