Israeli forces demolish inhabited house south of Bethlehem
The house belonged to a local resident whose family was absent, and no demolition notice had been issued, an activist said.
Israeli forces demolished an inhabited house in the village of Umm Salamuna, south of Bethlehem, on Monday, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
Mahmoud Taqatqa, an activist involved in the resistance against the separation wall and settlements, said the forces demolished a single-story house measuring 150 square meters in total.
The house belonged to a local resident named Nader Abu Shaqra, Taqatqa said.
Neither Abu Shaqra nor any member of his family was present at the time of the demolition, Taqatqa said.
Taqatqa said the house had not previously received a demolition notice, so its destruction came as a surprise to the family.
He also noted that the forces have issued demolition notices for more than 17 other houses in the same village.
Umm Salamuna is a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, an area Israel has controlled militarily since capturing it in the 1967 war.
Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes.
Palestinians in the West Bank say Israeli authorities rarely grant building permits to Palestinian homeowners, leaving many houses exposed to demolition orders, a point Israeli officials have generally rejected by citing the need to enforce planning rules.
