Record Number of Palestinian West Bank Homes Demolished in 2016

Last year (2016) saw a marked increase in the number of homes Israeli authorities demolished throughout the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, citing lack of building permits as a pretext. The scale of demolitions documented by B’Tselem this year “is the most extensive since we began systematically documenting demolitions in 2004.”

In East Jerusalem, authorities demolished 88 residential buildings and 48 other structures. Elsewhere in the West Bank, authorities demolished 274 residential buildings and 372 non-residential ones. According to B’Tselem “these demolitions are indicative of Israel’s efforts to limit Palestinian presence in the areas it seeks to take over, taking advantage of planning and administrative tools to that end.”

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As part of this policy, in 2016, Israel demolished 274 homes in the West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem), thereby rendering homeless 1,134 individuals, including 591 minors. The extent of devastation Israel wreaked in 2016 outstripped the number of homes it demolished in 2014 and 2015 combined.

Demolition operations by the Israeli authorities focused primarily on three major regions: The South Hebron Hills, the Maale Adumim area and the Jordan Valley. Efforts to drive dozens of small shepherding and farming communities out of Area C are particularly palpable in these areas. In the Maale Aumim area, which includes land that Israel refers to as Area E1, authorities demolished 49 dwellings; 224 people, including 115 minors, were rendered homeless. In the South Hebron Hills, in communities facing the threat of expulsion, authorities demolished 34 residences; 166 people, including 87 minors, were rendered homeless. Demolitions were particularly extensive in Jordan Valley communities: 551 people, including 291 minors were left homeless after authorities demolished 123 residences there.

Israeli authorities continued their discriminatory policies against East Jerusalem’s Palestinian residents as part of an overall policy designed to cause Palestinians to leave the city. Their actions are also part of efforts to achieve a demographic and geographic reality that would frustrate any future attempt to question Israeli sovereignty in East Jerusalem. In 2016, Israeli authorities demolished 73 homes in East Jerusalem. Their owners demolished fifteen others after receiving demolition orders from the municipality. They demolished their own homes in order to avoid being charged by the municipality for the cost of the demolition and hefty municipal fines. All told, authorities rendered homeless 295 people, including 160 minors. This is the largest number of home demolitions recorded in a single year since B’Tselem began documenting home demolitions in East Jerusalem in 2004. Authorities also demolished 48 non-residential structures. These figures reflect a sharp increase in the number of demolitions in East Jerusalem. In contrast, authorities demolished 47 homes in East Jerusalem in 2015.

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