Demolition orders handed out in Tulkarem

Israeli forces handed demolition orders to six people on Thursday southeast of Tulkarem, locals said. Shufa village resident Abdul Fattah Enaya told Ma'an that the demolition orders gave him just one week to vacate his property. The other residents to receive demolition orders were Fuad Kamal Mustafa Ismail, Moaway Mussa, Ameen Odeh and Raed Muhammad Hassan Yousef, according to Enaya. The residents were notified that if they did not demolish their property then Israeli forces would do so at the expense of the owners. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released a report in July documenting alarming trends in the forced displacement of Palestinians in Area C. The OCHA report found that more demolitions have taken place so far in 2011 than in all of 2009 and 2010 combined. More than 300 Palestinian-owned structures were demolished by Israel in the first half of 2011 and 656 people, including 351 children, lost their homes, almost five times more than within the same period last year. There are also over 3,000 demolition orders outstanding, including 18 targeting schools. Over 60 percent of the West Bank is considered Area C where Israel retains control over security, planning and zoning.