Israeli forces demolish 14 Palestinian buildings

Israeli authorities demolished 14 Palestinian-owned structures in Area C and East Jerusalem on the grounds that they lacked Israeli-issued building permits, a report issued by the United Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. The incidents took place in the period between April 30 and May 6, affecting approximately 50 families but no displacement has been recorded as a result, OCHA said in the report released Saturday. These demolitions bring the total number of structures demolished in the past two weeks to over 40, displacing around 50 people, it said. The demolished structures included three agricultural water cisterns, and a network of electricity poles supplying power to 20 households in Beit Ula village in Hebron. As many as 1,000 olive and almond trees were damaged during the demolitions on the grounds that the area is designated as a state land . Additional demolitions included three agricultural sheds in the villages of Wadi An Nis and Al Khader (both in Bethlehem) and Mikhmas (Jerusalem), two automobile repair shops and a marble shop in Jinsafut village in Qalqiliya, and a balcony in Ath Thuri (Abu Tor) village in East Jerusalem. This week, Israeli authorities also issued stop-work orders against a five-storey building in Abu Dis in Jerusalem governorate, a mosque in Ras el Amud in East Jerusalem and several houses in Deir Nidham village in Ramallah, on the grounds that they have no Israeli issued building permits. Violent incidents in the access restricted areas (ARA) continued during the week but resulted in no injuries. In the context of these restrictions on Palestinian access to areas near the fence between Gaza and Israel, Israeli forces fired warning shots towards youths and workers collecting scrap metal, and conducted at least four land leveling operations inside the Gaza Strip. In similar restrictions on access to fishing areas beyond 3 nautical miles from the shore, Israeli naval forces opened fire towards Palestinian fishing boats on at least 12 occasions, forcing them ashore. No injuries were reported but at least two boats and some fishing equipment sustained damage.