{"id":304560,"date":"2025-10-13T12:00:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T11:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=304560"},"modified":"2025-10-07T09:54:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T08:54:25","slug":"west-bank-record-number-of-demolitions-over-building-permits-as-israel-furthers-annexation-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2025\/10\/west-bank-record-number-of-demolitions-over-building-permits-as-israel-furthers-annexation-agenda\/","title":{"rendered":"West Bank: Record Number of Demolitions over Building Permits as Israel Furthers Annexation Agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"
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6 Oct 2025 – <\/em>In less than nine months, Israel has demolished more Palestinian homes and structures in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, over building permits than in the whole of last year, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) on 1 October 2025 said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n

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Eighty-six Palestinian structures have already been demolished this year in Khallet Athaba, Masafer Yatta, under Israel\u2019s permit regime. Photo: Ahmad Al-Bazz\/NRC<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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By 30 September, Israeli authorities had demolished 1,288 structures over building permits, nearly five a day, including 138 funded by international aid.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

More than 1,400 Palestinians were displaced and\u00a0nearly 38,000\u00a0affected\u00a0through the loss of livelihood, agricultural and water and sanitation infrastructure. <\/span><\/p>\n

This marks a\u00a039 per cent increase\u00a0in demolitions\u00a0over building permits\u00a0compared with the same period last year, when\u00a0929\u00a0structures were torn down\u00a0due to lack of permits.\u00a0Israeli authorities demolished a\u00a0total\u00a0of 1,281 structures\u00a0over building permits in\u00a02024.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cFamilies are\u00a0being\u00a0stripped of homes, water and livelihoods in a calculated effort to drive them from their land and make way for settlements,\u201d\u00a0said Angelita\u00a0Caredda, NRC\u2019s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not accidental destruction. It is a deliberate policy of dispossession.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The demolitions are rooted in a planning system that denies Palestinians the right to\u00a0build\u00a0in Area C, which covers more than 60 per cent of the West Bank and\u00a0remains\u00a0under full Israeli control. <\/span><\/p>\n

Palestinians must apply for permits that are almost never granted. Since October 2023, 282\u00a0applications have been submitted. Not a single one was approved.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Israel has also carried out 37 punitive demolitions this year, matching the record set in 2023.<\/p>\n

These demolitions involve destroying or sealing the homes of Palestinians accused of attacks against Israelis. The practice punishes entire families and constitutes collective punishment, prohibited under international law.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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At the same time, Israeli military operations in Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarm refugee camps have left\u00a0destruction not captured in official demolition figures. The UN reports at least 245 buildings destroyed and 157 severely damaged, with nearly 32,000 refugees displaced. <\/span><\/p>\n

With limited access to the camps, the real toll is likely far higher.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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These developments come a year after the UN General Assembly endorsed the July 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which found Israel\u2019s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful and said it must end as rapidly as possible.<\/p>\n

In its 18 September 2024 resolution, the Assembly gave Israel 12 months to withdraw and called on states not to recognise annexation, not to aid violations, and to act together to end them. That period has now lapsed, yet Israel has only tightened its grip.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cInstead of ending its occupation, Israel is entrenching it and accelerating its annexation\u00a0agenda,\u201d Caredda said. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOver 150 states have recognised Palestine, yet the land that state needs to survive is disappearing. Governments must urgently\u00a0act to protect Palestinians from the relentless erosion of their rights.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Notes:<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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