SA-NUR, West Bank: A Palestinian village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank received demolition orders for 15 shops on Monday, a day after Israeli ministers celebrated the reestablishment of a settlement on a neighbouring hill.
Israel’s ruling far-right coalition has supported a rapid expansion of settlements and Palestinians have received thousands of demolition orders since the government took power, according to U.N. data. The release of the latest order was for Al-Fandaqumiya, according to a local official.
It comes after Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar gathered on Sunday to celebrate the reestablishment of a settlement in neighbouring Sa-Nur.
Sa-Nur settlement, in the northern West Bank, was one of 19 settlements evacuated under a 2005 disengagement plan, which also included Israel’s withdrawal of settlers from Gaza - a move that remains a source of bitterness for Israel’s right.
Palestinians have long hoped that the West Bank would form the heart of a future state, but settlement expansion has fragmented the territory.Most of the world considers Israel’s settlement activity in the West Bank illegal under international law. Israel disputes this.
Israel has approved 102 new settlements under the current government, compared with a total of 127 settlements existing before it was elected, according to Israeli rights group Peace Now.
Refaat Qaruriya, the head of the village council for the nearby Al-Fandaqumiya, said the demolition orders gave shopkeepers a month’s notice. He added Sa-Nur would make life difficult for village residents, who worried they would no longer be able to access their lands.The Israeli military said that demolition orders were because the stores were constructed without permits, and the timing was unrelated to Sa-Nur.
