Israeli forces demolish Palestinian home in Al-Hijra amid ongoing tensions

LONDON: Israeli authorities demolished a Palestinian house in the village of Al-Hijra, south of Hebron, in the West Bank on Monday. Anti-settlement activist Iyad Masharqa said that forces raided the Al-Qasr neighborhood in Al-Hijra and demolished Fida Al-Atiri's house, measuring 200 sq. meters, for being built without a permit. Forces destroyed multiple fruit-bearing trees, leveled the surrounding land, and destroyed a water well, along with stone retaining walls belonging to Al-Atiri, according to the Palestine News Agency. Israel regularly denies Palestinians building permits, while illegally expanding Jewish settlements in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem in June 1967 and has since maintained a military-run regime over security and civilian matters related to Palestinian lives. It also occupies nearly 70 percent of the Gaza Strip after war erupted in the enclave after October 2023. The Israeli regime faces charges of war crimes and genocide in the Occupied Territories. Israeli forces have been increasingly active in Hebron since an attack on Oct. 23 in which two soldiers were shot and killed. More than 4,000 people were displaced from their homes during the 11-day military siege that followed, before troops declared their withdrawal earlier this month. Many residents have reportedly returned to their homes to find them damaged or demolished.