Israeli forces backed by bulldozers have demolished two homes in the occupied West Bank, leaving at least nine Palestinians homeless.

Palestinian rights organizations said on Wednesday that the bulldozers destroyed a home in the village of Khader, near Bethlehem.

The building had been home to nine members of the Musa family, including a baby, according to the West Bank-based Popular Struggle Coordination Committee.

The Israeli military which confirmed the demolition claimed that the structure was an unfinished and uninhabited building in the northern village of Haris.
A military spokesman said both structures had been put up without the necessary construction permits.

The incident follows a new order by Israel according to which thousands of Palestinians will be forced out from their homeland.

The decree, which will come into force this week, stipulates the expulsion of Palestinians whose identification cards bear home addresses in the Gaza Strip or those who were born in the West Bank or abroad but for various reasons "have lost their residency status" according to Israeli-imposed regulations.

Palestinian Authority officials and the Arab League harshly condemned the threat and called on the Palestinians to resist any order which could lead to their expulsion.

(Press TV)