The Israeli Supreme Court ruled to temporarily halt the demolition of seven homes in the village of al-Walaja in the Bethlehem district of the occupied West Bank.
Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) attorneys filed a petition to the Supreme Court to challenge the pending demolitions.
The Supreme Court ruled to halt the demolition of seven homes in the village, protecting the homes temporarily. However, 21 other al-Walaja homes are slated for demolition by Israeli authorities.
Israeli settlement expansion 'a war on the mind' @AJENews https://t.co/ChmxI4PW9j #AlWalaja #Palestine #solidarity
— Hannah Brock (@badgeringhan) August 17, 2016
The 28 homes have received demolition orders from Israeli authorities under the pretext of building without Israeli-issued construction permits, which are nearly impossible to obtain for Palestinians in the West Bank.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities delivered 13 demolition notices for buildings in the Ein al-Jweizeh area of al-Walaja.
Residents said that nine of the notices had only given a few days to appeal in front of Israeli courts.
The village of al-Walaja has long been the target of Israeli land confiscations and mass Israeli demolitions for the purpose of expanding Israel’s illegal settlements and advancing the construction of Israel’s separation wall – deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2004.
(Maan, PC, Social Media)
