In 2021, the Israeli targeting of EU-funded aid structures to the Palestinians tripled compared with the monthly average in 2020. In addition, Jewish settlers damaged and stole donor-funded aid, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).
In February, said the report titled ‘West Bank demolitions and displacement | February 2021’, the Israeli authorities demolished, forced people to demolish, or seized 153 Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem: this is the fourth-highest such figure recorded in a single month since OCHA began systematically documenting this practice in 2009, surpassed only by November 2020 (178), February (237) and March 2016 (179).
② 77 #humanitarian aid structures, including 47 #EU-funded, targeted in February. pic.twitter.com/MAhh4GAITB
— OCHA oPt (Palestine) (@ochaopt) March 16, 2021
This month’s incidents resulted in the displacement of 305 people, including 172 children, and affected the livelihoods or access to services of 435 others.
With the exception of two structures in Tura al Gharbiya in the Jenin district, demolished or damaged on punitive grounds, all the structures targeted were located in Area C of the occupied West Bank or in occupied East Jerusalem and were demolished due to a lack of building permits, which are nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain.
So far in 2021, a total of 93 structures provided as humanitarian aid have been demolished or seized by the Israeli authorities, compared with 157 structures in all of 2020.
#HumanRights Organizations Send Appeal to #UN Special Procedures on Forced #Evictions in #Jerusalem https://t.co/vO7mo4QcJv via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/mozLVQ87wP
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) March 16, 2021
Moreover, in Bruqin in the Salfit district, Jewish settlers destroyed, uprooted, or stole donor-funded saplings and infrastructure materials for a value of 2,300 euros.
Fifteen structures were demolished in East Jerusalem: seven were demolished by the West Jerusalem Israeli municipality and seven by the owners themselves, following the issuance of a demolition order.
(WAFA, PC, Social Media)
This is merely indicative of an increased effort by pro-Palestinian activities and their cronies to build illegal structures in area C where, according to the Oslo accords, Israel retains near exclusive control, including over law enforcement, planning and construction.