The Mission of the State of Palestine would like to share this European External Action Service report with you on demolitions in Occupied Palestinian territory for the first six months of 2020.

The demolitions have increased compared to 2019 and 38 of the demolished structures were funded by EU humanitarian assistance.

EEAS said:

“The reporting period witnessed a continuation of Israel’s longstanding policy of demolition in Area C as well as in East Jerusalem despite previous commitments from Israeli authorities not to target Palestinian inhabited residential structures in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The period of Ramadan, traditionally a time of reduced prevalence of demolitions, witnessed 42 demolitions in 2020, greater than during the Ramadan periods of 2015-2019 combined.”

Facts:

•      Area C was the area most significantly affected by demolitions during the reporting period (232), while the number of construction permits granted to Palestinians remained highly limited.
•     In Area C, around 300,000 Palestinians are also directly affected by Israeli restrictions and control of WASH-related infrastructure, such as water and sanitation networks, with around 95,000 people receiving less than 50 litres of water per capita per day, compared to the WHO recommendation of 100 litres per day, while over 83,000 people receive bad quality drinking water, or have to resort to purchasing expensive and unregulated water.
•       On 25 February 2020, ahead of the Israeli elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the advancement of construction plans for the E1 area of East Jerusalem, in the heart of the West Bank. If enacted, these plans would forcibly transfer around 3,700 Palestinians living in an area comprising of 2,100 dunams of land. The plans aim to create geographic contiguity between the Ma’ale Adumim Settlement and Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries, which in turn would isolate East Jerusalem from the remainder of the West Bank while creating a wedge between the Ramallah and Bethlehem Governorates and a land corridor from Jerusalem to the Jordan Valley effectively endangering territorial contiguity for an eventual Palestinian State.
•      Collective punishment: Israeli authorities continued to demolish homes belonging to Palestinians, and their families, who they consider responsible for various attacks against Israelis. It should be noted that many such punitive demolitions have taken place before the conclusion of a judicial process in Israeli military courts, and therefore before the rendering of a guilty verdict.