Amnesty Slams Israel West Bank Demolitions

Amnesty International has reiterated its call on Israel to stop the demolition of Palestinian houses and other buildings in the West Bank.

The international rights watchdog on Wednesday condemned the Israeli demolition policy and charged the Israeli regime with removing the Palestinian population from the West Bank through the demolitions.

The current system, which Israel has adopted, of what Palestinians can or cannot build "is unacceptable," said Philip Luther, Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Israel destroyed another 74 homes in the villages of Hmayyir and Ein Ghazal in the area of al-Farisiya on Monday, which displaced 107 people, including 52 children, a statement from the London-based rights watchdog said.

Israelis justified the demolition by claiming that the buildings had been constructed in what they call a "closed military zone," and that Palestinians are forbidden from carrying out building construction and development in such areas, AFP reported.

Amnesty has recently called on Israel to completely lift its over years-long of blockade of the impoverished coastal sliver.

Palestinians are still trapped in Gaza and still face restricted access on the basic construction materials that they need to rebuild their homes, businesses and other property devastated in Israeli attacks between December 2008 and January 2009.

More than 3,000 homes and hundreds of other properties including factories, farms and government buildings were leveled and more than 20,000 damaged in Israel’s 22-day onslaught that also killed more than 1,400 Palestinians in the coastal enclave.

(Press TV)

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