Israel demolishes record number of Palestinian homes in a single day

Israeli bulldozers demolish shops in the Shuafat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem

The National reports

The number of Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem that were demolished by Israel’s military in a single day peaked on April 29, when 31 structures were flattened, the UN’s envoy for Middle East peace said on Wednesday.

In his monthly briefing to the Security Council, Nickolay Mladenov reported that the figure was the highest daily total since the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) began monitoring such activities in 2009.

Mr Mladenov called for “an immediate halt to the Israeli authorities’ destruction of Palestinian-owned property in East Jerusalem”.

The demolitions are justified by Israel on the grounds that the structures are not approved by Israeli-issued building permits. However, such documents are near impossible for Palestinians to obtain.

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