Iran slams Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes in Bethlehem

In a post on his Twitter account on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani said it is a “bitter humor” that the Palestinians as the owners of their land have to ask the occupiers for a construction permit.

“What a bitter humor; The original owners of the land -Palestinians- have to ask the occupier for a construction permit! The occupier does not give it, bcz it considers it a disturbance to the development of Zionist #settlements!! So they destroy!!! A view of Western #HumanRights!” he wrote.

On Wednesday, Israeli occupation forces razed two houses in Beit Jala and al-Walaja, northwest of Bethlehem, claiming that the properties were not licensed.

However, Beit Jala mayor, Issa Qassis, told the Palestinian Wafa news agency that the owner of one of the houses, which was under construction, had obtained an Israeli court order allowing him to continue work on his house.

Meanwhile, the head of al-Walaja village council, Khader Abu al-Tin, said many Palestinian-owned homes were either destroyed or notified of demolition in Ein Jweiza area for illegal settlement projects by the Zionist regime.

Israel, he added, wants to empty the area of its Palestinian residents in order to use it for its illegal settlement enterprise.

The demolition of Palestinian homes across the occupied territories has increased since an extreme far-right administration led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office.

Palestinians regard ministers of the new cabinet, especially Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, as racist and fascist for publicly advocating the expulsion of Palestinians and the demolition of their homes, supporting Israeli extremist groups repeatedly attacking Palestinians, and stirring incitement to racism against Arabs and non-Jews.

Israel routinely demolishes Palestinian houses in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds. The pretense is that the homes were built without a permit. However, the Israeli regime rarely, if ever, approves such permits for Palestinians. The Israeli forces also sometimes order Palestinian owners to demolish their own houses or pay the costs of the demolition.