Israel demolishes Palestinian building in West Bank

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Israeli forces on Thursday demolished a residential building in the Palestinian city of Al-Bireh in the occupied West Bank, claiming it had been built without official permission.

According to eyewitnesses, an Israeli military force entered Al-Bireh’s Al-Hashemiya neighborhood on Thursday morning and demolished the four-story structure, which was owned by a local Palestinian.

The apartment building, witnesses said, had been built several years ago and was uninhabited at the time of its demolition.

Al-Bireh is located in what the 1993 Oslo Accord designated as “Area C” of the West Bank, over which Israel enjoys full administrative and security control.

Witnesses in Al-Bireh said the Israeli authorities had notified the building’s owner -- Khamis Matareya -- of the structure’s impending destruction.

Palestinians are forbidden by Israel from building structures in Area C without permits, which are almost impossible to obtain.

Signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Oslo Accord divided the occupied West Bank -- including East Jerusalem -- into Areas A, B and C.

Area A falls under the Palestinian Authority (PA)’s administrative and security control; Area B falls under the PA’s administrative control and Israeli security control; and Area C falls under the exclusive administrative and security control of Israel.