Israeli army demolishing homes in East Jerusalem

Israeli soldiers began demolishing Palestinianhomes in East Jerusalem early Monday morning, according toa Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Twitter account."Preparations started past midnight as hundreds of armed Israelioccupying soldiers bulldozers stormed the town. Families threatenedwith demolitions were woken up moved out of their homes," read aTweet by the PLO - Negotiations Affairs Department.Palestinian activists in the neighbourhood of Wadi al-Hummus in SurBahir said buildings were being rigged with explosives and theirinhabitants evacuated in preparation for the demolition of dozens ofapartments.According to United Nations officials, 17 Palestinians faceddisplacement and hundreds of others faced property loss.Israel has said that the houses were built too close to the barrierwhich it built around the West Bank, citing security reasons.Palestinians argue that the barrier has divided their neighbourhoodinto sections that fall under the jurisdiction of the city ofJerusalem and others outside it.The Palestinian Authority has administrative rights over some ofthose sections and others are under full Israeli rule, the UnitedNations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)said in a statement last week."Contrary to the lies spread by the Palestinians: the demolition ofillegal structures in Wadi al-Hummus in East Jerusalem is inaccordance with a High Court of Justice ruling, which unequivocallydetermined that these buildings were built illegally near thesecurity fence," Israel's Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan wroteon Twitter."The proceedings in the High Court of Justice took several years andyesterday the High Court of Justice rejected the request for a delayin the implementation [of the demolition]," he added.There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on Mondaymorning.United Nations officials last week called on the Israeli authoritiesto halt plans for the demolitions in Sur Bahir."Seventeen Palestinians, including nine Palestine refugees, face therisk of displacement," the UN said in a statement.  Another 350 people - not yet living in the buildings as they werestill under construction - risked massive property loss due to theIsraeli authorities' intention to demolish 10 buildings, includingaround 70 apartments, they said.On June 11, the Israeli High Court dismissed a petition that had beenfiled by some residents of Sur Bahir in 2017 against a demolitionorder of their homes, according to the OCHA.One month ago, Israeli forces sent the residents an "Intent toDemolish" notice.Walid Assaf, head of the PA Commission against the Wall andSettlements said the demolition "intends to create a buffer zonebetween Jerusalem and Bethlehem to separate them."He described the military order to demolish buildings near thebarrier as "unfair and [it] will give Israel the pretext to demolishthousands of other buildings near the wall."Israel began to build the West Bank barrier in 2002 during a wave ofPalestinian suicide bombings, and says there has been a significantdecline in attacks since it was constructed.