IOF intensify demolitions across West Bank amid settler violence
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Israeli occupation forces escalate demolitions across the West Bank and al-Quds, targeting homes, schools, and farmland, as settlers torch olive groves.
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Smoke billows from a fire, started by Israeli settlers, in an olive grove in the village of Madama, south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, on July 1, 2025 (AFP)
Israeli occupation forces escalated on Tuesday their aggression in the occupied West Bank and al-Quds through extensive demolition operations that targeted Palestinian-owned homes, commercial shops, and educational institutions, amid repeated settler attacks on agricultural land.
Demolition in al-Auja, north of Areeha, without warning
In the town of al-Auja, north of Areeha, Israeli forces demolished a Palestinian-owned commercial store, followed by the demolition of a house belonging to another family in the same area.
The al-Baydar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights stated that the demolition was carried out without any prior notice, describing it as part of a “systematic policy of pressure and forced displacement against Palestinian residents.”
The organization also called on the international community to assume its responsibilities and take urgent action to protect the rights of Palestinians on their land.
Demolition notices for school, homes in Yatta
In al-Khalil Governorate, in the southern occupied West Bank, Israeli authorities delivered demolition notices for the Palestine Coeducational Basic School in the Ashkara community, southeast of Yatta, giving seven days to carry out the order.
The school comprises nine classrooms and a kindergarten, serving around 130 students from grades one through four.
The notices also included orders to halt work on a water pipeline supplying the community and nearby areas, as well as demolition or stop-work orders for six Palestinian homes.
An activist involved in resisting settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank emphasized that these measures aim to “strip citizens of their most basic rights and empty the area of its indigenous residents to expand settlements.”
Settlers torch olive lands in Nablus
In a dangerous escalation on the ground, Israeli settlers set fire to dozens of agricultural dunums in the village of Madama, south of Nablus, leading to the destruction of hundreds of olive trees along the bypass road.
Abdullah Ziyada, head of Madama’s village council, reported that residents and civil defense teams rushed to extinguish the fires. However, Israeli occupation forces and settlers prevented the crews from accessing the village’s water well, hindering firefighting efforts.
Israeli settlers set Palestinian land on fire in the Madama village in Nablus, occupied West Bank.#Palestine #Gaza #Ceasefire #WestBank pic.twitter.com/ViX97O3kKY
— Palestine International Broadcast (@PBI_PS) July 1, 2025
Read more: Settler violence turns inward: IOF attacked, security post burned
Demolitions, displacement in Beit Hanina, Silwan
In occupied al-Quds, Israeli bulldozers demolished the home of Taysir Abu Najma in the town of Beit Hanina, displacing a family of five.
In a separate incident, the Burqan family in the Silwan neighborhood was forced to demolish its own home under threat of heavy fines imposed by Israeli authorities.
According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, Israeli forces carried out 23 demolition operations in al-Quds Governorate alone during May.
Read more: IOF demolish 1,000+ homes, turn West Bank camps into 'lifeless zones'
