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The Al-Khalil Construction Committee confirmed that the Israeli occupation authorities launched plans to forcibly seize at least 70 Palestinian homes in the occupied southern West Bank.

Director of the committee, Imad Hamdan, indicated on Sunday that the Israeli authorities plan to hand over the seized homes to illegal Israeli settlers in the Old City of Al-Khalil.

"The Israeli raid of Nasreddine Building is the start of the implementation of the Israeli plan," Hamdan was quoted as saying, underlining that the Palestinians "are the genuine owners of these homes and shops."

He stressed that Palestinian ownership of these buildings is safeguarded by local and international laws.

On his part, Issa Amro, a Palestinian activist in Al-Khail, warned that "the start of the implementation of the Israeli plan, disclosed early this year, sounds a dangerous alarm."

Amro stressed that "the forced expulsion of Palestinians out of Nasreddine Building, which is located in the most sensitive places in the Old City, is not an incident to pass without any official action."

As part of its settler expansion policies, the Israeli occupation routinely demolishes Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank and the eastern part of occupied Al-Quds, alleging that they were built without licenses that are extremely hard to obtain.

It is noteworthy that under international law, all Israeli settlements are illegal, and the United Nations Security Council has condemned Israeli settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in late February that Israeli-built settlements are "illegal" and they "must stop".

"All settlement activity is illegal under international law. And it must stop," Guterres told the UN members, adding that "at the same time, incitement to violence is a dead end. Nothing justifies terrorism. It must be rejected by all."

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