Plans to take 70 Palestinian homes in the Old City in the southern occupied West Bank governorate of Hebron have been initiated by Israeli occupation authorities.
Imad Hamdan, director of the Hebron Construction Committee, claimed that the Israeli occupation intended to give Israeli settlers ownership of the Palestinian dwellings.
Hamdan continued, affirming that the Palestinians “are the genuine owners of these homes and shops,” saying that the Israeli raid on the Nasreddine Building “is the start of the implementation of the Israeli plan.”
At the same time, he emphasized that local and international regulations, which ensure inhabitants’ safety and security in their homes and prevent forcible eviction, safeguard Palestinian ownership of these structures.
Issa Amro, a Palestinian activist in Hebron, blasted the Construction Committee’s “weak response” to Israel’s intentions for occupying the city, stating that “the start of the implementation of the Israeli plan, disclosed early this year, sounds a dangerous alarm.”
According to Amro, “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.”
Amro charged that the Israeli occupation authorities and the Palestinian Hebron Construction Committee had planned to steal Palestinian property.
The activist criticized the Hebron Construction Committee’s silence about the recent demolition of six Palestinian stores by Israeli settlers in the city’s center, claiming that the committee has a sizable budget and can take further action to safeguard Palestinian property in the city.
