Majid Al-Fityani, acting governor of Jericho, said the Israeli military bulldozers backed by security forces and Israeli Civil Administration demolished the four homes in Al-Diyouk Al-Tahta village, to the northwest of Jericho.
The Civil Administration, an Israeli military department responsible for coordinating civil issues between Israeli government and the Palestinians, said that the structures were demolished since they were built in Area C without proper building permits.
According to the Oslo Agreement, Area A is under Palestinian administrative and security control, Area B under Palestinian administrative control but under Israeli security one, the Area C is under full Israeli control. Area C, which today constitutes about 60 percent of West Bank land, is a geographic area created in negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1995.
The Palestinian Authority condemned the Israeli move saying it is part of punitive measures against the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people after the leadership approached the United Nations to seek recognition of an independent statehood.”
Palestinian Minister of Settlements and Separation Wall Affairs Maher Ghnaim said that t he PA will “rebuild the homes.”
