Israel has stepped up atrocities against Palestinians: UN

Israel has stepped up atrocities against Palestinians: UN

RAMALLAH: (APP) Israel has razed more Palestinian homes and other structures so far this year than in all of 2015, the United Nations said Friday, as the United States and France expressed concern.

Israeli authorities in the occupied West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem have demolished 726 structures this year, displacing 1,020 Palestinians, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

In the whole of 2015 there were 533 demolitions and 688 people displaced, OCHA said.

The structures included houses, shelters for livestock and installations such as solar panels.

Many were funded by foreign donors such as the European Union and its individual member states, which say they are working to meet urgent humanitarian needs of people under military occupation.