RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Israeli army demolished three Palestinian structures in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, according to a local activist and media.

Military forces razed a house in the village of Kardala in the northern Jordan Valley for the lack of a building permit, Moataz Bisharat, an activist, told Anadolu.

Another home was brought down in the town of Beit Ummar in the southern West Bank, the official news agency Wafa reported.

Israeli bulldozers also demolished a building used for tourist purposes in the town of Zawiya, west of Salfit city in the northern West Bank, the broadcaster added.

Israel widely uses the pretext of lack of construction permits to demolish Palestinian homes, especially in Area C in the occupied West Bank, which constitutes around 60% of its space.

Under the 1995 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was divided into three portions – Area A, B, and C.

Area C is under Israel’s administrative and security control until a final status agreement is reached with the Palestinians.

According to the official Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, the Israeli authorities have demolished over 500 homes and facilities across the occupied West Bank since Oct. 7 last year.

Tension has been running high across the occupied territory due to Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 43,700 people, mostly women and children, since last year.

At least 781 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,300 others injured by Israeli army fire in the West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation follows a landmark opinion in July by the International Court of Justice that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar