JERUSALEM

Four Palestinians were injured by Israeli fire in the West Bank on Wednesday as army forces demolished two structures in the occupied territory, a local official said.

Israeli forces backed by two military bulldozers raided the town of Deir Ballut, west of Salfit city in the central West Bank, and razed a house and carpentry for alleged lack of building permits, Samir Nimer, the town’s mayor, said.

Clashes erupted during the demolition with Israeli forces using live fire and stun grenades, he said.

Four Palestinians were injured in the clashes, Nimer added.

According to the official Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, the Israeli authorities demolished 45 Palestinian homes and structures last month and issued demolition orders for another 38 structures.

Figures released by the commission also showed that Israeli authorities have demolished over 500 homes and facilities across the occupied West Bank since Oct. 7 last year.

Israel widely uses the pretext of a 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.

Tension has been running high in the West Bank due to Israel’s brutal war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 44,000 people, mostly women and children, following a Hamas attack last year.

Nearly 785 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,400 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In July, the International Court of Justice issued a landmark advisory opinion 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