Israeli forces demolish Bedouin structures in Jordan Valley

Israeli forces demolished several structures in a Bedouin village in the Jordan Valley on Tuesday. Fathi Khdeirat, coordinator of the Save the Jordan Valley campaign, told Ma'an that Israeli authorities delivered demolition orders to several residents of Fasayil village on Monday. Israeli bulldozers started demolishing the structures on Tuesday. Steel structures belonging to Omar Ubayyat, Abed Yasin Rashayda and Hussein Rashayda were destroyed, Khdeirat said. Bedouin communities in the Jordan Valley face severe building restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities. From 2000 to 2007, the Civil Administration approved 5 percent of the applications for building permits submitted by Palestinians in Area C. The total number of building permits issued to Palestinians during these seven years was 91, an average of 13 building permits per annum, reports Bimkom, an Israeli organization for planning rights. According to the UN agency OCHA, in the first six months of 2011 Israeli authorities demolished 342 Palestinian-owned structures in Area C, including 125 residential structures, displacing a total of 656 Palestinians, including 351 children -- almost five times as many demolitions and people displaced as during the first half of 2010.