Ramallah, March 29,2023:  Israeli authorities demolished 953 Palestinian homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 2022, the highest number in seven years, said a European Union (EU) report.

“More than 80 per cent of the demolished buildings are located in Area C, and 28,446 people have been displaced and affected as a result of the demolitions,” said the report issued on Tuesday by the EU mission in the Palestinian territories.

“The demolitions were carried out under the pretext of building without a permit, which is almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain in Area C and East Jerusalem,” the report explained.

It added that the demolitions also included buildings in areas classified as “A” and “B” on “punitive” grounds.

The Oslo accords signed between Israel and Palestine in the 1990s classify the West Bank into three areas: Areas A, B, and C.

Area A is under the full control of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Area B is jointly controlled by the PA and Israel, while Area C is under full Israeli security control.

The EU report said that “101 of the demolished buildings were funded by the EU or its member states at a value of 337,000 euros”.

There was an increase in the number of buildings demolished by their owners in East Jerusalem, upon an Israeli request, from 34 per cent in 2021 to 51 per cent in 2022, it added.

Israeli authorities did not comment on the EU report.