United Nations, February 3 (RHC)-- The United Nations has censured the Israeli regime for demolishing 36 Palestinian homes in the Jordan Valley.  James Rawley, the UN humanitarian coordinator in the occupied Palestinian territories, released a statement calling for a halt in such actions in the occupied West Bank.

The UN official said: “I am deeply concerned about the ongoing displacement and dispossession of Palestinians... along the Jordan Valley where the number of structures demolished more than doubled in the last year.  Rawley added: "This activity not only deprives Palestinians of access to shelter and basic services, it also runs counter to international law."

Rawley’s office said more than 1,000 people were displaced in 2013 in the West Bank and East Jerusalem after their homes were demolished for not having Israeli permits, "which are virtually impossible to obtain."  The UN official noted that last week, 66 Palestinians, including 36 children, were pushed out of their houses after demolitions in the Jordan Valley community of Ain al-Hilweh.

Meanwhile, around 300 Palestinians, along with some Israeli activists, occupied some abandoned houses near the city of Jericho, also known as Ariha, in the West Bank to protest against Tel Aviv’s expansionist policies.  The protest was staged against the repeated refusal of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to dismantle illegal settlements and agree to a pullout from the Jordan Valley