Ramallah, February 3 (RHC)-- Israeli forces Tuesday demolished more Palestinian residential buildings in the occupied West Bank, south of the city of Hebron.

A civil rights NGO in the occupied Palestinian territories said a total of 24 structures in and around the village of Khirbet Jenbah were demolished.

Local witnesses said the Israelis arrived at about 7:00 a.m. local time. Nidal Younes, head of a local village council, said 12 Palestinian families and in total about 80 people were left homeless as a result of the demolition.

Human rights groups say the long campaign to relocate the Palestinians residing in the region is totally illegal due to the fact that Israel cannot establish a military zone on an occupied territory.

The residents, most of them cave-dwellers, argue that their ancestors have lived in the area since long before Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967.

Israeli officials confirmed that demolitions took place, claiming again that structures and solar panels built within a military zone were deemed illegal.

Later reports showed that Israel’s High Court ordered the razing operation to stop until at least February 9. The court had been arbitrating the case but talks between dwellers and the Israeli military broke up in recent days.

Sources in an NGO in the occupied territories said more than 1,000 people could be affected by the new wave of demolitions of homes, as there are about 10 villages that could face similar actions.