Construction work in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev, near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.  (Photo: AFP)

Ramallah, January 28 (RHC)-- Israeli troops have demolished a mosque under construction and a number of buildings in the occupied West Bank.  The ‘Umm Qusah’ mosque was being built south of al-Khalil.

Muhammad Yatimin, a local school manager, told the Anadolu Agency that the mosque was razed early on Wednesday for what Israeli authorities claimed was a lack of construction permit.  “A water well used by a nearby school was also destroyed by Israeli forces,” Yatimin said.

The so-called permit Israeli authorities use as an excuse for Palestinian property demolitions is nearly impossible to obtain.  Palestinian owners are even ordered at times to demolish their own homes or pay the demolition costs to the municipality instead.

The Palestinian Information Center said Israeli bulldozers had also ruined a home and livestock structure southeast of Jerusalem al-Quds in the morning.  Two other livestock facilities were demolished in the village of Khan al-Ahmar.

All the razed structures were located in the Area C of the West Bank, whose management of resources, planning, and construction are under the full control of Israel.  The area accounts for more than 60 percent of the West Bank, and forms a significant part of a future Palestine state under the so-called two-state solution.

Since 1967, Israel has kept expanding settlements in the occupied territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.  Now more than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements, all of which are illegal under international law.