News - Middle East: Israeli forces are pressing ahead with a campaign of demolition and forced displacement of Palestinians across the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian WAFA news agency reported on Monday Israeli bulldozers continued the large-scale demolition of residential buildings in the Tulkarm refugee camp for the fourth consecutive day.

They also intensified the demolition of dozens of residential buildings in the neighborhoods of Balawneh and Okasha within the camp.

In recent months, at least 400 homes have been completely destroyed in the Palestinian territory. More than 2,570 have been partially damaged.

Recent data shows the escalation has displaced over 5,000 families.

The Israeli military on Monday raided the town of Kafr Qaddum, where they enforced a number of demolition and construction halt orders.

Israeli settlers also issued threats to demolish over 20 homes in the Palestinian village of Lubban al-Sharqiya, located between the cities of Nablus and Ramallah.

Settlers also demolished an agricultural room in the village of Maniya, southeast of Bethlehem.

In Nablus, Israeli military jeeps raided a kindergarten and a home in Balata refugee camp.

In the village of Aqraba, a group of settlers assaulted a barn owner and his wife.

Israeli attacks in the West Bank have included the demolition of tents and agricultural rooms, physical assaults on shepherds, and the seizure of livestock.

Thousands of Palestinians have left their homes in Jenin and the nearby city of Tulkarm in recent months. 

Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has vowed an “escalation” of land expropriation in the occupied West Bank if the European Union recognizes the state of Palestine.

Smotrich has been one of the spearheads of Israel’s plans for settlement expansion and the annexation of the occupied West Bank.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is “committed” to US President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and displace its Palestinian residents.

Trump said he wanted the US to own Gaza and he would transform it into the "Riviera of the Middle East."

Legal experts say the vicious Trump scheme would violate international law, and amounts to ethnic cleansing.

Source: Press TV