The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, Lynn Hastings, on Wednesday called on Israel to immediately cease mass demolitions of Palestinian homes and belongings in the occupied territories.

In a statement, Hastings said that one day earlier he visited the community of Humsa Al Baqai’a which is situated some hundreds of metres into a firing zone in the Northern West Bank.

“In accordance with Israel’s domestic legal process, the homes and belongings of the families living there were demolished or confiscated five times by the Israeli authorities since the beginning of February”, said the UN Coordinator.

“Tents, food, water tanks and fodder for their livestock have all been confiscated despite repeated calls by the international community for these actions to stop in accordance with international law”, he added. “As we have noted previously, situations where communities are put under pressure to move raises a real risk of forcible transfer.”

The statement said that although the Humsa Al Baqai’a community has exhausted its recourse through the domestic legal process, in accordance with international law, the Israeli authorities should immediately halt all further demolitions of Palestinian homes and possessions, allow the humanitarian community to provide shelter, food and water to this most vulnerable group and these people to remain in their homes.