LONDON: Israeli authorities have reactivated demolition orders for 14 buildings in the Arab village of Deir Al-Asad in the Galilee, citing building permit violations.
On Sunday, numerous residents urged the local council to stop demolition orders that had been dormant for two years, as Israeli authorities requested modifications to the buildings.
The demolition will affect dozens of families from the Arab minority. About 2.1 million Palestinians are citizens of Israel, making up about 21 percent of the population. Deir Al-Asad has more than 12,000 residents.
Demolition policies targeting the homes of Palestinians in the northern regions of Israel are less frequent than those in the occupied West Bank, where, last year, at least 1,267 structures were demolished, including in East Jerusalem.
However, Palestinians Bedouins in the Negev have suffered from decades of insufficient municipal services, such as access to water and electricity. In 2025 they also faced demolitions of their homes, which were deemed illegal, with Israeli authorities destroying 5,742 structures in the arid region of southern Israel.
Israel has damaged or destroyed about 92 percent of buildings in the Gaza Strip, including hospitals, schools, homes and commercial facilities, since October 2023, according to UN data.
