West Bank, ALRAY - The Israeli occupation authorities have demolished or confiscated 44 Palestinian structures in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem over the past two weeks, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

In a report issued Saturday, the UN body explained that the demolitions by the Israeli occupation authorities displaced 29 Palestinian citizens, including 10 children, and affected the livelihoods of around 140.

"Some 35 of the structures were in Area C, including 19 structures seized without warning, which prevented the ability of owners to object in advance."

OCHA added that five out of the nine structures knocked down in occupied Jerusalem were self-demolished by their owners after being issued demolition orders by the Israeli occupation authorities.

On 6 September, the Israeli occupation army blew up an inhabited apartment in a multistorey building in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin "on punitive grounds," according to the report.

Two other homes sustained partial damage from the explosion, affecting two Palestinian families comprising 12 people, including eight children, it added.

So far this year, the Israeli occupation authorities have demolished 11 Palestinian homes "on punitive grounds," compared with three in 2021 and seven in 2020.

"Punitive demolitions are a form of collective punishment, which is illegal under international law."

Over the last two weeks, the Israeli occupation military killed seven Palestinians and shot and wounded nearly 315, including at least 37 children, in the occupied West Bank.

As for Israeli settler violence, Israeli settlers injured 21 Palestinians and damaged Palestinian property in 27 attacks during the same reporting period, according to OCHA.