Palestinian horse centre in rebuild vow after West Bank demolition

Khaled says Area C is the only place where there is enough space to build something like his club, away from built up areas of cities. Despite renting the land from the Palestinian ministry of religious affairs, he has been unable to get a permit to build as this is controlled by Israel.

In a statement to the BBC, a representative of Cogat, the military division that co-ordinates Israeli government activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, described the demolition of the centre as an “enforcement operation… on a spot where an order forbade construction” and that Khaled’s buildings were in an area “designated as an archaeological site”.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says it’s “virtually impossible”, external for Palestinians to obtain building permits, with Peace Now saying that between 2009 and 2018 only 2% of all such requests were permitted in Area C.

This means it is not uncommon for Palestinians to build without an Israeli issued building permit. Many of these unauthorised buildings are at risk of Israeli demolitions.

In 2023, Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem logged 554 demolitions of Palestinian houses and structures in the West Bank.

Shai Parnes, a spokesperson for the group, said: “Israel’s planning and building policy in the West Bank is aimed at preventing Palestinian development and dispossessing Palestinians of their land.”

The relevant Israeli authority did not respond to this specific allegation.