A total of 41 Palestinian structures were demolished or seized by the Israeli authorities due to lack of Israeli-issued building permits, displacing 19 people and otherwise affecting over 1,200, according to the biweekly Protection of Civilians Report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory covering the period between 20 October and 2 November.

All the displacements and 37 of the structures targeted were in 15 communities in Area C, while the other four structures demolished were in East Jerusalem.

The report added that the Israeli authorities on 28 October cut a donor-funded pipe supplying water to 14 herding communities in the Massafer Yatta area of Hebron, home to about 1,400 people, including over 600 children; among other consequences, this is expected to undermine hygiene practices and people’s ability to cope with the ongoing pandemic.

Three structures were demolished in two of the 18 Bedouin communities in the Jerusalem governorate located within or nearby the E1 area, where settlement expansion is planned.

One home was demolished and a room in another home was sealed on punitive grounds, displacing 18 people, including 11 children.

The OCHA report highlighted that on 25 October, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy was killed during a search-and-arrest operation carried out by Israeli forces in Turmus’ayya village in Ramallah.

Moreover, it pointed out that olive harvest season, which started on 7 October, continued to be disrupted by Israeli settlers. In nine incidents (compared with 19 in the previous report which covered the period between 6 and 19 October), Palestinians were injured, trees were damaged and produce was stolen.

Five of the incidents took place in the Nablus governorate, near Burin village, where two olive pickers were stoned and injured; olive produce and agricultural tools were stolen in Burin, Deir al Hatab, and Jalud; and a tractor used for the harvest was vandalized in Qaryut.

About 130 olive trees were vandalized near Turmus’ayya in Ramallah, and produce from about 200 others was stolen in Kafr Qaddum in Qalqiliya.

According to the report, Israeli forces carried out 161 search-and-arrest operations and arrested 126 Palestinians across the West Bank. A total of 37 operations were recorded in East Jerusalem, followed by Hebron (23) and Tulkarm (21).