By Gozde Bayar

ANKARA (AA) – A total of 55 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank this year, all by live ammunition, according to a new report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

“Overall, Israeli forces injured 221 Palestinians across the West Bank,” the report said.

A total of 527 Palestinian-owned structures were demolished in 2021 in Area C of the West Bank, which led 733 people to forceful emigration, it added.

Under the 1995 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was divided into three portions – Areas A, B, and C.

Israel prevents Palestinians from carrying out construction projects in parts of the West Bank designated as Area C, which falls under Israel’s administrative and security control.

Area C is currently home to 300,000 Palestinians, the vast majority of whom are Bedouins and herding communities who predominantly live in tents, caravans, and caves.

International law views both the West Bank and East Jerusalem as occupied territories and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity there illegal.

[Photo: Emad Hashash, 15, was killed by Israeli troops with a live round of bullets on the head and was pronounced dead after he was transferred to Rafidia hospital in Nablus, West Bank, Palestine on 24 August 2021. Photo by Imemc.org]