By Lubaba Zawkan

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA): Israeli forces on Tuesday demolished a structure used as a quarantine center for people suspected of contracting coronavirus in the West Bank city of Hebron.

Local residents said Israeli authorities claimed the lack of a building permit for razing the 700-meter center.

“The center was being prepared over the past three months,” the landlord, Raed Meswada, told Anadolu Agency. “The Israeli occupation looks like it is seeking to spread the virus in the city.”

Meswada said the demolition of the center was “proof that the Israeli occupation does not care about the virus outbreak, which does not differentiate between Palestinians and Israelis”.

The Palestinian Health Ministry on Tuesday confirmed two deaths and 400 virus cases in the West Bank over the past 24 hours, including 119 infections in Hebron. The count in the West Bank and Gaza Strip now stand at 10,923, including 67 deaths.

In another development, Israeli bulldozers brought down a home in the city of Salfit on claims of lacking a permit.

Israel occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 1967. Israel tries to justify the demolition of Palestinian homes by saying they lack building permits, despite the fact that Israel does not provide such permits to Palestinians.

* Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara

[Photo: Israeli forces attack Palestinian demonstrators in Hebron, West Bank on July 17, 2020. Photographer: Mamoun Wazwaz/AA]