The Israeli occupation forces notified to demolish four Palestinian houses in al-Walaja village, west of Bethlehem today.

Ibrahim Awadallah, a local activist, said that Israeli occupation forces handed four brothers from the village notifications to tear down their houses, located in Ein al-Jwaiza neighbourhood, northwest of the village, purportedly for being built without licenses.

This area of al-Walaja has been targeted by the Israeli occupation for several years in an attempt to empty it of its Palestinian residents to build illegal settlements on its land. Several Palestinian-owned homes have been demolished in the village under the pretext of building without a permit, which is impossible to get from the Israeli occupation forces.

Located at a horizontal distance of 5 kilometres to the west of Bethlehem, al-Walaja has a population of some 2,800 and occupies a total area of 4,328 dunums.

The village is flanked by two Israeli colonial settlements; Gilo from the east and Har Gilo from the south.