Israeli authorities declared intention to tighten penalties against Palestinian owners of “unauthorized” homes Haaretz Hebrew newspaper reported on Monday.
The paper said that the Interior Committee of the Knesset is scheduled to discuss Monday a new bill to regulate planning and building law.
The bill aims at tightening penalties against Palestinian owners of “unauthorized” homes according to the sources.
The penalties include imposing 2 to 3 years prison sentences and heavy fines.
While refusing to grant Palestinians building permits the Israeli authorities have recently intensified their demolition operations targeting Palestinian homes justifying their actions by claiming that these homes were built without permits.
The Israeli military in practice refuses to grant building permits to Palestinians in 99 percent of Area C of the occupied West Bank under flimsy pretexts while granting settlements jurisdiction in the same area according to the Israeli rights groups Bimkom and B’Tselem.
