Israeli authorities have decided to demolish a Palestinian village in southern West Bank and expel its residents under the pretext it was built without a permit, a Palestinian activist said.

An Israeli court has issued an order to demolish Susya and relocate its residents under the claim that the village was built illegally on a land that is under Israeli control, activist Rateb al-Jabour told.

Al-Jabour asserted that the village was built even before the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in 1967.

The village is populated by 350 Palestinians, mostly depending on farming and livestock for livelihood, he said.

The activist added that the demolition order came with the aim of expanding Jewish settlements in the area.

Al-Jabour's claims are yet to be independently verified, as Israeli authorities did not comment on the assertions.

Susya falls within "Area C," which covers nearly two thirds of the West Bank and remains under full Israeli civil and security control, as stipulated by the Oslo II Accord (signed in 1995 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority).

International law considers the West Bank and East Jerusalem occupied territories captured by Israel in 1967, deeming all construction of Jewish settlements on the land illegal.

Palestinian negotiators have insisted that the establishment of Israeli settlements had to end for stalled peace talks with Israel to resume.

PHOTO CAPTION

A Palestinian throws back a tear gas canister toward Israeli troops during a protest marking Land Day, in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh near Ramallah, Saturday, March 28, 2015.

Worldbulletin