The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Jerusalem

A United Nations envoy criticized Israel on Saturday for demolishing Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank, calling the practice a violation of a six-month-old moratorium and a setback to peacemaking efforts.

Israel, which took the West Bank in a 1967 war, has often demolished dwellings built there without its permission. After a Palestinian revolt erupted in 2000, Israel also razed the homes of militants but abandoned this tactic five years later.

Robert Serry, U.N. Middle East envoy, said in a statement that Israel undertook in April to suspend demolitions but recently resumed them.

An Israeli official denied there had been any moratorium.

Serry's statement deplored "the impact of these actions on some of the most vulnerable populations in the West Bank, with many poor families rendered destitute."

The demolitions, Serry said, "send a discouraging signal regarding its (Israel's) support for the strenuous and concerted effort under way to improve conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory and build greater trust and confidence in support for the political process."

The United Nations and other international powers have stepped up efforts to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas since he broke with Islamist Hamas rivals last year and revived peacemaking with Israel.