Israel threatens to demolish Palestinian village if residents refuse to relocate

Israel's Civil Administration, an agency of the country's defence ministry, has warned Palestinians in the village of Khirbet Zanuta, occupied West Bank, that their homes would be demolished by 1 October if they do not relocate.

The warning comes weeks after the residents had won a case in Israel's High Court of Justice, which ordered the army and the police to let them return to their homes.

The residents had escaped their village in October last year, following recurrent attacks and harassment at the hands of Israeli settlers.

The Israeli army barred residents who returned to the village from repairing their homes or even restoring the metal roofs of their dwellings that they had taken with them when they left in October.

This means residents have had to live without roofs since their return.