Israel warned to halt house demolitions...

The Swiss foreign ministry has called on Israel to stop the demolition of Palestinian houses in East Jerusalem immediately.

The ministry said it was "deeply concerned" by the destruction of houses belonging to Palestinian families in so-called "administrative demolitions".

It commented there was no military need to justify the destruction of these houses.

In a statement on Thursday, the ministry said East Jerusalem was an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory.

It noted that according to international humanitarian law, Israel was under an obligation to ensure the protection of the civilian population. More...

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