JERUSALEM (AFP) — The UN special envoy to the Middle East on Saturday expressed alarm at Israel’s resumption of Palestinian house demolition in the occupied West Bank, warning it undermined peace efforts.

Robert Serry “is alarmed by the recent resumption of house demolitions in the West Bank after a freeze dating back to April this year,” his office said.

Serry’s remarks follow the Wednesday demolition of a number of makeshift homes belonging to Palestinian Bedouin families south of the West Bank town of Hebron.

An Israeli security official said “the structures were destroyed for security reason due to their proximity to the Jewish settlement of Carmel.”

He declined ti comment on Serry’s statement.

The UN was “directly raising its humanitarian concerns with the Israeli authorities given the impact of these actions on some of the most vulnerable populations in the West Bank, with many poor families rendered destitute.”

Serry said the demolition was a “political setback” from Israel’s commitments that sent “a discouraging signal” to efforts led by Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair to improve Palestinian living conditions.

It also saps efforts to “build greater trust and confidence” in support of the sluggish US-backed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians launched nearly a year ago, the statement said.

“The special coordinator calls on Israel to adhere to its commitments by re-instituting a moratorium on house demolitions and protecting vulnerable civilians from displacement and loss of livelihoods,” it said.

The United Nations said earlier this year that Israel had demolished 208 buildings in the West Bank in 2007.

Most of the houses were torn down under demolition orders issued because there were no construction permits, which Israeli authorities only seldom grant to Palestinians.

AFP: