Israeli army forces demolished a Palestinian home near the West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday, in the latest home demolitions in the occupied territory. According to witnesses, military bulldozers razed the structure in the village of Deir Ibzi', west of Ramallah city, citing the lack of a building permit.

Israel is accelerating its annexation of the West Bank through legal maneuvers that grant settlers direct ownership of Palestinian land.

To spend a rush hour these days at any of the traffic-snarled checkpoints outside Palestinian cities in the West Bank is to hear of the endless problems they have brought — families divided, money lost,

The call came in the middle of the night, Mohammed Shula said. His daughter-in-law, eight months pregnant with her first child, was whispering. There was panic in her voice. “Help, please,” Shula recalled her saying.

More checkpoints started going up between Palestinian cities, slicing up the occupied West Bank and creating choke points the Israeli army can shut off on a whim.

The fatal shooting of 23-year-old Sondos Shalabi, eight months pregnant with her first child, comes as Israel escalates violence against civilians in the occupied territory.