In a press release issued on February 17, 2016, the UN's Humanitarian Coordinator for "Occupied Palestinian Territory," Robert Piper, criticized Israel for demolishing Palestinian homes constructed without legal building permits and claimed that Palestinians did not have to follow Israel's housing laws. In the words of the press release:
"Most of the demolitions in the West Bank take place on the spurious legal grounds that Palestinians do not possess building permits," said Mr. Piper, "but, in Area C, official Israeli figures indicate only 1.5 per cent of Palestinian permit applications are approved in any case. So what legal options are left for a law-abiding Palestinian?"