Halt Construction Orders against a number of structures in Hajja and Jinsafut villages

Violation: issuing halt construction orders against 3 Palestinian houses.

Date: first week of February, 2010.

Violators: the construction and Organization committee in the Israeli Occupation.

Victims: ‘Isam Basalt, Riyad Bashir, and Mohammad Sabra.

Location: Hajja and Jinsafut.

 

 

Jinsafut: is 17 km to the south east of Qalqiliya city. Its total area is 8659 dunums (a dunum is 1000 m²)including 218dunums of built-up area that is inhabited by 2119 people.

It was a victim of the surrounding Israeli colonies which expropriated more than 688 dunums from its total area for the sake of Neve Oranim and Karni Shamron colonies.

 

 

Hajja: islocated to the east of Qalqiliya Cityand is torn to two parts by the by-pass road 55. The total area of the village is 11718 dunums including 377 dunums of built up area. It is inhabited by 2148 people. Its residents depend mainly on agriculture on their living besides workmanship in Palestine and ‘Israel’.

 

Details: the ‘Construction and Organization Committee’ in the Israeli Occupation Government has issued stop work orders against a number of houses in Hajja and Jinsafut villages using ‘no permits’ in areas classified ‘C’ according to Oslo agreement as an excuse. The Israeli Occupation specified March 14, 2010 as the date of the hearing session in Beit El military court.

 

 

No.	Victim	Village	Area (m2)	Family members	Structure type
1	‘Isam Basalat	Hajja	160	8	Chicken Farm
2	Riyad Bashir	Jinsafut	230	7	Marble processing facility
3	Moh’d Sabra	Jinsafut	120	4	Residential (under construction)
Total			510	19

 

 

It must be noted that the number of notified structures (demolition or stop-work) in Qalqiliya during 2009 was 117 (69 residential structures). The notification policy is part of the psychological warfare imposed on Palestinians. Notified house are selected randomly and notification not also affect the owners but also the neighbors who most of the time stop any construction works or do not even consider construction.

 

It must be known that 90% of the lands in the area are classified ‘C’ and Palestinians are not allowed to build there anyhow. The Israeli Occupation Officials intended to define the boundaries of the Palestinian towns and villages within the terms of Oslo agreement and they specified other areas as ‘C’ areas where Palestinians are prohibited to construct any type of buildings regardless of their ownership of the land.

 

However, the desperate need for residence, Palestinians were forced to build on their lands located within areas classified ‘C’ because they had no other choice, they were forced to meet their natural growth needs.

 

However, building in areas classified ‘C’ puts the Palestinian citizens under continuous pressure because of fear of sudden loss of their houses that are under constant demolition threat.

 

A clear example of that is what is happening in Jinsafut, the built-up area of the village according to the Israeli plans must not exceed 500 dunums out of a total area of 9500 dunums. The allocated space is not enough for the natural growth needs for more than 2580 people living in the village.

 

Hajja was not better off; it was not the first time that residents receive demo orders. All the people residing in areas classified ‘C’, some of them are 4 meters away from the structural schemes boundaries, people receive demolition or halt construction orders repeatedly.

 

It must be known that Hajja Village Council has demanded the expansion of the construction area in the village but their demands have seen nothing but rejection.

 

A total of 22 notifications were distributed in Hajja village so far. Moreover, 10 structures were demolished under the lame ‘no-permits’ excuse.

 

The total area of the village is 18000 dunums. The residents – counting 2148 people- are allowed to expand on 822 dunums of the total area. These extreme measures forced many people to build on areas classified ‘C’ in order to meet their natural growth need. The total built-up area in the village is around 2000 dunums. (Source: Hajja Village Council)

 

It must be known that the many of the notified residents of both villages have already applied for construction permits through numerous humanitarian organizations. Nevertheless, the Israeli Occupation Authorities have not yet issued any construction permits for Palestinians living in areas classified ‘C’. on the other hand, the Israeli illegal colonies are expanding freely on Palestinians’ properties without the need of acquiring construction permits, yet, the Israeli Occupation Army provides protection the expansions happening on Palestinian soil.