Israeli Bulldozers Demolish A House and a Commercial Brux in Haris Village

Violation: The demolition of a house under construction in addition to a commercial Brux.

Location: The village of Haris in the governorate of Salfit.

Date: April 14^th, 2010.

Affected: Mr. Maher Hasan Oudeh Sultan and Mr. Ghannam Abed Dawood.

 

 

Israeli occupation forces demolished on the 14^th of April, 2010, a house in the village of Haris in the governorate of Salfit under the pretext of being built in Area C without a permit. The demolished house was located at the southern entrance of the village. The house, owned by the 43-year old Mr. Maher Hasan Oudeh Sultan, used to shelter 8 Palestinians. Israeli occupation forces placed a few months back Stop Work orders in front of Mr. Sultan two-story 130-m² house. However, the Order bore the name of another person who lived in the area of Deir Istiya in Salfit. Despite this fact, Mr. Sultan submitted an application to get the appropriate license for his house via Bet El. The application was not looked into as the Israeli occupation authorities used delaying tactics until Israeli bulldozers rolled into the village and demolished the house.

 

 

 

Mr. Maher Sultan gave the following testimony for Land Research Center (LRC)’s field researcher: ‘ A large occupation force raided the village and headed towards my house accompanied by a bulldozer. They began demolition my house immediately and without ay prior warning and without giving my family the chance to remove any of the furniture inside. I was not present at the time of demolition as I was at the Israeli DCL trying to make the necessary arrangements to stop the demolition. Yet, they started the demolition as soon as they arrived without listening to the appeals of my family to stop the process. On the contrary, the soldiers started to threaten to physically beat my children if they do not leave the premises. Moreover, they fired live bullets in the air as to frighten them off. ‘

 

The house of Mr. Maher is located amongst 16 houses that are threatened to be demolished due to its location in Area C. According to the Haris Village Council, 7 of these houses received demolition orders in the year 2009. The recent demolition sheds a new threat on these houses which places tens of Palestinians under the immediate threat of displacement and homelessness.

 

After the demolition of Mr. Maher’s house, the invading Israeli forces headed towards a 20-m² zinco brux used for car washing owned by Mr. Ghannam Abed Dawood. The bruzx used to be located on the main road of the village and it was demolished before any of the equipment inside it can be removed.

 

The village of Haris is located 6 kilometers west of the city of Salfit. The total area of the village is 8,450 dunums while its buildup area is about 320 dunums. The population of the village is 3,112 according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.