Demolishing Three Structures and Two Side Roads in Al ‘Aqaba – Tubas

Violation: demolishing a house, two shacks, and Al Salam and Al Muhajerin roads.

Location: Al ‘Aqaba, eastern Tubas.

Date: September 15, 2011.

Perpetrators: the Israeli Occupation Army.

Victims: Al ‘Aqaba families.

 

 

The Israeli Occupation has set al ‘Aqaba as a target for judization for a long time by issuing demolition and stop-work orders and actually demolishing structures. On September 15, 2011, the Israeli Occupation Army conducted demolitions against the following:

 

5 months after the complete destruction of the roads on the hands of Israeli soldiers; the Israeli re-demolished the roads on the pretext of no permit.

 

 

It must be noted that the locals managed to fundraise enough money to rebuild the roads and the retaining walls that were destroyed; however, the Israelis waited till the end of all construction works before destroying the roads and the walls once more. It is apparent that the Israelis are sending a message to the people; telling them that eviction is inevitable.

 

It must be noted that the Village Council managed to persuade the Israeli Supreme Court to issue a ‘preventive order’ to ensure the safety of the two roads; however, the Israeli colonization policy seems to be above any laws or orders.

 

Road	Location	Established	Length (m)	First demolition	damage
Al Salam	East	2009	1400	April, 2011	Destroying the asphalt cover and 300-m-long retaining walls
Al Muhajerin	North west	Early 2011	1000	April, 2011	Destroying the asphalt cover and 500-m-long retaining walls

 

The demolition of the roads has a drastic effect on the people’s daily lives; it disconnects their lands and renders parts of it unreachable.

 

Less than a year passed over the construction of a 100-m2-house which was supposed to host Khaled Sbaih’s 7-member-family.

 He received a stop-work order in mid June, 2011 before the demolition took place on September 15, 2011.

 

With eyes full of tears, Khaled stated to an LRC observer: ‘thirty years go, I lost a brother during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982; in 2000, I lost another brother due to mine planted all around the Jordan Valley area. Now, I am facing another catastrophe on the hands of the same ruthless butcher; I have lost my house which cost me a fortune to build in an area where the Palestinian existence is under constant threat. Nevertheless, we are determined to remain here despite all the perils. At the beginning of 2010, I built a humble house for my family; soon afterwards, the Israeli Occupation Authorities issued a stop-work order against the houses.I sought help in almost every humanitarian agency in the West Bank as well as spending huge amounts of money to issue all the needed documents.The Israelis kept delaying the case using various justifications until I saw the dozer approaching my house in the early morning hours on September the 15^th. They did not even give the chance to clear the contents of the house which were leveled as well’.

 

 

 

Sbaih wondered about the security threats that his house imposes on the ‘state of Israel’ while, at the same time, he showed dedication towards rebuilding the house, insisting that the locals will is stronger than the Israelis dozers and tanks.

 

On the other hand, the Israeli Occupation Force that demolished Khaled’s house destroyed two agricultural shacks belonging to Basem Sbeih and Abdul Nasser Sbaih on the same lame pretext of no permit.

 

Victim	Area (m2)	Family members	Children	Cattle	Structure	remarks
Khaled Sbeih	100	3	0	20	House, Residential, and one part is used as barn	A stop-work order was issued previously
Basem Sbeih	60	7	5	12	shack, Residential, and one part is used as barn	A stop-work order was issued previously
Abdul Nasser Sbeih	60	7	5	17	shack	Demolished and rebuilt five months earlier
	220	17	10	49

 

It must be pointed that more than 45 similar notifications has been issued against structures in the village; these structures include the mosque, kindergarten, and many others. 2 shacks were destroyed in 2003, 7 houses, the electricity network, and the main water tank were demolished in 2009.