Israeli Violations of Palestinian Rights in the Occupied City of Jerusalem during the month of April 2013

May 1, 2013

Summary of the Israeli Violation in the Occupied City of Jerusalem in April, 2013:

Violation	Location	Occurrences
House demolitions
	Assuwana	1
	At Tur	11
	Ath Thuri	1
Demolition of structures
	At Tur	3
Seizures and seizure attempts
	Old City	1 (hotel)
Attacks on agricultural lands
	Silwan	2
Colonial expansions
Approval of construction	Givat Ze’ev	112 colonial units
Dumpster site	Atarot	1
Approval of construction	The Occupied City	50 colonial units
Attacks on religious sites
Break-ins	Al Aqsa Mosque	3 times
Raids
Dar al Aytam School	Damascus Gate	Banning a festival

The right to Residence… House Demolitions

The Israeli Municipality in the Occupied City forces a family to Demolish their own Residence

April 1, 2013, the Israeli Municipality in the Occupied City forced Maha abu al Hawa to demolish her own residence which is located in AS Suwwana in the Occupied City of Jerusalem. In 2005, the family amended a 26-m2 room to their residence; soon after the completion of construction, an inspector of the Municipality showed up and penalized the family for unlicensed construction. In June, 2006, an Israeli Court approved the 7,000 ILS penalty and ordered the family to demolish the newly added room. In 2008, the Court ordered the family to pay an additional penalty of 6,000 ILS. The family applied for a construction permit which was rejected by the Court. Once again, the family applied for a new construction permit with a modified scheme which included a larger plot but the second application was also rejected.

On March 19, 2013, the Israeli Court ordered the demolition of the residence and imprisonment of the owner unless she removes the amended room; the owner complied and demolition the section on April 1, 2013.

Demolition of 7 apartments and 3 commercial facilities in At Tur:

On April 24, 2013, Israeli troops accompanied by two dozers broke into At Tur, to the east of Jerusalem, before demolishing 7 apartments and 3 commercial facilities. Later on, the Israeli troops evicted Kayed Jaradat and his 40-member-family prior to embarking on the demolition of three apartments and 3 shops. All was done on the pretext of unlicensed construction.

Kayed said: "we have been living here since 1997, we lived in a three-bedroom apartment but the large family we had needed more; consequently, we added 3 more rooms and the shops. Soon after the completion of construction, we received an 80,000 ILS penalty and a demolition order. Our lawyer managed to postpone demolition but the Israeli dozers did not comply".

The residences turned into rubble

Demolition lasted for two hours. The same dozers then moved towards a building, property of Mohammad Hamdan of Anata and Zyad abu Sbitan of At Tur. The under construction, four apartment building, was also knocked down by the Israeli dozers on the same pretext.

The remains of the building

Israeli dozers demolish four residences in At Tur:

On April 29, 2013, Israeli dozers demolished 4 residences in At Tur; the houses were property of:

Rushdi Gayth, married with 5 children.
Intisar Gayth, living there with her 3 sons, 2 are children.
Ali Gayth, married with 5 children.
Tareq Gayeth, living there with his wife, mother and 3 children.

Rushdi commented: "we received a demolition order in 2004 alongside a penalty of 48,000 ILS; our lawyer managed to postpone the demolition several times and the penalty was paid in installments, the last was made in January of this year. This morning, we were shocked to see the Municipality staff despite postponing the demolition till September, 2013 but they did not seem to care. The dozers knocked down the walls surrounding the houses before embarking on demolitions which lasted for two hours".


The houses turned into rubble
A woman trying to salvage some of her belongings

The Israeli Municipality in the Occupied City demolishes a veranda in Ath Thuri:

On April 30, 2013, the Israeli Municipality in the Occupied City demolished a veranda with a total area of 50 m2; it was built in 1998. Mohammad abu Sneina, the owner, said: "in 1998, we received a demolition order for the veranda with penalties reaching up to 90,000 ILS. Which we paid over 15 years. In 2002, we were accused of not complying with orders and again in 2006, each time more penalties were imposed on us. We hired an engineer to examine possibilities of knocking down the building; he concluded that demolishing the veranda will risk the whole building and that report was given to the Court which we informed that we will not demolish the house and if they want, they can demolish it on their own. At 8:00 am on april 30, 2013, Israeli dozers showed up and knocked the veranda down within one hour."

Seizures and seizure attempts

Petra Hotel is endangered:

Petra Hotel in Omar Ibn al Khattab Square in the Old City is threatened with seizure by Ateret Kohanim colonial Society. The hotel is a 3-storey building that was built in the eighteenth century; it holds 42 rooms and is operated by 4 employees. In 1998, a Christian Orthodox monk sold that lands where the hotel stands to Ateret Kohanim. The hotel was burnt down by a group of radical colonists two years ago and despite the Israeli Municipality demands to renovate the building the Israeli Department of Rental [of state property], the legal guardian of the building rejected any renovations.

In March of this year, the hotel management attempt to renovate the roof resulted in the stoppage of work and arrest of 2 people who were exiled from the City for one month due to disobeying a Court order.

Attacks on Agricultural lands:

Weeks after destroying his lands… Israeli troops ban Al Shweiki from rehabilitating it – Wadi al Rababa – Silwan:

On April 11, 2013, an officer of the Israeli Environmental Protection Agency called the Police after spotting Hamza Al Shweiki in his field. The EPA claims that the lands are confiscated for building a Talmudic Park in the area. The Police arrested Hamza and detained him for accusations of trespassing. A week earlier, the Police also arrested Ismael Shqeir for the same reason.

The Israeli EPA is one of the tools used to colonize more Palestinian lands and limit the accessibility to agricultural lands under various pretexts. It usually claim that the lands were confiscated for public usage and the owners of these lands are subjected to arrests, fines, and abuse for that claim.

Colonial Expansions

The most significant colonial expansion plans in April:

On April 29, the Israeli Government approved a plan for the construction of 121 colonial units in Givat Ze’ev (Yedeot Ahronot daily).
On April 19, 2013, the Israeli Municipality n Jerusalem approved the location of a new dumpster site over a 9-dunum plot in Beit Hanina.
On April 8, 2013, the Israeli Minister of Housing approved a plan to construct 50 residential units nearby the governmental compound in the heart of the Occupied City (Haaretz daily).

Attacks on religious sites:

Unstoppable attacks on Al Aqsa:

The Israeli raids against al Aqsa Mosque continue unabated with flocks of colonists breaking into the mosque under the protection of the Israeli Police and troops in a provocative and disrespectful manner. Israeli troops checked IDs on Muslims on their way to the Mosque and banned a number of women from entering.

On April 16, the Israeli Occupation Authorities allowed 59 colonists to enter the Mosque Yards with a tour guide; the Police provided them with protection.
On April 23, 2 colonists entered the Mosque yard and commenced on some religious rituals which provoked the feelings of many Muslims; the Police accompanied the colonists out to avoid further turmoil.
On April 21, over 80 Israeli soldiers and 30 colonists broke into the Mosque yards before leaving via Herod’s Gate.

The Israeli Police announced that it will place a number of surveillance cameras around the Mosque which was condemned by the Islamic Waqf which considered it disrespectful and a violation of the holiness of the site.

Raids:

The Israeli Occupation Authorities ban a festival:

On April 19, 2013, the Israeli Minister of Internal Security, Yitzhak Ahronovich banned a shopping festival that was planned to take place in April to encouarage commerce in the Old City. The Police called for the presence of Hani Gayth, head of Ath Thuri Club, and interrogated him. The next day he received an order banning the activity while claiming that it being sponsored by the PA without receiving a permit according to the Oslo Accords. The Police also handed a copy to Mr. Ahmad al Rweidi of the Palestinian Presidential Office.

The Police threatened the organizers of exile if they do not comply to the orders. At the same time, the Israeli Ministry of Tourism is planning for carrying out the "lights festival". The purpose of the order is to further isolate the City from its Palestinian surrounding.