Stop-work Orders in Tuqu village, Bethlehem Governorate

Stop-work Orders in Tuqu village, Bethlehem Governorate

 

Violation: stop-work orders on four residences

Location: Tuqu' – Bethlehem.                               

Date: 15/12/2014.

Perpetrators: the Israeli Occupation Civil Administration

Victims: villagers of Tuqu'.

Details:

On December 15, 2014, the Israeli Occupation Authorities issued a number of stop-work orders targeting four  residences, all are under construction.

Citizen Saher Hasan(27)asserted that Israel Civil Administration with the army troops  stormed the village and handed citizens out stop-work orders on their structures. He also added: " I was shocked by the occupation's order. The house cost me more than 180 thousand INS; my family( three members) and I are expected to live in the house, yet it is still under construction on the land I inherited from my father"

The order mentioned that the structures were unlicensed construction and compelled immediate termination of work. January 15, 2015 is set  as a date of a hearing session to be held in Beit El Military Court to consider whether to demolish the structures or restore their status quo. The following table shows information about the affected citizens :

             
Affected citizen Aream2 No. of buildings No. of apartments No of structures Notes Photo
Saher Hasan 240 1 2 Two floor house to be home to the owner's family 1
Ahmad Suliman 40 1 Under construction house 2
Mosa Hussein 150 1 1 1 One apartment and a basement to be home to the owner's family 3
Mahmoud Hasan 110  1 1   Under construction o be home to the owner's family N.A
Total 4300 11 28 7    

Source: Field Observations – Monitoring Israeli Human Rights Violations- Land Research Center 

 

 

About Tuqu':

Tuqu' is an old Canaanite name which meant "placing of tents"; the crusaders called it "Thecua" as it was one of their strongholds in Bethlehem area. 

Tuqu' has a great deal of Roman, Greek, and Mamluke ruins considering its strategic location. One of the most significant ruins is the "baptism basin" which is a stony artifact that has been cut and formed. It represents a number of Christian sects.

It is believed that the artifact has been made around the 1750s; it is also believed that this is one part of a two-part artifact; the second part's location is unknown.

Tuqu' is surrounded by 5 Israeli colonies including Tquah, AlDavid, Nokdim, in addition to two other colonies to the south, Mizpe Shalim and Mushki Dar Got.

Tuqu' total area is 10 km2. Therefore it is considered the largest rural community in Palestine. The village is 12km to the west of Bethlehem governorate and is covered by evergreen trees, making it an attractions to many visitors and tourists.

It is inhabited by 13000 people by 2014 including all its four parts namely: Tuqu' , Khirbet Tuqu', Khirbet al-Dair, and al-Halqum .

 

Prepared by

 The Land Research Center
LRC
 

 

Categories: Military Orders