“Even funded and gifted by EU”
The Israeli Occupation Forces demolish residential barracks east Jericho city

January 21, 2016

• Violation: demolishing Al-Jahalin Bedouin community
• Location: east Jericho city
• Date:  January 20, 2016
• Perpetrators: Planning and Construction Committee- Israel Civil Administration
• Victims:  family of Jamal Al-Jahalin

Details:

A massive force from the Israeli Occupation Forces accompanied by a staff from the so-called Israel Civil Administration with military dozers raided on January 20, 2016 the area of Al-Alami project , east Jericho and embarked on large-scale demolition operation.  The operation reached out the residential barracks and sanitation facilities gifted by ACTED organization with funds from EU to shelter the Bedouin families rendered homeless due to a demolition carried out on January 2013. For more information, please read the following report ( Eng)

It should be marked that the affected families received stop-work orders on the structures donated by the EU on October 2013 (nine month from the first demolition) and on April 2015 as well. The affected objected to the latest orders but the court of Beit El refused to grant them building permits and licenses. Not only, the court ordered the structures to be demolished.

Consequently, the court issued an "additional opportunity to object demolition order" notice within a three day deadline. As a result, the structures got demolished due to the lack of objection time. The following table shows information about the affected and their structures: 

Source : Field observation- Department of Monitoring Israeli Violations- Land Research Center-2016

By now, the families residing the area since 1985 underwent two demolition operations, by which the occupation seek to displace the indigenous people of this Bedouin community to serve colonial plans.

Land Research Center LRC sees that demolitions contradict with all of the International conventions and Humanitarian laws including:

1. Article 17 of the (1948) Universal Declaration of Human Rights stating: “Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.”
2. Section ‹G› of article 23 of the (1907) The Hague Conventions asserting: “In addition to the prohibitions provided by special Conventions, it is especially forbidden to destroy or seize the enemy's property, unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war.”
3. Article 53 of the Geneva Fourth Convention (1948) declaring: “Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.”
4. Section 1, Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966): “The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international co-operation based on free consent."

Prepared by
 The Land Research Center
LRC