Israeli Occupation Forces detonate a residence in the Hebron town of Bani Na’im on security claim

• Violation: demolition of a house
• Location: Bani Na'im town- Hebron 
• Date:  August 15, 2016
• Perpetrators: Israeli Occupation Forces
• Victims: citizen Naser Tarayrah

Details:

 Forces of the Israeli army detonated  on August 15, 2016 the residence of Naser Tarayrah in the town of Bani Na'im, southeast Hebron, on the claim that the man's son carried out a stabbing attack in Kharsine colony that is founded on confiscated lands from the city.

It should be marked that a massive force from the occupation army, a staff from the explosives department and a dozer raided at midnight the area of Al-Wejih, north Bani Na'im village and encircled the house of citizen Tarayrah. The team of explosives planted bombs in house at time soldiers were evacuating residents of the nearby. The evacuated people were detained in a houses that is 400meters away from the target house.

Photos 1-9: sings of the detonated house of Tarayrah

A neighbor, Jaser Tarayrah, said that the occupation soldiers evacuated around 25 residences and detained  the residents in the house of Mustafa Tarayrah. Total number of detainees was 250 people, most of whom were elderly and young children. It should be mark that ambulances moved around 40 children and other 10 people to Bani Na'im hospital after suffering difficulty breathing due to their detention in small rooms. At dawn, the house was detonated causing damage to three nearby houses. Windows and street lights were shattered as a result.

The affected house belong to the following people:

1. Rajeh Tararyrah: windows of affected house and some of the interior were shattered
2. Jaser Tararyrah: cracks in the kitchen and broken windows
3. Nabil Tarayrah: broken windows

Photos 9-11: signs of damage following the explosion

The detonated house is composed of three floors and is divided as follows:

1. First floor: a 100m² apartment used as a storage unit
2. Second floor: a 200m² apartment where the affected family lives
3. Third floor: a 200m² apartment that is still under construction

Note that the detonated house is s home for ten member family including 4 children.

Since Al-Aqsa uprising of 2015 until the date of this report, Israeli Occupation Forces demolished 47 residences, of which 19 were demolished in 2015 where the rest were demolished in 2016. Demolitions were carried out as a collective punishment on the families of attackers and prisoners. 238 persons including 83children were rendered homeless as a result. Closing and detonating houses also caused 57 residence to get partially damaged and uninhabitable.

The graph illustrates the number of demolished residences on the claim of "Security Purposes" in West Bank
and East Jerusalem since September 2015 until August 15, 2016

It should be marked that the order was issued in reference to the British Emergency Law for the year 1945, taking into consideration that this law was abolished. “Confiscation and demolition” according to article 119 of the law indicates that it is not allowed to re-construct in the demolition location. The Israeli occupation authorities made sure to extend the validity of the British law to use it against Palestinians. 

 Land Research Center sees the vicious attack on Palestinian buildings  as a collective punishment against the families of martyrs and prisoners.  The occupation seeks to traumatize and humiliate Palestinian families through such practices.

The Israeli government claims such orders to be deterrent for Palestinians who carry out stabbing or killing attacks.  Such attacks come in response for colonists’ attacks on Palestinians, the latest of which was represented in torching a family alive, not mentioning running over kids and women,  attacks on trees (torching , cutting down, robbing) and lands confiscation.

Prepared by
 The Land Research Center
LRC