- Violation: Demolition of parts of the house of the family of Ala’ Qabha.
- Location: Eastern Barta'a / Jenin Governorate.
- Date: Thursday, 21 June, 2018.
- Perpetrator: The Israeli occupation army.
- Victim: A 4-member family
Details:
In the early hours of Thursday, 21 June 2018, a large force of the Israeli occupation army stormed the eastern town of Barta'a- the part that is isolated behind the Apartheid Wall, in order to demolish the residence of Ala’ Ratib Abdul Latif As'ad Qabha (23 years old). The Israeli army accuses Ala’ of intentionally running over soldiers near the Dotan military checkpoint at the beginning of May this year.
The Israeli forces used manual equipment to break down the walls of the apartment in which the prisoner lived with his brother Issam, his sister Nesreen, and her little daughter.
The total area of the apartment is 145 square meters and is part of a residential building owned by the father of the prisoner. The total area of the building is 700 square meters and it consists of four storeys in the middle of the town. Two floors are used as shops while the third floor has the apartment of the prisoner and his siblings. The fourth and last floor contains two apartments with an area of 120 m 2 for each.
Picture1-6 of the targeted structure
The military decision to demolish
The father of the prisoner, Ratib Abdul Latif Qabha, 66, told the researcher of the Land Research Center that: "What happened with my son Alaa is a real car accident. It was not predetermined as the Israeli army claims. There are no indications or any evidence yet to make an indictment against my son that he willingly ran over Israeli soldiers. Plus, there is no decision on the part of the Israeli court to condemn him. Despite all of this, the Israeli army has obtained recommendations from the so-called Israeli High Court of Justice to demolish the apartment which Alaa and his brothers consider home without any legal justification. "
Qabha added: "On May 10, I received a military order posted by an Israeli army commander that stated a decision to demolish the apartment where Alaa lived. I objected to that decision within 24 hours. Then, through the Israeli HaMoked Foundation, I petitioned to the High Court of Justice to appeal against the demolition order. On May 30, the Israeli High Court of Justice issued a decision to demolish the place, within 14 days of the date of the issuance of that unfair decision.
It is noteworthy that the Israeli occupation forces still use the demolition order system of the British Emergency Law adopted during the Mandate period in Palestine, in accordance with Law 119 of 1945 despite their knowledge that this unjust law should be canceled and that the occupation has no right to implement it. The demolition affects the innocent and also causes harm to nearby structures. In the case of Ala’s apartment, the demolition caused the cracking of the rest of the apartments. Furthermore, the mentioned article (119) of this law refers to "demolition and confiscation” and implies that the Palestinian citizen cannot rebuild his/her structure in the place of the destroyed one. The Israeli occupation authorities are keen to extend the Emergency Law issued by the British Mandate to Palestine on an annual basis for use against Palestinian citizens.
Logic of the occupier:
The occupation applies the law of demolition of houses on Palestinians and spares colonial- settlers, and this exposes the extent of Zionist racism adopted by the occupying state in its policy and discrimination against the Palestinians.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
