A notification to demolish a house in the town of Hawara, south of Nablus, under the pretext of attacking antiquities

June 20, 2022

• Violation: order of house demolition.
• Location: Hawara town / Nablus governorate.
• Violation date: 20/06/2022.
• The aggressor: the so-called antiquities affairs officer.
• Victim: Karim Hamza Mahmoud Abbas.

Violation details:

 On Monday, June 20, 2022, at approximately eleven o’clock, a force of the occupation army, consisting of three military vehicles, stormed the “Lahf Jabal Zaid” site from the lands of Hawara town. The so-called Antiquities Affairs Officer of the Civil Administration handed a notice entitled “A warning to stop the destruction of antiquities” for the house of Karim Hamza Mahmoud Abbas, under the pretext that it was built in an archaeological area in the town of Hawara, south of Nablus.

The aggrieved citizen, Karim Hamza Mahmoud Abbas, said that he received a warning to stop the destruction of antiquities of his house under construction, ordering the demolition and removal of the two-story house, of an area of 130 m², and the second floor, of an area of 170 m², under the pretext that it was built in an archaeological area.

Order №. 989 targeting the home of Karim Abbas

Photos 1+2: Shows the house in demolishing danger

Karim Hamza Mahmoud Abbas confirmed that the archaeological area is more than 200 m away from his house, which consisted of destroyed stone terraces, which the occupation considered to be antiquities.

The town of Hawara:

Hawara is located 8 km south of the city of Nablus, on the bypass road No. 60 linking the north to the south of the West Bank, which was called the “Death Street” due to the large number of daily accidents that occur on that road, including run-downs and vehicle collisions. Hawara Municipality has repeatedly tried to maintain the road. Thus, they put indicative signs on it, but the Israeli occupation obstructs the process of its maintenance and refuses even to put indicative signs on it.

The population of the town of Hawara is 6,659 people as of 2017, divided into three main families: Odeh, Dhamidi and Khums family, in addition to the fact that 3% of the town’s residents are of refugee origin.

The total area of Huwwara is 8,520 dunums, of which 1,116 dunums are a building up area. On the village lands there is the Israeli settlement of Yitzhar, which confiscated 331 dunums of the town’s lands, and bypass Street No. 60 looted 430 dunums of its lands.