The Israeli Occupation Authorities Issue 33 Demolition Orders against Palestinian residents in the Occupied City of Jerusalem

March 1, 2010

Violation: distribution of 33 demolition orders.

Location: Al Bustan neighborhood, Jerusalem Old City, and Al ‘Isawiya.

Date: January 2010.

Violators: the Jewish Municipality in the Occupied City of Jerusalem.

Victims: the following table provides details of the owners of the threatened houses:

Name	Location	Number of structures	Family members	Children	Comments
Mustapha al Ruwaidi, Walid al Rajabi, Abdul Karim Abu Sneinah, Basim abu Zyab, Salah abu Shafi’	Al Bustan Neighborhood – Silwan	6	N.A	N.A	The orders target structures regardless of people according to article 212/5/65 which calls for prosecuting stone and not people
Abdul Rahman abu Farha	Jerusalem Old City	1	7	5	Self-demolition order
Various families	Al ‘Isawiya	26	N.A	N.A	No-permits and closeness to the segregation wall
Total		33

Once more, the Israeli Occupation Police and The Jewish Municipality in the Occupied City of Jerusalem distributes stop-work and demolition orders in Al Bustan neighborhood in the Occupied City:

On Jnauary 20, 2010, a force of the ‘Israeli Occupation Borders Guards’ accompanied by a force of the Special Forces and Municipality employees showed up in Al Bustan neighborhood and started distributing stop-work and demolition orders. The orders were based on article 212/5/65 of the construction and organization law and were all with a blank header, meaning that neither the owner name nor the demolition reasons were specified.

6 demolitions orders were handed, 3 families received such orders for the first time including Mustapha al Ruwaidi, Walid al Rajabi, and Abdul Karim Abu Sneinah.

Picture 1: Al Bustan neighborhood

Also, three other families received demolition orders for the second time including:

1. Jum’a al Ruwaidi: his house was built before 1967 (before the Israeli occupation of Jerusalem) and the previous order that he received became outdated on 12/1/2010.

2. Salah abu Shaf’i: the previous order expired on 15/1/2010.

3. Basim abu Zyab: his house is too old.

The Israeli Occupation Authorities are hunting Abu Farha’s land and source of living:

The Jewish Municipality in the Occupied City of Jerusalem is threatening Abdul Rahman Abu Farha (40) to demolish his 45 m2 house that shelters his 7 members’ family that includes 5 children. The demolition order came after ordering him to renovate the ceiling of the house on August 27, 1997 or else he’ll be forced to pay 1900 NIS in fines.

Picture 2: Abu Farha’s shelter

He complied with the order. However, the same organization issued a demolition order against his house justifying that by not having a construction permit. They ordered him to be present at a hearing session in one of the Israeli Courts on March 21, 2010.

Yet again, The Jewish Municipality in the Occupied City of Jerusalem intimidates to destroy 26 residents in Al ‘Isawiya:

The The Jewish Municipality in the Occupied City of Jerusalem re-opened the cases of 26 demolition orders that were issued previously. On Jnauary 26, 2010, the orders were issued again against illegally built houses according to the municipality.

Late on 2009, Mohannad Jibara, a legal advisor and the defendants’ lawyer rushed to the court to postpone the demolitions conduction because Al ‘Isawiya residents have applied for a new organizational plan. However, after passing through many stages and persuading many officials, the municipality engineer in charge of the case was changed for no apparent reasons; his replacement rejected all the previous agreement and re-opened the cases rendering the houses under demolition threats again.