Violation: The demolition of a Palestinian house, 2 brux used as animal shelter and the ploughing of a large area of lands.
Date: September 21st, 2010.
Location: A location locally known as “Ghurs Ghraisan” in the town of Al Tur.
Violator: The Israeli “Environment Protection Authority” (a.k.a. The Green Police) under the protection of Israeli occupation forces.
Details:
On the early morning hours of Tuesday September 21st, 2010 a large Israeli force composed of Special Forces and Border Police invaded the Ghurs Ghraisan site in the town of Al Tur – near the Hebrew University. The invading forces placed the area under curfew as it declared it a “Closed Military Zone.” The force was accompanied by employees of the Green Police and more than 12 large bulldozers carried by large trucks. At 8:30 AM the bulldozers began to plough the lands under the pretext that the lands will be used to establish a park in the said area.
The ploughing resulted in the demolition of a number of structures owned by the 41-year-old Mr. Wa’el Darwish Dana including a 20-m2 house that consisted of a room, a kitchen and a bathroom unit. Mr. Dana bought the land 6 years ago and built the house there in 2006.
The demolition of the house was accompanied by the uprooting of more than 50 trees including olive, fig, lemon and apricot trees. Also, the invading forces demolished two bruxes used as animal shelter; the area of the first brux was 120-m2 in which more than 50 sheep were sheltered while the second brux (area= 60 m2) was used as a horse stable in which 6 horses were sheltered.
Photos 1+2: The damage caused by the ploughing of Ghurs Ghraisan lands in Al Tur.
Mr. Dana gave the following testimony to the Land Research Center (LRC)’s field researcher: ‘ At 8:30 AM my neighbors called me and informed me that the Israeli occupation forces are destroying my property while ploughing the land. When I reached the location, the soldiers prevented me from accessing the site of the demolition. They gave me a piece of paper from the Environment Protection Authority ordering me to clean up the debris that resulted from the demolition within 24 hours. The Order also indicated that I should remove the animals from the area as I “don’t have the proper license to raise them”!!!!. I went to my lawyer afterwards to pursue the matter further as I have all the needed documents that indicate my ownership of the land.
The ploughing finished at 4:00 PM. Eye witnesses indicate the ploughed lands are owned by more than 50 persons including:
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Mr. Ra’ed Khalil Dana. The area of his land is 750 m2 in Parcel 6. He bought it only 3 months ago.
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Mr. Ashraf Mustafa Abu Al Hawa. The area of his land is 775 m2 which he bought in 2002.
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Mr. Ihab Mohammad Al Khalis. The area of his plot of land is 520 m2
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Mr. Mohammad Musa Abu Laban. The area of his land is 700 m2 which he bought in July 2010.
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Mr. Rami Abu Al Hawa.
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Mr. Ra’ed Al Hammam.
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Mr. Abu Suleiman Ajram.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
The Land Research Center
LRC
