On the 8th of May2013, the Israeli occupation Army (IOA), raided Deir Nidham village, north-west of Ramallah city, and handed over 11 stop work notices to Palestinian families in the village under the pretext of “Building without license”. The threatened structures are owned by Ahmad Tamimi and his sons Abdul-Raziq, Hasan and Mahmoud, and their cousins Kafour, Abdul-Hafizh, Salih, Mustafa and Haitham Tamimi. The (IOA) also handed out Abdul-Kashif Tamimi a stop-work order for his house which is currently under construction. Table 1 gives details of 7 orders out of 11 that ARIJ received:
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Table 1: Israeli stop work orders in Deir NIdham village |
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Area of targeted structure |
No. of Military Order |
No. |
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80 m² |
1 |
|
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150 m² |
2 |
|
|
80 m² |
3 |
|
|
100 m² |
4 |
|
|
210 m² |
5 |
|
|
100 m² |
6 |
|
|
60 m² |
7 |
|
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Source: Deir Nidham village council |
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Map 1: The targeted houses in Deir Nidham Village
An analysis conducted by the Geographical Informatics Department (GIS) at the Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ) indicates that the targeted Palestinian structures are located in the Area classified as ‘C’ according to OSLO II Interim Agreement of 1995. However, Israel, as usual, claims that these Palestinian structures were built without building permits which are usually issued by the Israeli Civil Administration, the Israeli official body authorized to issue permits in the areas classified as ‘C’ as the area is fully controlled by Israel (security and Administrative) and therefore they have to be demolished. While in fact, the targeted houses are located few meters away from the Israeli settlement of Hallamish which clearly shows that Israel aims to one, and only purpose, which is to expand the aforementioned Israeli settlement (Hallamish) at the expense of the neighboring Palestinian houses in Deir Nidham village.
Palestinian owners indicate that their targeted houses are very old and were built before Hallamish settlement was established. Owners also stated that they witnessed the confiscation of their lands for the established of Hallamish settlement which confounds the Israeli claims of building without permits. Additionally, the proximity of the houses from the settlement of Hallamish, threatens its security and settlers living in it, as Israel claims, and therefore, the demolition of Palestinian homes and structures under the pretext of unlicensed construction, gives a legal nature of what Israel is doing in Deir Nidham village, to move forward with its plans to demolish the houses and finally grab the land for settlement expansion.
Deir Nidham is a Palestinian village located in Ramallah governorate, 13.7 km northwest of Ramallah City. It’s bounded by the Israeli settlement of Hallamish from the east, An Nabi Salih and Bani Zeid villages from the north, Abud village from the west and Al Itihad town from the south. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics of 2013, Deir Nidham village has a total population of 1,033 residents.
The geopolitical status of Deir Nidham village
According to the Oslo II interim agreement, signed in 1995 between the Palestinian National Authority (PNO) and Israel, Deir Nidham village lands were divided into areas ‘B’ and ‘C’. Area ‘B’ constitutes 130 dunums (4.7% of the total village area), where the PNA has complete control over civil matters, but Israel continues to have overriding responsibilities for security. While the remaining 2,628 dunums of Deir Nidham village land (95.3% of the total village area) is classified as area ‘C’, where Israel has full control over security and administration. In Area ‘C’, Palestinian building and land management is forbidden unless a permit is issued by the Israeli Civil Administration, which is almost hard to obtain due to the requirements and conditions imposed on Palestinians filing for a permit from the Israeli Civil Administration, which are usually hard to fulfill. See (Table1)
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Table 1: The geopolitical divisions of Deir Nidham village lands according to Oslo II interim agreement in 1955 |
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Area |
Area in Dunums |
Percent of total village area |
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Area A |
0 |
0 |
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Area B |
130 |
4.7 |
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Area C |
2,628 |
95.3 |
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Total |
2,758 |
100 |
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Source: ARIJ-GIS unit, 2012 |
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The impact of the Israeli occupation
During the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory, the Israeli government has confiscated 650 of dunums dunums of Deir Nidham lands for different Israeli purposes, including the building of Israeli settlements on the village’s lands, the construction of Israeli bypass roads in order to connect settlements with their neighboring ones and many other Israeli installations. Today, the settlement of Hallamish stands on lands of Deir Nidham village and has a total population of 1,173 Israeli settlers.
Israeli has also confiscated lands from Deir Nidham village to open bypass roads, especially the bypass road 465. This road was constructed to connect the established Israeli settlement with the neighboring Israeli settlements.
To conclude
Under the guise of “lacking building permits”, Israel is moving forward with its colonial projects in the Occupied Palestinian State and imposing inexorable “facts on the ground”, especially in the areas classified as ‘C’ through establishing and expanding illegal settlements, outposts, and military bases at the expense of the Palestinian communities, where this is the exact situation in Deir Nidham village.
By doing so, Israel kills every possible chance for the establishment of a genuine and viable Palestinian state in the future. The Israeli systematic attack against the Palestinians and their properties constitute a grave breach of the international law rules and conventions, some of which are listed below:
- Article 53 & 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 indicated that: Extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly, is a grave breach of the Convention.
- Moreover Art. 23 of the Hague Convention of 1907 also provides: In addition to the prohibitions provided by special Conventions, it is especially forbidden to destroy or seize the enemy's property, unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war.
- Also under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of, December 10, 1948, Article 17 reads: 'No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.' Which means it bans Israel from destroying or confiscating the property of the Palestinians at any case.
- 'Article 12' of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence.
- Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,: Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.
- In the year 2004 the United Nations Security Council called on Israel to stop demolition of Palestinian homes under Resolution No. 1544-(2004), the resolution states: 'The Security Council called on Israel to respect its obligations under international humanitarian law, particularly the obligation not to undertake home demolitions contrary to that law'.
Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
