Violation: Forcing people to demolish their property
Date: 08/04/2014
Location: Deir Samit- Hebron governorate
Perpetrators: The Israeli Civil Administration
Victims: Members of al-Hroub family
Details:
The Israeli occupation authorities forced citizens Ibrahim and Nayif Hroub to demolish a shed they use for sorting out and recycling junk, in Deir Samit town, north of the West Bank city of Hebron.
On October 20, 2013, the Israeli authorities issued a stop-work order on the structure and on January 03, 2014, they sent a 'final stop-work and demolition order' to the Hroub. According to Khalil Hroub, he immediately sought the help of the "Norwegian Refugee Council" to object the order.
The orders attached
On Tuesday, April 08, 2014, an officer of the Israeli Civil Administration accompanied by a patrol of the Israeli army showed up at the location of the barrack in Deir Samit town, and informed Hroub that he "has to demolish the structure within two days. Otherwise, an Israeli bulldozer would carry out the job and fine him the costs." Hroub chose the lesser of two devils and started with emptying the shop with the help of some workers.
Pictures 1-5: The self-demolition operation
Hroub assured that the structure, built on a 4-dunum piece of land, provides a source of living to 10 families including the property owners and workers.
The case of Hroub is the second of its kind in Hebron where the Israeli occupation forces Palestinians to demolish their structures by themselves as the Monitoring and Documenting Israeli Violations Department in LRC also recorded the case of Yasser Awawda from al-Bireh, north of Hebron, who had to level his barrack, used for animal husbandry, three months ago.
Self-Demolition is a Crime against Humanity:
Definition: When an owner of a structure is forced to demolish his property by himself, it is called 'self demolition' or 'silent demolition'. It used to be carried out in quiet or in silence as the name suggests. But recently, due to their increased number of cases, victims have come to disclose that such type of demolition exists and that it is their only choice and speak out about the inhumanity of the Israeli occupation for forcing such a practice.
If your house has been built without a building permit, then it is legal and you have to destroy it and remove the wreckage as soon as possible. You also have to take pictures of the destroyed structure and send them to the Inspection Department of the Planning and Construction Committee in the occupying municipality to verify the act. There is a fixed date regarding when you have to carry out the demolition operation and this is a red line you cannot cross. There is a second date set by the municipality court of local affairs to check if you have abided by the demolition order or not. In case you do not comply, the municipality will demolish your residence at your expense. If you cannot pay, you will be jailed, so the lesser of two evils becomes the self-demolition choice
This kind of demolition is mainly imposed on Palestinians in Jerusalem in efforts to displace them and Judaize the city. But recently, it has been imposed on people in the West Bank as well.
The Israeli occupation always justifies that type of demolition, which is a blatant contravention of the right to residence and a crime against humanity, on the pretext of unlicensed construction.
This policy has been imposed on Jerusalemites after the illegal annexation of East Jerusalem to the state of Israel but how on earth does Israel give itself the right to force such practice in the West Bank, which is occupied but not part of the state of Israel, thus the laws of occupation, and not the Israeli civil laws should be applied?!!
Such attitude indicates the willingness of the Israeli occupation to annex area C of the West Bank to the state of Israel which undoubtedly will harm any peace negotiations in the future.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
