On November 18, 2014, Israeli officers from what is so-called “Israeli Civil Administration” accompanied by the Israeli Occupation Army stationed in Shyoukh Al-‘Arroub community south of Al-‘Arroub Refugee camp and handed over seven local residents military orders notifying them to halt construction in their structures and to turn the situation before starting the construction which means to demolish the structures. See the table below:
| Table for the details about the targeted Structures in Shyoukh Al-‘Arroub | |||
| Owner | Type of Structure | Date of Construction | M. Order No. |
| Khalid Abdel Hafez Abu Sham’a | 200 m2 electricity company Barracks | 2011 | 180190 |
| Khalid Mohammad Khanna | Under construction 120 m2 house | 2012 | 180192 |
| Nabil Mohammad Khanna | Under construction 180 m2 house | 2012 | 180193 |
| Hisham Issa ‘Ayyad | Under construction 150 m2 house | 2013 | 180194 |
| Ibrahim As’ad Halayqa | Under construction 200 m2 house | 2012 | 180195 |
| ‘Aref Qasem Al-Ra’i | Two-story under construction 240m2 | 2010 | 180191 |
| Khalid Jamal Al-Mugrabi | Under construction 100 m2 house | 391538 | |
| Source: ARIJ Fieldworkers | |||
Shyoukh Al-‘Arroub is a Palestinian community located north of Hebron Governorate and south of Bethlehem Governorate. It is bordered by Al-‘Arroub Refugee Camp from the north, Sa’ir from the south Beit Ummar from the west Umm Al-Buttom from the east. It is populated by 1921 residents (PCBS Projections – 2014).
Al-‘Arrub Refugee Camp located north of the city of Hebron in the southern parts of the West Bank. It is bordered by Gush Etzion settlement Bloc as well as the Segregation Wall from the north, As-Shyoukh village from the south, Beit Ummar from the west and Beit Fajjar from the east. The camp is populated by 9,841 residents (PCBS Projections-2014). See the map and photos for the threatened houses in Shyouk Al-‘Arroub : See Map 1
Map 1: the targeted structures in Shyoukh Al-‘Arroub
Photos 1-5: the targeted structures in Shyoukh Al-‘Arroub/captured by ARIJ fieldworkers
Photo 1 & 2: some of the military orders handed over to residents of Shyoukh Al-‘Arroub area
Proposed Israeli Bypass road to stretch through the area
On November 22, 1998, the commander of the Israeli Occupation Army in the West Bank at that time, Moshe Ya’laon, issued the military order No. 10/98/T stating the confiscation of hundreds of dunums from Al ‘Arrub, Beit Ummar and Halhoul lands under military pretext to construct 7 km length Israeli bypass road in the area.
According to the military order, the proposed road started from the bypass road # 60 and specifically nearby Kfar Etzion settlement and stretches through Al-‘Arrub, Halhoul lands in parallel with road 60 encircling the development areas of Al-‘Arrub camp and Shyoukh Al-Arrub town.
It is worth pointed that the plan of the proposed by pass road had been frozen for several years, while the recent demolition of the houses and structures in Al-‘Arrub camp, which are only dozens of meters away from the proposed path of the colonial road, indicates that the Israeli Occupation may start with implementing the road plan at anytime.
Conclusion
The Israeli targeting of the Palestinian properties is Illegal and constitutes a grave breach for 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
