- Violation: demolishing a citizen’s home.
- Date of Violation: 02/11/2020.
- Location:Ghaziwi – Yatta / Hebron Governorate.
- Perpetrator: the so-called Israeli administration.
- Affected person: citizen Kamal Dababsa.
Violation details:
On Monday November 2, 2020, the Israeli occupation authorities demolished the house of Kamal Issa Muhammad Dababsa, under the pretext of un-licensing, in the “Ghaziwi” area, southeast of Yatta,Hebron.
At about 3 pm, a force from the occupation army and a vehicle belonging to the so-called Planning and Building Department of the Civil Administration accompanied by A Volovo made bulldozer and a JCB made driller raided the area, and immediately began destroying the target house without clearing the building that were inside.
Photos 1-4: Rubble of the house of citizen Dabbasa in the Ghaziwi area
The demolished house is consisted of one storey and a staircase built of stones and bricks, and it was in the finishing stage, with an area of about 90 M2.
Citizen Dababsa started building the house at the beginning of the current year on a plot of land he owned in the Ghazioui region, to house and r seven children.
On 10/24/2020, the occupation authorities issued a notice entitled “Demolition and removal of a new building,” based on the Military Order 1797 of 2018, demanding a self-demolition and removal of the building after (96 hours) from the date of issuance.
Notice No. 30451 of the demolition and removal of the house of citizen Dababsa
It should be noted that the “Ghaziwi” area has recently witnessed an escalation in the occupation violations that target the homes and establishments of citizens there, as many stop work notices and demolition orders were issued there, with the aim of curbing urban expansion in the area and forcing citizens to leave their lands in favor of settlement projects.
Military order 1797
On 17 April 2018, the Israeli military commander in the West Bank issued a military order allowing the demolition of unlicensed structures in Area C deemed as “new” within 96 hours of a removal notice being issued.
According to the military order, “new structures” are those identified by an Israeli “Civil” Administration’s (ICA) inspector as having been built within the previous six months, or inhabited for less than 30 days prior to the removal notice. The only way to prevent the demolition is to produce a valid building permit or provide evidence that the targeted structure is not “new” within the meaning of the order.
The new order severely restricts the right to a hearing or the opportunity of appeal. According to the planning regulations applicable in Area C, the first enforcement measure against an unlicensed structure is a stop-work order, which gives the owner 30 days to object and try to obtain a building permit retroactively. If this fails, the ICA may issue a final demolition order, usually due for implementation within two to four weeks, during which period the owner may petition the HCJ and potentially obtain an injunction freezing the demolition order pending a ruling.
The new military order follows an amendment to an earlier military order of November 2015 which has a similar effect. The amendment allows the ICA to seize, without any formal advance notification, structures determined by an ICA inspector as “mobile” and installed no more than 60 days prior to the seizure. “Mobile structures” are understood as those which can be disassembled or otherwise removed without destroying them. Originally reported as a measure for use against settlement outposts, since mid-2017 it has been implemented in Palestinian communities. For example, in June and August 2017, the Israeli authorities dismantled and seized 96 solar panels and six caravans to be used as classrooms, both provided as humanitarian assistance and funded by international donors, in JubbetadDhib, an Area C community in southern Bethlehem.
Under the new law, fines imposed on individuals charged with building without a permit can reach up to NIS 400,000 rather than the previous penalties of tens of thousands of shekels.
Legal Commentary:
The demolition and threat of Palestinian housing and installations by the occupation authorities is part of their violations of international and humanitarian law, and the violation of a right of Palestinian citizens guaranteed by international law and international treaties, which is the right to adequate housing, within the following articles:
- Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states that “Destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and on a large scale in an unlawful and arbitrary manner.” These are grave breaches of the convention.
- Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1948 prohibits the destruction of property, as this article states the following: “The occupying power is prohibited from destroying any fixed or movable private property related to individuals or groups, the state or public authorities, or social or cooperative organizations. Unless the war operations inevitably require this destruction.
- Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed.
To view some of these violations, see the following Land Research Center reports:
- Demolition orders and notices to stop work in the areas of Ghaziwi and Al-Khaldiyah, south of Yatta-Hebron
- Notices to stop work and demolition orders for homes and facilities in “Ghaziwi”, south of Yatta / Hebron
- Notice to stop work on an agricultural project in Ghaziwi area, south of Yatta
The Land Research Center
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