- Violation: demolition of a house.
- Violation date: 3/11/2021 AD.
- Location: Al-Gawaya – Yatta / Hebron Governorate.
- The perpetrator: the so-called civil administration.
- Affected party: Mrs. Nijma Murr, her two children and grandchildren.
The violation details:
On Wednesday, November 3, 2021, the Israeli occupation authorities demolished the house of Mrs. Nijma Hammad Barakat Mur, under the pretext of building it without a permit, in the Al-Jawaya area, east of Yatta town, Hebron governorate.
At approximately nine AM, a force of the occupation army and the so-called Organization and Construction Department of the Civil Administration stormed the area, bringing with them two bulldozers, one produced by Hyundai and the other by Volvo, and a group of workers from an Israeli civil company.
Once the house had been besieged, the workers began throwing out the furniture and belongings into the open air, and leaving behind the kitchen, and some other sanitary utensils inside.
Images 1-3: The rubble of the demolished House
Afterwards, the two bulldozers started demolishing the house, which was built out of cement in 2018, and has an area of 150 m2, leaving two families, that is, the family of Mrs. Nijma and her three daughters, and the family of Nijma’s son, wife and three children homeless. The total number of people made homeless is nine, including 3 children.
Earlier, the occupation authorities issued a stop work notice against the house dating on 15/4/2018 under the pretext of starting construction in zone C without permission. Consequently, the lady hired a lawyer who began to prepare the documents necessary for licensing, but, the house was eventually destroyed.
Legal Commentary:
The demolition of Palestinian homes and installations by the occupation authorities is part of their violations of international and humanitarian law, and the violation of the right to adequate housing for Palestinian citizens guaranteed by international law and international treaties presented by the following articles:
- Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states that “Destruction and usurpation of property in a manner not justified by military necessity and on a large scale in an unlawful and arbitrary manner is a 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 private, fixed or movable 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.
- Paragraph ‘g’ of Article 23 of the Hague Convention of 1907 AD also warned against destroying or seizing the enemy’s property, unless the necessities of war necessarily require such destruction or seizure.
- Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, dated December 10, 1948 states that “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property”.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
