A large force from the Israeli occupation army, accompanied by the “Building and Planning Department” along with bulldozers, stormed the village of Kardala, located in the northeast of the city of Tubas, and demolished a nearly completed house belonging to Ahmed Nasser Faqha. The 135-square-meter, single-story home, consisting of five rooms, housed Ahmed and his six family members. The demolition was carried out under the pretext of “building without a permit” in Area C, where Israel severely restricts Palestinian construction.
Ahmed Faqha had received a demolition notice (No. 31462) and made every effort to obtain a building permit. He tried to obtain a building permit by contacting the governorate, which in turn assigned for his case a lawyer to follow up, but was not able to block or halt the order at the time.
In desperation, he hired a private attorney at a personal cost of 50,000 shekels, paying 30,000 upfront in hopes of legalizing his home, and despite consulting an Israeli surveyor, preparing a detailed building plan, Mr. Ahmed attempts to secure a permit were met with systematic rejection as all the lawyer’s efforts failed due to obstruction by the Settlement Council.
What happened to Ahmed Faqha is an illustration of the obstacles that Palestinians face while trying to obtain their most basic rights, which highlight the extent of the injustice they suffer and reveal a systematic policy aimed at obstructing their daily lives.
The financial loss of Mr. Ahmed Fuqaha Ahmed suffered was devastating financial losses estimated at 154,000 shekels, which including the value of the house that amounts to 124,000 shekels for the construction of the house, in addition to the legal fees obtained by the private attorney at 30,000 shekels.
The targeted home of Ahmed Fuqaha during and after the demolition
Yet, the material loss is humbled in comparison to the emotional toll felt by Ahmed and his family, which was reflected while standing on the destruction of his home, as he bitterly expressed:
“We have spent our entire lives dreaming of an independent home. I poured my life’s earnings and my children’s hard work into building it, only to watch it be torn down before our eyes. The injustice is unbearable.”
These words reflect the lost dream and the suffering that he and his family are experiencing, as they were forced to return to live with the family, burdened with great material and moral burdens, as the family lost a great deal of its privacy. The toll of the awkward living arrangements falls especially on the 3 women and girls members of the family, which in turn endure heightened psychological and social pressures.
Ahmed’s story is not an isolated case but a reflection of Israel’s broader colonial policy and a systematic effort to dispossess Palestinians and force them from their lands.
The policy of demolishing homes practiced by Israel against the Palestinians, similar to what happened with the Ahmed Faqha, is an intended crime and are not random incident. It is rather a systematic policy aimed at breaking the will of the Palestinian people and stripping them of their rights. It is an episode of a long series of crimes added to the long record of Israeli violations of the international laws and human rights against Palestinians, and it is also not an isolated crime, but rather part of a systematic policy aimed at destroying the lives of Palestinians and displacing them from their lands. It is just another explicit reminder of the ongoing struggle for Palestinian rights and existence.
About Kardala Village:
Kardala village is located to the northeast of Tubas city, approximately 13.5 km away from it, and is bordered by Ein al-Beida and the Mehola settlement to the east, Bardala village to the north, Jabaris and Wadi al-Maleh to the west, and al-Hamma, al-Farsiya, and the Hamra settlement to the south. Its population is (350) people, 40% of whom are males, and 60% are females, and the total area of the town is 10,000 dunums.
Prepared as part of the project:
“Mapping and Diagnosing Palestinian Rural Women’s Livelihood and Economic Empowerment in Area “C”
Implemented by: The Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem (ARIJ)
Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
