Israeli occupation forces, accompanied by the so-called Israeli Planning and Building Committee, stormed the Ras al-Ahmar area in the Atouf community and delivered a demolition notice to Mr. Thaer Hussain. The notice targeted four of his structures under the pretext that they were built in a military zone, as the area is classified as Area C under Israeli control.
The notice included the demolition of his agricultural and residential properties, which were built in 2017, and includes four facilities, two of which are designated for raising sheep (pens), numbering 90 sheep, and they all spread on a total area exceeding 350 meters. In addition, the notice includes a residential facility with an area of 20 square meters, which is similar in its construction to temporary barns with a detachable roof, and for another area of 25 meters barn used for fodder storage.
Structures threatened with demolition
Mr. Thaer, who is physically disabled, mainly relies on sheep farming as his primary source of income. It cost him 20 thousand shekels to build the pens that house his flock of 90 sheep. After the demolition, Mr. Thaer faces great difficulties in finding an alternative place to shelter his sheep in case the occupation insists on to proceed with the demolition notice, which threatens his main source of income and threatens his food security.
After Mr. Thaer received a notice of the demolition of his property, he appointed a lawyer to follow up on the case, where a lawsuit was filed, where the lawyer was able to obtain a precautionary decision to stop the demolition of the facilities. However, a court decision came after that to reaffirm the demolition decision, but Mr. Thaer was given a one-year grace period to implement the demolition order himself, also known as “self-demolition”.
The incident that targeted Mr. Thaer Hussein, which targeted his only source of livelihood, is not an isolated incident, but rather a link in a long chain of Israeli violations against the Palestinians in Atouf. The decision to stop work and demolish the pens, which is met with the expansion of settlements at the expense of grazing lands, represents a direct threat to the livelihoods of hundreds of Palestinian families in the Jordan Valley and all areas classified as C. The Israeli actions push Palestinian communities closer to poverty and forced displacement, further deepening the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
About Atuf,
Atuf is located east of Tubas city, approximately 12 kilometers away. It is bordered by the Israeli settlement of Beka’ot to the east, the village of Yarza to the north, the town of Tamoun to the west, and the village of Nasariya to the south. The current population is estimated at 1,300 residents, with women making up approximately 46% and men 54% of the total population.
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
