A massive force form the occupation army accompanied by a staff from the municipality and two dozers raided on January 27, 2016 the location of Jabal Al-Mukabir and demolished the residence of citizen Ali Musa Sabri. Noteworthy, the 60m2 house was ready for moving in.
Sabri told Land Research Center the following: " The house was constructed on May 2015, my eight member family including five children and I were planning to move in to it on December 2015. To my surprise, I found a demolition order left by the structure later that time. On Wednesday January 27, 2016, I received a phone call from my neighbors informing me that the dozers of the occupation embarked on demolishing my residence. When I arrived at the place, I was denied access to the location of demolition. The demolition operation lasted for two hours"
Photos 1-3: signs of the demolition aftermath
Demolition of Al-Rishiq residence in Beit Hanina town:
On the same day, the doers of the occupation municipality demolished the residence of Citizen Karim Al-Rishiq in the area of Khallet Al-Snad from Beit Hanina town. The 150m2 house was built in 2000 and is home for eighteen members including twelve children.
It should be marked that the house was served a stop-work order in 2001 on the claim of "unlicensed construction". It is when the owner applied for a building permit through attorney Sami Irsheid. The municipality said that the land on which the house was built is classified "green" or for public services, which means that any urban construction is banned in such area. The lawsuit of Al-Rishiq family lasted until December 2015 and the court ordered the house to be demolished.
The son of the house owner, Rami, told Land Research Center the following: " A total of 75,000 NIS worth of fines has been paid for the municipality. At 7:30, a massive force from Israel Police and Special Forces accompanied by two dozers raided the area, traumatized families and kids and evacuated some of the targeted house's interior before bringing it down. The demolition operation lasted an hour and half. When the force withdrew, they assaulted and pepper sprayed us"
Photos 4-7: from the demolition operation on Al-Rishiq's
An attempt to demolish Al-Hawareen residence:
It is reported that the residence of Rajeh Hawareen was served a demolition order and that the occupation forces were a step away from bringing it down. But the court of the occupation's municipality delayed it until April 31, 2016. It should be marked that the 150 m2 house was built in 2001 and is currently inhabited by seven members including one child. Noteworthy, the court's order was issued in the last moment and the dozers withdrew from the location as a result.
Land Research Center sees the policy of home demolition as an ethnic cleansing practice and a violation of the following:
- Article 17 of the (1948) Universal Declaration of Human Rights stating: “Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.”
- Article 53 of the Geneva Fourth Convention (1948) declaring: “Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.”
What Israel does of demolitions in east Jerusalem and West Bank is a clear-cut violation of human rights and all of the international laws and covenants. Israel only aims at displacing Palestinians for sake of serving the colonial expansion plans.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
