Violation: demolishing a residence
Location: Al-Hadaf neighborhood- Jenin
Date: August 31, 2015
Perpetrators: the Israeli occupation army
Victims: family of Majdi Abu Al-Hayja
Details:
Home demolition is an illegal and inhumane policy conducted by Israel against Palestinians since the year 1948. It is part of the Israeli discriminative ideology and is considered a violation of international laws and human rights.
It should be marked that the Israeli occupation army uses the claims of “security purposes” and “unlicensed construction” to carry out home demolitions. Israel justifies all demolitions in reference to article number 119 from Britain’s Emergency Law that is relative to the British mandate on Palestine 1948. Noteworthy, the law was canceled but the Israeli government would still use it to humiliate Palestinians.
The Israeli occupation authorities demolished the 150m2 residence of Abu Al-Hayja family (7 members including 5 children) and a water well that is of 45m3 in area. It should be marked that Abu Al-Hayja is a freed prisoner, who spent 12 years in the occupation’s prisons. Noteworthy, before imprisonment, Abu Al-Hayja worked for Jenin municipality.
Abu Al-Hayja’s friend Mohammad Jarrar told a researcher from Land Research Center the following:
“At 10:00 p.m. of August 31, 2015, a massive force from the Israeli occupation army raided the area of Al-Hadaf, north Jenin and surrounded the house of Majdi Abu Al-Hayja. Through loud speakers, soldiers ordered the residents of the house to evict, taking into account that Abu Al-Hayja’s wife had her leg broken and that his mother and brother were rendering a visit to the family. The family evicted the house but was not allowed to save any of the interior; soldiers assaulted Abu Al-Hayja and his brother and detained them in a nearby area. Officer of the force informed the family of the home demolition under the claim of “search for fugitives”. Abu Al-Hayja’s wife tried to convince the force that nobody was left home and that she is ready to lead them inside the house to make sure of that but solders refused to believe her story. Dozers then embarked on demolishing the house; the demolition lasted until 5:00 in the morning. Noteworthy, Majdi Abu al-Hayja was taken with the force”
The policy of home demolition has a very negative impact on the psychology of kids and women. Witnessing the destruction of one’s residence is unbearable and traumatizing. Such acts undermine human values and rights.
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
