At 06:00, on December 22, 2011, around 70 Israeli soldiers and 8 vehicles accompanied by 2 dozers and a Jackhammer broke into the western side of Idhna town, Hebron, and launched a large scale demolition campaign. Mohammad abu As’ad, a victim, stated that Israeli troops demolished 7 water cisterns and tanks which used to provide 30 dunums of agricultural fields with water. In addition, the Israelis demolished 6 sheds and confiscated 8 water pumps. 3 hours later, the Israelis pulled back of the town leaving traces of destruction in 13 structure; they are:
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Demolishing a water cistern, a water tank, and two sheds; property of Mohammad abu As’ad.
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Demolishing a water cistern and shed; property of Mohammad Tmeizi.
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Demolishing a water cistern, a water tank, and two sheds; property of Ahmad Tmeizi.
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Demolishing a water cistern and shed; property of Mohammad al Batran.
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Demolishing a 100-m3-tank; property of Idhna Municipality.
The Israeli Occupation Authorities handed the owners demolition orders in 2010; the owners objected to the order in Israeli courts and provided all the property deeds. It seems that their plea was not heard as no decision has been taken yet.
Idhna Governor, Jamal Tmeizi, said in a statement made to LRC that this area has been a target for the Israelis for years. The area covers most of the needs of the town folks in terms of fruits and vegetables. According to Mr. Tmeizi, the demolition will have drastic effects on the population considering the demolition of the main water tank. All the measures that we took to protect the area were futile.
LRC views the Israeli measures as a scandalous breach of all the international agreements and conventions.
The Israelis violated article 53 of the Geneva Forth Convention stating: ‘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.‘; as well as article 147 stating: ‘ Grave breaches to which the preceding Article relates shall be those involving any of the following acts, if committed against persons orproperty protected by the present Convention: …and extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly. ‘
Also, the Israeli Occupation Army violated Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stating:
(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
The Land Research Center
LRC
