The Demolition of Palestinian Homes in Occupied Jerusalem

The occupation municipality in Jerusalem is still continuing its policy of demolishing Palestinian homes in the city. In March 2009 the Municipality demolished 9 Palestinian shelters in a number of locations throughout Jerusalem including Sur Baher, Silwan, the Old City, Beit Safafa and Al Izzariya. The most targeted location was Al Izzariya followed by Sur Baher. All told, 62 Palestinian Jerusalemites, including 40 children, became homeless due to the continued policy of ethnic cleansing practiced by the Municipality.  

 

Nir Barakat, the new head of the Jerusalem Municipality, has declared since the first day of his election his war against Palestinian building and presence in the Holy City. The new policy that he is adopting is different than the ones adopted by his predecessors; it used to be that house demolition orders would be issued to a number of houses in different locations throughout the city. Currently, Nir’s policy entails issuing demolition orders for entire neighborhoods such as Al Bustan Neighborhood in Silwan and Ras Khamis Neighborhood in Shu’fat Refugee Camp. That is in addition to groups of houses in Burj Al Laqlaq and 35 apartments in two buildings in Al Abbasiyya Neighborhood in Silwan, etc. The new policy flags an intense campaign to Judiaze everything that is Palestinian in Jerusalem. There are whole Jewish neighborhoods that were constructed without permits in East Jerusalem. Yet, it seems that the Jerusalem Municipality does not know about these neighborhoods and knows only about the room of Mr. Khalil Al Tarhouni in the Old City and forced him to demolish it.  The following table summarizes the demolitions in Jerusalem during the month of March, 2009, per location:

Location	No. of Demolished Houses
Sur Baher	2
Silwan	1
The Old City	1
Beit Safafa	1
Al Izzariya	4
TOTAL	9

On the 2^nd of March, 2009 Israeli occupation forces demolished the house of Mr. Mohammad Taha Mohammad Affana under the pretext of being built without a permit. The house used to be located near Omar Ibn Al Khattab Mosque in Sur Baher. It consisted of one floor of an approximate area of 70 m². It used to shelter 4 Palestinian Jerusalemites of which 2 are children. 

 

2- The Demolition of the House of Al Abbassi Family in Silwan:

On the 2^nd of March, 2009 Israeli occupation forces demolished the house of the 40-year old Mr. Mahmoud Yousef Mohammad Al Abbasi. The house consisted of one story of an area of 75 m². It had 3 rooms in which 8 used to live 6 of whom are children. See Photo 1

 

On the 4^th of March, 2009 the Jerusalem Municipality forced the 36-year-old Mr. Sharif Mohammad Suleiman Attoun to demolish his own house. Otherwise, the Municipality would have carried out the demolition itself and fined Mr. Attoun for its expenses. The house used to be of one story with an area of 85 m² and it provided shelter for a family of 8 Palestinian Jerusalemites of which 6 are children.  

 

On the 6^th of March, 2009 Mr. Khalil Mohammad Al Tarhouni demolished his own house in the Old City of Jerusalem in fear that the Municipality would do that and fines him for the demolition. The shelter consisted of one room and a bathroom with an area of 25 m². It used to house Mr. Khalil, his wife and his child. See Photo 2 

On the 17^th of March, 2009 more than 50 Municipality employees, accompanied with 150 Israeli occupation soldiers, raided and demolished he roof apartment of Mr. Mahfooz Abu Khalaf in Beit Safafa. The apartment used to provide shelter for 7 Palestinian Jerusalemites of which 5 are children. Moreover, the Israeli force demolished the external elevator used by building tenants despite the fact that the building itself has a permit and the only violation was the construction of the 6th floor.  See Photos 3 & 4

 

 

On the 18^th of March, 2009 the jeep of the so-called Israeli “Civil Administration” accompanied Israeli Army forces to the location of Ras Al Ayazra in Al Izzariya where they carried out a demolition of a residential brux owned by Mr. Salman Al Jahaleen. The area of the zinco-roofed brux was 140 m² in which 9 Palestinians used to reside, 7 of them are children.  Moreover, after the demolition of Salman’s residential bruxes, occupation forces demolished the 90-m² brux of his brother, Mohammad, which used to shelter him and his 4-member family 2 of which are children. See Photo 5 & 6 

 

Again, on the 18^th of March, 2009 Israeli bulldozers, having demolished afore-mentioned bruxes at Al Jahaleen, continued its savage campaign and demolished 3 residential bruxes belonging to Mr. Sa’eed Salem Hamed. The collective area of bruxes was 130 m² in which 9 Palestinians use to live including 7 children.  (See Photo 7)

On the 18^th of March, 2009 Israeli bulldozers demolished the house of Mr. Ghazi Al Qaimary located in the town of Al Izzariya. It consisted of one floor with an area of 140 m² in which 9 Palestinians, including 5 children, used to reside. The house was located in across from the colony of Ma’ale Adumim and in Area B. A building permit was issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Local Governance, yet the Israeli occupation authorities insisted that it was located in Area C. See Photo 8

Name	Location	No. of Shelters	Area in m2	Family Members	Children	Notes
Mohammad Taha Mohammad Affana	Sur Baher	1	70	4	2
Mahmoud Yousef Mohammad Al Abbasi	Silwan	1	75	8	6
Sharif Mohammad Suleiman Attoun	Sur Baher	1	85	8	6
Khalil Mohammad Al Trahouti	The Old City	1	25	3	1
Mahfouz Abu Khalaf	Beit Safafa	1	120	7	5	Fifth floor
Khaled Salman Al Jahaleen	Al Izzariyya	1	140	9	6	Residential bruxes
Mohammad Salman Al Jahaleen	Al Izzariyya	1	90	5	2
Saeed Salem Hamed	Al Izzariyya	1	130	9	7
Ghazi Rabee Al Qaimary	Al Izzariyya	1	140	9	5
TOTAL		9	875	62	40