Israeli occupation forces demolished on March 19th, 2008 the houses of the two brothers Yaser and Tayseer Mohammad Ibrahim Al Adara located in Al Deirat region south of Yatta in Hebron Governorate. The two brothers resided in a two-story house along with their families numbering 23 individuals of which 11 are children.
Photo 1: The two story house of Al Adara brothers which was
demolished due to its close proximity to the by-pass road.
Mr. Al Adara has indicated that he received a Stop Work order in September 2007 in addition to a demolition order in November 2007. He provided the following statement to Land Research Center's field researcher: ' In the morning of March 19th, 2008 Israeli occupation forces arrived at our house along with a bulldozer. Our house was surrounded by them as they told us that we have to vacate the second floor of the house as a prelude to its demolition. However, they have demolished both floors atop all of the contents of the house without any mercy.'
Photo 2: Mr. Yaser Al Adara assembles a tent for his family after the demolishing.
Israeli occupation army claims that the house was built without a permit. That is despite the fact that Al Adara family and the residents of Al Deirat have Turkish and Jordanian deeds proving their ownership of the land. Moreover, the residents of the targeted community of Al Deirat have been living in that area even before the creating of Israel in 1948. Harassment started in this area after the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in 1967 as large area of Al Deirat (as well as other nearby villages) lands were confiscated by the Israeli occupation authorities. The agony increased after the creation of the nearby colony of Karma'el in the early 1980's as it is inhibited by Israeli extremists who made a habit of attacking and harassing Palestinians in an effort to drive them out of their lands. The suffering has become unbearable after the establishment of the colonial by-pass road which links all the colonies in the area together. Demolition orders that have been carried out in the region by the Israeli occupation army are done as a service for the colonists in an effort to remove any Palestinian presence from the vicinity of the colonies and the by-pass road.
Israeli Occupation Forces demolish the house of Mr. Yousef Ismaeel Al Adara:
On March 19th, 2008 Israeli occupation forces demolished the house of Mr. Yousef Ismaeel Al Adara atop of all his familys' belongings. The house, the area of which was 54 m2, used to provide shelter for seven individuals. Occupation forces gave a demolition order to Mr. Al Adara a week before the demolition took place. That was despite the fact that Mr. Al Adara has lived in that part of Al Deirat even before the construction of the by-pass road.
Photo.3: The remaining debris of the house of Mr. Al Adara
The Demolition Policy is On-Going:
The policies of house demolition and the judiazation of the region have been carried out since 1985. Al Adara family has seen its share of demolitions as two shops belonging to the family were demolished before. Also, three houses (area ranging between 50 -120 m2) along with two water cisterns were demolished in 2005.
Photo 4: One of the cisterns demolished by the occupation forces in 2005 for Mr. Al Adara.
Moreover, Mr. Yousef Al Adara has been subjected to the violence of the colonists on a number of occasions as they prevented him a number of times from accessing his 131-dunum land located near the colony of Karma'el.
Photo 5: Mr. Yousef Al Adara near his land to which Israeli occupation prevents him from accessing.
He has been prevented from accessing, plowing or working in his land for the past 5 years. Colonists have offered him large sums of money to leave the land, yet he flatly refused. He has hired a private lawyer to force the occupation authorities to allow him to return to his land and to enable him to use it.
Al Deirat Village:
The village of Al Deirat is located 6 kilometers east of the town of Yatta. It is an agricultural village with a total population of 400 Palestinians from the clans of Al Hamamdeh, Al Adara as well as the clan of Musa'afeya. The village is serviced by a village council (which does not have a headquarter !!!) that is headed by Mr. Mohammad Mahmoud Al Adara. It is divided into two sections by the by-pass road which links the southern Israeli colonies with the northern ones.
The village has the following border:
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Eastern direction: Al Ka'abneh Bedouins and the colony of Karma'el.
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Western direction: the town of Yatta
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Northern direction: Al Bweib khirbat.
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Southern direction: Umm Lasaffa and the colony of Ma'on.
Prepared by:
The Land Research Center
LRC
