A series of halt-of-construction orders in three Palestinian communities in southern Nablus Governorate

As part of the Israeli demolition campaign targeting Palestinian communities in the area classified as  “C” in the occupied West Bank, the so called “Israeli Civil Administration” issued during the months of June and July 2016 halt-of-construction orders targeting homes and structures in a number of Palestinian communities in Nablus Governorate. Owners of the threatened structures were notified to stop the work at their homes and properties under the pretext of lacking building authorization from the Israeli Civil Administration due to their location in Area “C”[1], which according to Oslo II Interim agreement of 1995, Israel retains full and extensive control over the area, including over security, zoning and planning. The targeted Palestinian communities were identified as Furush Beit Dajan, Qusra and Majdal Bani Fadel. The halt-of-construction orders received citizens of the aforementioned Palestinian communities state that the existing structures were built/installed in violation of the fourth chapter of the Israeli City, Village, and Building Planning Law no. 79 of 1966 which was amended after the 1967 war by the Israeli Occupation Authorities on the basis of Military order No. 418 to comply with Israel's interests and settlement plans in the occupied Palestinian territory. Below is a detailed description of the issued demolition orders in the aforementioned communities.

1- Furush Beit Dajan Village – Nablus Governorate

Orders of Beit Dajan were issued on the 17th of July 2016 and villagers were given till the 4th of August 2016 to proceed with license procedures. However, the orders also pointed out that pursuing license procedures does not guarantee Palestinians a license by the Israeli civil administration or stop possible demolition during that time. Table 1 gives details of affected Palestinian owners in Furush Beit Dajan village.

Furush Beit Dajan is located in the Jordan Valley area in the eastern part of the West Bank. Following the Israeli occupation of the West bank and the Gaza strip in 1967, Israel targeted the eastern part of the West Bank by announcing vast areas of the Jordan valley as ‘Closed Military Area, with the intention to cease Palestinian urban  and economic development in the area. These actions further aimed at displacing Palestinians from their place of residence, so that Israel could implement its colonial plans in the area and strengthen its presence in the occupied Palestinian territory. This policy constituted an obstacle to the growth of Palestinian communities since most of these communities became located in areas where construction is prohibited by the Israeli Authorities.

This incident isn't the first of its kind in Furush Beit Dajan where during the last few years, Israel has stepped up its demolition policy in Furush Beit Dajan village and . Below is a detailed description of some incidents that took place in the village:-

• The unjustifiable Israeli demolition campaign in the Occupied Palestinian territory 
  The Israeli bulldozers target Kherbit Al Humsa and Furush Beit Dajan with demolition"
• Stop-work order on a tan of water in the village of Furush Beit Dajan

For more information about Furush Beit Dajan village, click here

2- Qusra Village – Nablus Governorate

Orders of Qusra village were issued on the 23th of June 2016 and villagers were given till the 27th of July 2016 to proceed with license procedures. Table 2 gives details of affected Palestinian owners in Qusra village.

Photos 1-3: Orders distributed in Qusra village

Lately, Qusra village has been targeted by halt-of-construction orders which targeted several homes and structures in the village. Below are details of some incidents that took place in the village:-

• Funded by the Dutch Representative Office: The Israeli occupation notifies agricultural structures of Stop-Work in Qusra town
• Demolition and stop-work orders on structures in Qusra village
• The Israeli occupation notifies structures with demolition in the Nablus village of Qusra

For more information about Qusra village, click here

3- Majdal Bani Fadel Village – Nablus Governorate

In Majdal Bani Fadel village, orders were issued on the 19th of June 2016 and were given till the 11th of July 2016 to proceed with license procedures. Table 3 gives details of affected Palestinian owners in Majdal Bani Fadel village.  

For more information about Majdal Bani Fadel village, click here

Map 1: The location of the threatened homes and structures in Nablus Governorate

To Conclude

In the past six months (January 2016 up to June 2016), the Israeli occupation Authorities has more than doubled its demolitions of Palestinian homes and structures in the occupid West Bank Bank (oWB) comparing to previous years in addition to notifying hundreds other of demolition and halt-of-construction orders. So far, 285 Palestinian homes were demolished in the occupied West Bank (during the aforementioned period) in addition to notifying 452 others and demolition of 352 structures in the oWB. See Table 4 for more details

The continous and systematic targeting of Palestinian homes and  properties in the oPt by the Israeli Army constitute a grave breach of the International law rules and conventions and reflects the Israeli intention to forcibly displace the Palestinians from their lands to pave the way for the settlement building and expansion on the expense of Palestinian lands. Moreover, these unjustified and Illegal colonial activities has unlimited support from the Israeli government, which is still part of the peace process but clearly continue to violate the international laws; of which, the Universal Declaration of human rights, the International covenants as well as the rules of International Humanitarian Law.

• Article 2 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads that: 'Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it is independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.'
• Article 3 states that 'everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person'.
• Article 13 states also that '(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.'
• Article 25 states that '(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.'

In addition, the Israeli colonial practices violate:

• Hague Convention IV (18 October 1907): Convention Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land: Article (23): 'To destroy or seize the enemy's property, unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war;'
• Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949, Article 53: 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 necessary by military operations

[1]According to the Oslo agreements signed between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1995, Israeli forces redeployments were scheduled to take place so that by the end of year 1999, the Palestinians would gain control over 95% of the West Bank area; however, Israel did not comply with the signed agreements and proceeded to make delays on the transfer of powers and responsibilities relating to territory to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which led to only partial withdrawal from the Palestinian land. By March 2000, the areas under effective Palestinian control (area A) amounted to no more than 18.2 %; area B amounted to 21.8% of the total West Bank total area while the remaining area which constituted 60% of the total West Bank area remained under the full Israeli control and weren't handed over to the Palestinians. Israel is illegally targeting Palestinian homes in areas under their control, which, according to the signed agreements, were supposed to be delivered back to the Palestinians.

Prepared By  
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
ARIJ