On June 28, 2009, the Israeli Civil Administration handed over citizens of Idhna town west of Hebron city new halt-of-construction notices alleged for lacking valid building permits. The notices targeted eight Palestinian families and several workshops in the town. The Israeli pretext was that the houses were built in an area classified ‘C’ which according to Oslo II Interim agreement of 1995 falls under full Israeli control. Table 1 below gives details of the targeted Palestinian houses: –
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Table 1: Targeted Palestinian houses in Idhnatown
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MO. Number
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OwnerName
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Status ofStructure
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Number ofinhabitants
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143830
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Jamal Jihad ‘Eid
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Completed Structure
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NA
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143831
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Nader Muhammad Ahmad Sleimieh
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Completed Structure
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4
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143835
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Raed Kamel Hussein Tumeizi
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Completed Structure
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5
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143834
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Fareed Kamel Hussein Tumeizi
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Newly completed Structure
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Not Inhabited
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143836
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Nadeem Sa’di Isma’il Az Zgheir
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Completed Structure
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2
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143837
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Abdel Majeed Ibrahim At Tumeizi
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Under Construction
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Not Inhabited
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143832
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Saber Muhammad Mahmoud At Tumeizi
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Workshop built since 5 years
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—–
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143833
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Tareq Ibrahim ‘Awad
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Completed Structure
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6
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Total
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17
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Source: Idhna Municipality 2009
Below is the translation of the military order as served by the Israeli Civil Administration to Palestinian Families:-
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Since you are the owner / liable / contractor / Work Manager / of the aforementioned mentioned property, which is undergoing construction (as detailed in the warning) without a license and / or violating the content of the license and / or built contrary to the regulations and orders and instructions in force and / or violating the master plan of the area/ height/ number of floors/ site/ prohibited construction, you are required under Article 38 (1) (3) of Planning of Towns, Villages and Buildings law, No. 79 of the year 1966 to immediately halt construction in the property.
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The Israeli Civil Administration gave Palestinians of Idhna town until the 16th of July 2009 to proceed with license procedures. However, they also pointed out that pursuing license procedures does not guarantee Palestinians a license by the Israeli civil administration as stipulated in the Order or stop possible demolition during that time. See Map 1
The Israeli Civil Administration Targeting Idhna Houses in 2008
This is the second time within six months that the Israeli Civil Administration targets Idhna town with halt-of-construction orders, the first time was on the 3rd of November 2008, when the residents of Idhna received 24 halt of construction notices and 3 demolition allegedly for lacking valid building permits. This in turn increased the number of threatened houses and structures in Idhna to 34. Table 2 below gives details of Palestinian houses and structures that were targeted in Idhna town in November 2008.
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Table 2: threatened Houses in Idhna Town
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No.
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Name
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Type of military order
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No. of houses
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1
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Khalil Diab Hussein Jeyawi
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Halt of Construction
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3
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2
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‘Awad Hilmi Ragheb Nofal
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Halt of Construction
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1
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3
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‘Aref ‘Abed El Hafez Mahmoud Abu Zalta
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Halt of Construction
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1
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4
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Amjad Hilmi Ragheb Nofal
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Halt of Construction
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1
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5
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Ziad Muhammad ‘Ali Faraj Allah
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Halt of Construction
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1
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6
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‘Abed El Hadi Muhammad ‘Ali Faraj Allah
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Halt of Construction
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1
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7
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Ahmad Muhammad Ibrahim Faraj Allah
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Halt of Construction
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4
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8
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Maher Salameh Ahmad ‘Awad
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House Demolition
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1
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9
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Misab Suleiman ‘Abed El Qader Abu Zalta
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Halt of Construction
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1
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10
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Mahmoud Isma’il Yousef Faraj Allah
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Halt of Construction
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2
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11
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Khalid ‘Azmi Muhammad Jabara
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Halt of Construction
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1
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12
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Rashid Yousef ‘Abed Allah Butran
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Halt of Construction
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1
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13
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Ahmad Muhammad Ahmad Abu Daqa
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Halt of Construction
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1
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14
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‘Abed El Rahman Muhammad Hassan Faraj Allah
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Halt of Construction
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1
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15
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Samir Muhammad Yousef Butran
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Halt of Construction
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1
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16
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Aos Deeb Ibrahim Faraj Allah
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Halt of Construction
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1
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17
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Riziq Salameh Ahamd ‘Awad
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House Demolition
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1
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18
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Muhammad ‘Abed El Hafiz Issa Jeyawi
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Halt of Construction
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1
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19
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Sa’oud Ahmad Hassan Slemiya
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House Demolition
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1
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20
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‘Emad ‘Abed El Halim Mahmoud Faraj Allah
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Halt of Construction
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1
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21
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Yousef Mahmoud ‘Abed Allah Butran
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Halt of Construction
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1
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Total
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27
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Source: Palestinian District Coordination Office – Idhna Town, Hebron
Building without valid licensing documents has always been the Israeli alleged reason to demolish Palestinian structures in the OPT; especially those located in Area ‘C’ where Palestinians are require a building license from the Israeli Civil Administration (ICA) office. In addition to being exceptionally costly in terms of fees, the license procedure, as stipulated by the Israeli Civil Administration, requires a long list of demands by the ICA office which is only the starting point of the License procedures. Until Palestinian owners are able to fulfill the demands of the ICA office, and documents are processed, years pass without an answer to applicants, which in turn forces Palestinians to start construction without licenses, as they know in advance that their applications are ignored, rejected, or postponed for not being able to meet the Israeli requirements. An average of 5% of all Palestinians’ application for building permits are excepted while the majority of 95% of the application are abundantly rejected, which was the main reason to frustrate Palestinians’ development plans, including those barely enough to meet the natural growth of population.
To Include:-
The Israeli policy of demolishing Palestinian structures in the occupied Palestinian territory allegedly for lacking valid building permits and other Israeli pretexts reflects Israeli’s apartheid policy in the territory and lack of respect to its obligations under international law and international humanitarian law, especially the fourth Geneva convention, Article 53 and 147 and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Article 5.
The irony of the whole demolishing Palestinians’ houses issue in area ‘C’ not only the fact that Israel has deprived Palestinians of their rights for adequate housing as stated by the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (Article 25(1), 1948), it stepped up construction activities in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, using all means possible in this regard such as publishing plans and bids to build more housing units in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, especially those located between the Green Line (Armistice Line of 1949) and the route of the Wall under the pretext of meeting ‘natural growth’ requirements, as stated by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in May 2009; at the same time, Israel continues to issue demolition and evictions notices to hundreds of Palestinian families all over the West Bank area putting tens of thousands of Palestinians at the risk of displacement.
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[1] Areas which fall under Israeli security and civil control
[2] ‘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.’
[3] Clearly prohibits, ”extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.”
[4] States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, color, or national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of the following rights:
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(a) The right to equal treatment before the tribunals and all other organs administering justice;
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(b) The right to security of person and protection by the State against violence or bodily harm, whether inflicted by government officials or by any individual, group or institution;
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(c) Political rights, in particular the rights to participate in elections–to vote and to stand for election–on the basis of universal and equal suffrage, to take part in the Government as well as in the conduct of public affairs at any level and to have equal access to public service;
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(d) Other civil rights, in particular:
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The right to freedom of movement and residence within the border of the State;
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The right to leave any country, including one’s own, and to return to one’s country;
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The right to nationality;
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The right to marriage and choice of spouse;
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The right to own property alone as well as in association with others;
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The right to inherit;
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The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
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The right to freedom of opinion and expression;
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The right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association;
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(e) Economic, social and cultural rights, in particular:
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The rights to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work, to protection against unemployment, to equal pay for equal work, to just and favorable remuneration;
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(ii) The right to form and join trade unions;
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(iii) The right to housing;
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(iv) The right to public health, medical care, social security and social services;
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(v) The right to education and training;
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(vi) The right to equal participation in cultural activities;
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(f) The right of access to any place or service intended for use by the general public, such as transport, hotels, restaurants, cafes, theatres and parks.
Prepared by
The Applied Reserach Institute – Jerusalem
