102 homes demolished under the pretext of security since the beginning of the Jerusalem Intifada
- Violation: house demolition.
- Location: Ya’bad town, southwest of Jenin.
- Date of violation: 06/02/2022.
- The aggressor party: The Israeli occupation army.
- Affected party: the family of the prisoner Diaa Ahmed Hassan Hamrasha.
- Details of the violation:
Large forces of the Israeli occupation army, accompanied by an explosive squad, raided in the early morning hours of Thursday, June 2, 2022, the town of Ya’bad, southwest of Jenin, where the occupation began imposing a strict siege around the house of the family of the prisoner Diaa Ahmed Hassan Hamrasha (28 years), under the pretext of State Security.
It is noteworthy that the occupation army blew up two residential apartments and a roof within a 3-storey apartment building with five apartments, a roof and four commercial stores there, using explosive materials designated for that before withdrawing from the site, causing great damage to the entire building.
According to the field follow-up at the site of the violation, the damages included the following:
- Completely demolishing of a residential apartment in which the prisoner’s family, consisting of his father, mother and brothers, and which was inhabited by (6) individuals, including (3) females.
- Demolition of a second apartment, ready for occupancy, above the first apartment, with an area of 170 m², owned by the prisoner’s brother.
- The demolition of a residential roof, consisting of a residential room belonging to the al-Asir family, with an area of 12 m².
- Partially damaged of two apartments belonging to the cousins of the martyr, Ahmed Ayman Hassan Hamrasheh, consisting of (6) family members, including (2) females and a child. The other is Kamal Ayman Hamarsheh also (4) family members, including (2) females and (2) Children.
It is noteworthy that the occupation used dynamite to carry out the bombing of the building, knowing that the building is located in the middle of a densely populated neighborhood and residential houses are completely adjacent to the targeted site, which caused partial damage to the houses, including the windows, in addition to the psychological harm to the children and women.
It is noteworthy that the Israeli occupation, through the so-called commander of the occupation army in the West Bank, notified the family of the prisoner Hamrasha of his intention to demolish the house, and after several continuous deliberations, the Israeli occupation rejected the objection submitted by the affected family. The family kept denying the demolition of the house, until it was finally demolished on Thursday morning.
Since the Jerusalem Intifada in early October 2015 until the end of 2021, the field research team at the Land Research Center documented the occupation forces’ implementation of demolition, bombing and/or closure operations that affected the demolition of 92 homes, including 4 homes that were demolished during the year 2021, which led to damages partially of 92 apartments in the stage of building were blown up.
Since 2022, the occupation has demolished 9 houses under the pretext of security, and partially damaged 9 other houses. The occupation targeted the homes of:
- On 02/01/2022, the home of the family of martyr Fadi Abu Shkheidam – his wife, Suad Abu Shkheidam, was demolished in the Shuafat camp in occupied Jerusalem.
- On February 14, 2022, the home of the family of the prisoner Mahmoud Ghaleb Mahmoud Jaradat was demolished in Silat Al-Harithiya, Jenin Governorate.
- On 08/03/2022, the home of the prisoner’s family, Ghaith Ahmed Muhammad Yassin Jardat, was demolished in Silat Al-Harithiya, Jenin Governorate.
- On 08/03/2022, the home of the prisoner Muhammad Yousef Jaradat family, consisting of two apartments, was demolished in Silat Al-Harithiya, Jenin Governorate.
- On 05/07/20222, the home of the family of the prisoner Omar Muhammad Yassin Jaradat was demolished in Silat Al-Harithiya, Jenin Governorate.
- On 06/02/2022, the home of the family of the prisoner Diaa Hamarsheh was demolished. It is a residential building consisting of stores and five apartments, 3 of which were completely destroyed and 2 partially in the town of Ya’bad in the Jenin governorate.
Although the policy of home demolitions is illegal and immoral, the Israeli Supreme Court approves demolition orders as a matter of routine, which reflects that the occupation’s judicial system is a real tool in implementing the occupation’s agenda on the ground.
The occupation authorities issue orders entitled “Announcement of Intent to Confiscate and Demolish a Residence….” Those whom it accuses of resisting under the British Emergency Law during the Mandate period in Palestine, according to the law 119 of 1945. Bearing in mind that this unjust law was repealed before the end of the Mandate in 1948. Moreover, the wife of the accused and his large family or tenants in the building are not accused according to the British law. … in addition to the family harm, It also causes cracks in the rest of the apartments of the building, which are inhabited by neighbors and strangers who do not know the accused person.
Since Article (119) of this law deals with “demolition and confiscation,” this means that a citizen cannot rebuild his home in the place of the demolished one. The occupation authorities are also keen to annually extend the emergency law issued by the British Mandate over Palestine, to be used against Palestinian citizens.
Ya’bad town[1]:
Ya’bad town:
Ya’bad is located 18 km to the west of Jenin. It is bordered on the north by the villages of: Al-Khaljan, Al-Tarm, Al-Arqa, Amreha, Khirbet Masoud, Zabada, Toura, Nazlat Al-Sheikh Zaid, from the west by the village of Qafin, from the east by the village of Al-Kafriyat, and from the south by the villages: Arraba, Kafr Rai, Al-Nazla Al-Sharqiya, Baqa Al-Sharqiya.Its population is 16,012 as of 2017, with a total area of 29,572 dunums, of which 1,814 dunams are the building surface of the village.
The occupation confiscated an area of 1,840 dunums of its lands, as follows:
- The settlements looted 483 dunums of the village lands, namely: Mevo Dotan and the Harmish settlement.
- For bypass roads, 1357 dunums for roads No. 596 and No. 585.
According to the Oslo Accord, the town’s lands are classified into the following:
- Areas classified as (A) 1674 dunums.
- Areas classified as (B) 8124 acres.
- Areas classified (C) 19,744 dunums.
[1] GIS- LRC
The Land Research Center
LRC