- Violation: 12 olive trees were cut down and a metal fence surrounding the ground was damaged.
- Location: Ni’lin town / Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate.
- Violation date: 05/07/2022.
- The aggressor: the so-called building inspector affiliated with the occupation.
- Affected party: citizen Samer Mohamed Ahmed Amira.
Violation details:
The bulldozers of the occupation army raided the town of Ni’lin, then went to a plot of agricultural land with olive trees located next to the so-called Ni’lin military checkpoint and proceeded to sabotage 12 olive trees with an electric saw aged 15 years, razing the land and uprooting the rest of the trees with a bulldozer, during which a metal fence was cut and sabotaged with a length of 190 meters, it was enclosing parts of the plot. The land is owned by Samer Muhammad Ahmed Amira, a resident of Ni’lin.
The victim, Samer Muhammad Amira, told the field researcher of the Land Research Center the following:
“I support a family of (4) members, including (2) females and (2) children. My brothers and I own a plot of agricultural land of nine dunams, the Israeli occupation confiscated large parts of it in the past, leaving us only one dunam, and it is located Near Ni’lin Military Checkpoint”.
It must be mentioned that the Israeli occupation, through the construction inspector, ordered the citizen Amira to remove the fence and vacate the land on (29/6/2022) with a military order bearing the number (21334), which includes the removal of a new building, which is based on the unjust military law No. (1797).
The victim Amira also stated:
“At the beginning of this year, I cultivated the land with olive trees, which are estimated to be about 10 years old, and I bought a metal fence to put it around the plot of land, the goal is to protect and preserve the land as it is a threatened area and is close to the military barrier. The cost of rehabilitating the land was about 8000 shekels, but Surprisingly, the occupation bulldozed the land and uprooted all the trees that I have planted under reasons that the occupation describes as security, knowing that I did not receive any actual notification, but the occupation claims that they placed a military order at the end of last month next to the fence surrounding the plot of land”.
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Photos 1-5: The occupation forces chopping down olive trees – Ni’lin
Photo 6: The army’s notification
About the town of Ni’lin[1]:
Ni’lin is located 20 km northwest of Ramallah. It is bordered to the north by the towns of Qibiya and Budrus, to the southwest by the town of Medea, to the east by the town of Deir Qadis, and to the south, the settlements of “Modi’in” and “Kiryat Safar”. The population of the town of Ni’lin is 5,118 as of 2017. The total area of the town is 15,206 dunums, of which 748 dunams are the built-up area of the village. The occupation confiscated an area of (3,020) dunums of its lands for settlement purposes, and it is distributed as the following:
The Israeli settlements plundered the village lands, an area of 1991 dunams:
- The “Hashmonaim” settlement was established in 1985. 858 dunums of village lands were confiscated, and it is inhabited by 2097 settlers.
- The settlement of “Kiryat Safar” was established in 1991, 476 dunums of village lands were confiscated, and 24,290 settlers live in it.
- The settlement of “Matityahu” was established in 1980, 657 dunums of land were confiscated from the village, and it is inhabited by 1,365 settlers.
- Bypass roads plundered an area of (408) dunams in favor of Road No. 446.
- The separation wall plundered an area of 621 dunams of the town’s lands, destroying its margins, while isolating 5,132 dunams behind it.
The lands of Ni’lin village are classified according to the Oslo Agreement into (Areas “B”, amounting to 1,123 dunums) and (Areas “C”, amounting to 14,083 dunums).
Legal Feedback:
The demolition and threat to Palestinian homes and facilities and the destruction of land by the occupation authorities are among its violations of international and humanitarian law, and a violation of a right of Palestinian citizens guaranteed by international law and international treaties, which is the right to adequate housing, within the following articles:
- Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention:
Stipulates that “extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly” is a “grave breach” of the Convention.
- Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1948:
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.
- Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states:
- No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.
- Pillage is prohibited.
- Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited.
[1] GIS – LRC
