- Violation: demolishing a house and agricultural facilities.
- Violation date: 19/07/2022.
- Location: Al-Jawaya – Yatta / Hebron Governorate.
- The aggressor: the so-called civil administration of the occupation.
- Affected party: Citizens of Al-Jawaya region.
The details:
On July 19, 2022, the Israeli occupation authorities demolished a house and agricultural facilities, under the pretext that they were built without a license in the Al-Jawaya area, northeast of Yatta town, south of Hebron Governorate.
At approximately ten in the morning, a force of the occupation army and the so-called Organization and Construction Department of the Civil Administration stormed the area, accompanied by a bulldozer and workers from an Israeli civil company, and they headed towards the eastern side of the Al-Jawaya, targeting a house and agricultural facilities there, and demolishing them, which are explained below.
- The demolition of the house of Ziyad Jibril Al-Nawaja:
The Israeli occupation forces demolished the house of the elderly citizen (58 years), which was built of bricks and reinforced concrete and roofed with tin sheets, and it covers an area of 70 m², and an external bathroom is attached to it. Al-Nawaja has been living in it with his wife for some time.
Photo 1: View of the house before demolition
Photos 2+3: The rubble of the house after the demolition
The occupation authorities had targeted the house with a notice to stop work and construction in it, issued on (3/3/2022), then returned and targeted it with a final demolition order issued on (23/5/2022).
Al-Nawaja said:
“The occupation authorities insisted on demolishing my house after giving it two notices, and the occupation authorities aim to expel us from our lands, as the Karmiel settlement is approaching the area, which aspires to seize our lands. The settlers also took control of parts of our lands near my house”.
- Demolition and confiscation of agricultural facilities:
After the occupation authorities had finished demolishing Al-Nawaja’a house, they headed east towards the “Al-Ain Al-Bayda” area, targeting an agricultural facility owned by Mahmoud Idais Al-Sawy.
The occupation soldiers surrounded the facility, and the workers accompanying them took out the livestock (about 50 heads) from the barn and released them in the open, then demolished facility manually.
The occupation authorities demolished the agricultural facility built of shaders fixed on metal brackets, with an area of 50 m², in addition to another tent with an area of 20 m², which was used to store fodder.
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Photos 4-6: The demolition of the facilities of the Al-Sawy
After the occupation authorities demolished the agricultural facilities, they confiscated them, by loading them with a bulldozer and delivering them to a vehicle pulled by one of the Civil Administration vehicles, and they left on the site a written letter entitled “A notice of seizure” stating that the building materials for the agricultural facilities were seized and will be stored in the “Kfar Etzion” settlement”.
Photo 7: A record of confiscation of building materials for El-Sawy facilities
Al-Sawy explained that the occupation authorities demolished and confiscated his agricultural facilities without prior notifications, and deprived him of his legal right to object to the assault on his lands and the demolition of the facilities.
Al-Sawy pointed out that this is the third demolition within two months, when the occupation demolished an agricultural facility in the same location on May 31, 2022, then the settlers demolished another agricultural room on June 12, 2022.
- Confiscation of plastic water tanks:
The occupation authorities also confiscated (3) plastic water tanks with a capacity of (1 m³) that were in the lands of Ghassan Dhaher Daajneh, in the Al-Ain Al-Bayda area, without prior warning.
The occupation bulldozer carried the water tanks and transferred it to the vehicle pulled by one of the Civil Administration vehicles and confiscated it. Then they put a notification on the site entitled “Notification of hand squatting”.
Daajneh had installed these tanks on his land to collect water and irrigate olive seedlings planted on an area of 10 dunams about a year ago.
Photo 8: Water tanks confiscation record
It should be noted that the Al-Jawaya area is located to the east of Yatta town, and is considered one of its eastern suburbs. It is clear that the occupation authorities are targeting it with demolitions, stop-work notices, and demolition orders that affect housing and facilities in the area, that is in order to limit the urban expansion in this area, which is considered a strategic expansion area for the villages of (Al-Baraka, Al-Karmel and Ma’in), where it was noted the spread of housing and agricultural facilities in this area, but the occupation authorities besiege and limit this population and urban expansion, and it should be noted that the “Ma’on” settlement overlooks the Al-Jawaya area from the eastern side, and is also bordered by the bypass road No. 356 to the east.
Legal Feedback:
The demolition of Palestinian homes and facilities by the occupation authorities comes within 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, which states 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 “prohibits 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 committed.
- Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of.
- Paragraph ‘G’ of Article 23 of The Hague Convention of 1907 warns against “the destroy or seize the enemy’s property, unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war”.
- Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, dated December 10, 1948, states that “Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others”.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
