20 may 2014
Mobile phone images show the Tent of Nations before and after it was attacked by Israeli forces
Israeli forces destroyed an estimated 1,500 fruit trees belonging to the Tent of Nations farm outside Nahalin village, in the Bethlehem region of the occupied West Bank yesterday morning.
Owned by the Nassar family, the farm lies just below Neve Daniel, an Israeli settlement, located in the Gush Etzion bloc. The property has long been targeted by Israeli occupation authorities seeking to confiscate the land and remove an obstacle to settlement expansion.
According to the family, soldiers arrived at their land early in the morning, and in a couple of hours uprooted some 1,500 apricot and apple trees, burying them under piles of soil. “This is going to make it very difficult for us to recover and rehabilitate the land,” Daoud Nassar, a member of the family, told me. Photographs are available on the project’s Facebook page.
The family was preparing for harvest, with international volunteers set to come in June to help with picking the apricots and apples. Daoud said that they have been harvesting the trees for a number of years now, using them, among other things, for jam-making.
Two weeks ago, the Israeli military issued the Nassars an order to stop cultivation. The family responded to the order through their lawyer. Yet before the legal process could run its course, “they came and smashed everything,” Daoud added.
“We are very frustrated. This is not the way it’s supposed to be. Why destroy a tree? Why destroy a tree that will give fruits very soon? Why destroy the land?”
Daoud Nassar urged international supporters to wait for updates about how best to respond to the latest developments, as the family plan their next move.
Israeli forces destroyed an estimated 1,500 fruit trees belonging to the Tent of Nations farm outside Nahalin village, in the Bethlehem region of the occupied West Bank yesterday morning.
Owned by the Nassar family, the farm lies just below Neve Daniel, an Israeli settlement, located in the Gush Etzion bloc. The property has long been targeted by Israeli occupation authorities seeking to confiscate the land and remove an obstacle to settlement expansion.
According to the family, soldiers arrived at their land early in the morning, and in a couple of hours uprooted some 1,500 apricot and apple trees, burying them under piles of soil. “This is going to make it very difficult for us to recover and rehabilitate the land,” Daoud Nassar, a member of the family, told me. Photographs are available on the project’s Facebook page.
The family was preparing for harvest, with international volunteers set to come in June to help with picking the apricots and apples. Daoud said that they have been harvesting the trees for a number of years now, using them, among other things, for jam-making.
Two weeks ago, the Israeli military issued the Nassars an order to stop cultivation. The family responded to the order through their lawyer. Yet before the legal process could run its course, “they came and smashed everything,” Daoud added.
“We are very frustrated. This is not the way it’s supposed to be. Why destroy a tree? Why destroy a tree that will give fruits very soon? Why destroy the land?”
Daoud Nassar urged international supporters to wait for updates about how best to respond to the latest developments, as the family plan their next move.
Several Palestinian commercial buildings, power lines, and agricultural crops have been demolished by Israeli bulldozers in different areas of the Occupied Jerusalem and West Bank over the past 24 hours. PIC correspondent quoted local sources as stating that arbitrary demolitions of a series of commercial buildings, carpentry and other shops, were carried out by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on Tuesday morning after having encircled a neighborhood north-west of Occupied Jerusalem and blocked its entrance and exit gates.
Other to-be-demolished buildings are being evacuated by Israeli soldiers.
In a related context, IOF ruined the power network in Idna town, west of al-Khalil, following bulldozing procedures and brusque invasions on Monday.
Local sources said IOF took off power poles, causing serious damage to around 500 meters-long electricity lines.
Israeli soldiers also broke into nearby Wadi Risha and rummaged through Palestinians’ native homes. Military checkpoints were randomly set up while vehicles and IDs were meticulously inspected, eye-witnesses told PIC.
In a similar incident, Israeli vehicles bulldozed large areas of Nahalin village, all planted with perennial trees, west of Bethlehem, on Monday morning.
Majid Ghyadha, member of Nahalin Village Council, said in a press release that Israeli bulldozers messed up the naturally idiosyncratic character of several acres of Wadi Salem lands. Dozens of olive, almond, and grape trees, all perennials, were entirely knocked down throughout.
IOF, heavily deployed in the area, have been denying landowners access into their lands, Ghyadha added, warning of anticipated plans to construct a road linking between the nearby illegal Daniel and Beitar Illit settlements.
The upsurge of Israeli attacks on Palestinian citizens and property in the village has been on the rise and made obvious through frequent pumping of water-wastes over Palestinians plants, razing procedures, and illegal land confiscation.
Meanwhile, a series of random combing operations were performed by IOF soldiers at the main entrance to the Fawar refugee camp, south of al-Khalil, on Monday night.
According to eye-witnesses, flare bombs were fired by an Israeli infantry unit that has stationed in the area and denied Palestinian citizens access out of or into the camp, with no legitimate reasons.
Other to-be-demolished buildings are being evacuated by Israeli soldiers.
In a related context, IOF ruined the power network in Idna town, west of al-Khalil, following bulldozing procedures and brusque invasions on Monday.
Local sources said IOF took off power poles, causing serious damage to around 500 meters-long electricity lines.
Israeli soldiers also broke into nearby Wadi Risha and rummaged through Palestinians’ native homes. Military checkpoints were randomly set up while vehicles and IDs were meticulously inspected, eye-witnesses told PIC.
In a similar incident, Israeli vehicles bulldozed large areas of Nahalin village, all planted with perennial trees, west of Bethlehem, on Monday morning.
Majid Ghyadha, member of Nahalin Village Council, said in a press release that Israeli bulldozers messed up the naturally idiosyncratic character of several acres of Wadi Salem lands. Dozens of olive, almond, and grape trees, all perennials, were entirely knocked down throughout.
IOF, heavily deployed in the area, have been denying landowners access into their lands, Ghyadha added, warning of anticipated plans to construct a road linking between the nearby illegal Daniel and Beitar Illit settlements.
The upsurge of Israeli attacks on Palestinian citizens and property in the village has been on the rise and made obvious through frequent pumping of water-wastes over Palestinians plants, razing procedures, and illegal land confiscation.
Meanwhile, a series of random combing operations were performed by IOF soldiers at the main entrance to the Fawar refugee camp, south of al-Khalil, on Monday night.
According to eye-witnesses, flare bombs were fired by an Israeli infantry unit that has stationed in the area and denied Palestinian citizens access out of or into the camp, with no legitimate reasons.
Israeli soldiers demolished on Monday, May 19, 2014, nine buildings in occupied Jerusalem, displacing families, and causing significant losses. The destruction took place in al-Ezariyya and a number of Bedouin communities.
Palestinian sources said the army demolished, on Monday evening, a Palestinian home, sheds, and a barn belonging to a resident, identified as Mohammad Ibrahim al-Jahhalin, in Jabal al-Baba area, in the al-Ezariyya town east of occupied Jerusalem.
Soldiers also demolished a home belonging to resident Mahmoud, Mohammad’s brother, in the same area.
The destruction of his property is the second since last month.
Israeli soldiers frequently demolish residencies, sheds and structures belonging to Palestinian residents, in occupied Jerusalem, and in various Palestinian Bedouin communities near Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley and different parts of the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian sources said the army demolished, on Monday evening, a Palestinian home, sheds, and a barn belonging to a resident, identified as Mohammad Ibrahim al-Jahhalin, in Jabal al-Baba area, in the al-Ezariyya town east of occupied Jerusalem.
Soldiers also demolished a home belonging to resident Mahmoud, Mohammad’s brother, in the same area.
The destruction of his property is the second since last month.
Israeli soldiers frequently demolish residencies, sheds and structures belonging to Palestinian residents, in occupied Jerusalem, and in various Palestinian Bedouin communities near Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley and different parts of the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian structures razed east of Jerusalem
A Palestinian man was shot and injured by Israeli forces in northern Gaza, on Monday, in the second incident of its kind in 24 hours, according to locals. In the West Bank, east of Jerusalem, a number of Palestinian-owned structures were demolished by the Israeli military, leaving 15 people homeless.
Witnesses told Ma'an News Agency that a 20-year-old man was collecting stones to make concrete outside of Beit Hanoun, near Erez crossing, when Israeli forces shot him.
The young man, who was not immediately identified, sustained moderate wounds, Ma'an reports.
A spokeswoman from the Israeli army said that "dozens" of Palestinians gathered in an area near the border which they were "not permitted" to enter. She stated that they were warned to distance themselves, upon which warning shots were fired into the air. Soldiers then fired at the lower extremities of one, the spokeswoman said, identifying a hit.
Just Sunday, in the same area, a 21-year-old gravel worker was also shot by Israeli forces. The man was taken to Kamal Adwan Hospital in moderate condition.
Ma'an further reports that many people in the besieged coastal enclave collect small stones in order to make gravel for concrete, because the import of concrete is forbidden by the Israeli economic blockade, which has been in place since 2006.
Israeli soldiers frequently fire on farmers and other civilians inside the Strip, if they get too close to certain areas of land near the border which the Israeli military has closed off to Palestinians.
According to Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, the number of live-fire casualties near the fence has been on the rise since last December.
Also on Monday, in al-Eizariya and the E1 area east of Jerusalem, Israeli bulldozers razed Palestinian structures and left 15 people homeless, according to a local official.
Secretary-general of the Bedouin Jahalin tribes, Sami Abu Ghaliya, said that Israeli authorities destroyed two small residential structures and four of agricultural nature belonging to his family at the entrance of the village.
Additionally, two structures used to house cattle were destroyed by Israeli bulldozers, in the al-Kasarat area in E1.
In nearby Jabal al-Baba, Ma'an reports that a tent belonging to Mahmoud Ibrahim Jahalin was destroyed, along with two animal sheds, according to Abu Ghaliya.
The tent was a donation to Jahalin following the demolition of his home at the beginning of April.
Israel rarely allows Palestinians to build in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. They are responsible for the demolition of at least 27,000 Palestinian homes and structures since first occupying the West Bank in 1967, according to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in direct defiance of international law.
A Palestinian man was shot and injured by Israeli forces in northern Gaza, on Monday, in the second incident of its kind in 24 hours, according to locals. In the West Bank, east of Jerusalem, a number of Palestinian-owned structures were demolished by the Israeli military, leaving 15 people homeless.
Witnesses told Ma'an News Agency that a 20-year-old man was collecting stones to make concrete outside of Beit Hanoun, near Erez crossing, when Israeli forces shot him.
The young man, who was not immediately identified, sustained moderate wounds, Ma'an reports.
A spokeswoman from the Israeli army said that "dozens" of Palestinians gathered in an area near the border which they were "not permitted" to enter. She stated that they were warned to distance themselves, upon which warning shots were fired into the air. Soldiers then fired at the lower extremities of one, the spokeswoman said, identifying a hit.
Just Sunday, in the same area, a 21-year-old gravel worker was also shot by Israeli forces. The man was taken to Kamal Adwan Hospital in moderate condition.
Ma'an further reports that many people in the besieged coastal enclave collect small stones in order to make gravel for concrete, because the import of concrete is forbidden by the Israeli economic blockade, which has been in place since 2006.
Israeli soldiers frequently fire on farmers and other civilians inside the Strip, if they get too close to certain areas of land near the border which the Israeli military has closed off to Palestinians.
According to Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, the number of live-fire casualties near the fence has been on the rise since last December.
Also on Monday, in al-Eizariya and the E1 area east of Jerusalem, Israeli bulldozers razed Palestinian structures and left 15 people homeless, according to a local official.
Secretary-general of the Bedouin Jahalin tribes, Sami Abu Ghaliya, said that Israeli authorities destroyed two small residential structures and four of agricultural nature belonging to his family at the entrance of the village.
Additionally, two structures used to house cattle were destroyed by Israeli bulldozers, in the al-Kasarat area in E1.
In nearby Jabal al-Baba, Ma'an reports that a tent belonging to Mahmoud Ibrahim Jahalin was destroyed, along with two animal sheds, according to Abu Ghaliya.
The tent was a donation to Jahalin following the demolition of his home at the beginning of April.
Israel rarely allows Palestinians to build in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. They are responsible for the demolition of at least 27,000 Palestinian homes and structures since first occupying the West Bank in 1967, according to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in direct defiance of international law.
19 may 2014
The ongoing demolitions in the area between the Naqab (Negev) and Jerusalem show that the Prawer Plan is still in full force, even if not under official implementation; the effects for Palestinians in the area are the same.
The latest demolition came just yesterday, as Israeli bulldozers demolished several structures in the bedouin village of Wadi al-Neam, the Palestinian News Network (PNN) reports.
Wadi al-Neam is not recognized by the state of Israel. It does not acknowledge its existence, and therefore it is considered illegal. Israel does not distinguish between the 48 and 67 territories, when sending out teams of bulldozers for demolitions and expulsion of residents, regardless of documented Israeli citizenship among them or lack thereof.
Eyewitnesses told a PNN correspondent that these demolition orders are illegal under human rights standards as well as international law. These processes were added by Israel to subtly implement policies outlined in the Prawer plan, which was stopped a few months ago and aims to seize Palestinian lands and deport the indigenous population of the Naqab.
The PNN correspondent added that Wadi al-Neam is located to the south of Beersheba, where the Israeli authorities only recently built a chemical factory and a military base.
The latest demolition came just yesterday, as Israeli bulldozers demolished several structures in the bedouin village of Wadi al-Neam, the Palestinian News Network (PNN) reports.
Wadi al-Neam is not recognized by the state of Israel. It does not acknowledge its existence, and therefore it is considered illegal. Israel does not distinguish between the 48 and 67 territories, when sending out teams of bulldozers for demolitions and expulsion of residents, regardless of documented Israeli citizenship among them or lack thereof.
Eyewitnesses told a PNN correspondent that these demolition orders are illegal under human rights standards as well as international law. These processes were added by Israel to subtly implement policies outlined in the Prawer plan, which was stopped a few months ago and aims to seize Palestinian lands and deport the indigenous population of the Naqab.
The PNN correspondent added that Wadi al-Neam is located to the south of Beersheba, where the Israeli authorities only recently built a chemical factory and a military base.
The illegal outpost will be razed
Haaretz newspaper said that recent police investigations unveiled that settlement construction organizations had used forged documents to prove that the land of Migron outpost near Ramallah city was legally purchased from its Palestinian owners. Consequently, the outpost constructed on the privately-owned Palestinian land is due to be removed next Wednesday, pursuant to a court verdict taken in 2012.
Peace Now group had raised the issue of this illegal outpost in 2006 when it filed a petition with the high court of justice and eventually the court ordered the demolition of the outpost in the summer of 2012.
However, when the authorities informed Migron settlers of their intention to carry out the court ruling, an Israeli company known as Al-Watan, the construction arm of the Zionist settlement movement "Amana," forged purchase documents and submitted them to the Israeli prosecution
Later, the court decided to freeze the demolition of the Jewish outpost until the purchase claim was investigated by the Israeli police.
Al-Watan had already claimed to have purchased lands in Migron outpost in 2004 and presented documents that turned out to be forged
Despite the obvious criminal activities of Al-Watan company and Amana movement, the Israeli police still refrain from making arrests among their members.
Haaretz newspaper said that recent police investigations unveiled that settlement construction organizations had used forged documents to prove that the land of Migron outpost near Ramallah city was legally purchased from its Palestinian owners. Consequently, the outpost constructed on the privately-owned Palestinian land is due to be removed next Wednesday, pursuant to a court verdict taken in 2012.
Peace Now group had raised the issue of this illegal outpost in 2006 when it filed a petition with the high court of justice and eventually the court ordered the demolition of the outpost in the summer of 2012.
However, when the authorities informed Migron settlers of their intention to carry out the court ruling, an Israeli company known as Al-Watan, the construction arm of the Zionist settlement movement "Amana," forged purchase documents and submitted them to the Israeli prosecution
Later, the court decided to freeze the demolition of the Jewish outpost until the purchase claim was investigated by the Israeli police.
Al-Watan had already claimed to have purchased lands in Migron outpost in 2004 and presented documents that turned out to be forged
Despite the obvious criminal activities of Al-Watan company and Amana movement, the Israeli police still refrain from making arrests among their members.
Israeli bulldozers leveled large tracts of Palestinian land in the Bethlehem-area village of Nahalin on Monday, locals said.
Head of the village council, Majid Ghayatha, told Ma'an that Israeli bulldozers uprooted dozens of olive and almond trees in the Wad Salem area.
Several grapevines were also destroyed.
Israeli military forces deployed on hilltops above the village to prevent land owners from accessing their fields.
Locals told Ma'an that they believe Israeli forces are clearing land for a new road connecting the Neve Daniel and Beitar Ilit settlements.
A spokesman for Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories did not answer calls seeking comment.
Head of the village council, Majid Ghayatha, told Ma'an that Israeli bulldozers uprooted dozens of olive and almond trees in the Wad Salem area.
Several grapevines were also destroyed.
Israeli military forces deployed on hilltops above the village to prevent land owners from accessing their fields.
Locals told Ma'an that they believe Israeli forces are clearing land for a new road connecting the Neve Daniel and Beitar Ilit settlements.
A spokesman for Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories did not answer calls seeking comment.
Settlers seize agricultural pond
Israeli forces, on Sunday, stormed a school in the village of al-Khader, to the south of Bethlehem, while settlers took over an agricultural property in the village, according to Ahmad Salah, coordinator of the anti-settlement committee in the village.
Salah said that the soldiers stormed the school in the morning hours, causing a state of panic and horror among the students, most in their first, second and third grade of school, WAFA reports.
Meanwhile, Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement outpost of Sidi Boaz took over an agricultural pond, to the west of the village, where they conducted religious rituals. The pond was used by residents use to irrigate their crops.
Salah said the incident comes as a prelude to expand the outpost, according to WAFA, noting the escalated assaults by settlers in the area, including the closing of agricultural roads and the act of unleashing dogs at residents.
Israeli forces, on Sunday, stormed a school in the village of al-Khader, to the south of Bethlehem, while settlers took over an agricultural property in the village, according to Ahmad Salah, coordinator of the anti-settlement committee in the village.
Salah said that the soldiers stormed the school in the morning hours, causing a state of panic and horror among the students, most in their first, second and third grade of school, WAFA reports.
Meanwhile, Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement outpost of Sidi Boaz took over an agricultural pond, to the west of the village, where they conducted religious rituals. The pond was used by residents use to irrigate their crops.
Salah said the incident comes as a prelude to expand the outpost, according to WAFA, noting the escalated assaults by settlers in the area, including the closing of agricultural roads and the act of unleashing dogs at residents.
Several Israeli military jeeps, accompanied by a military bulldozer, invaded Tel Romedia area, in the center of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, where they demolished a wall surrounding a Palestinian home, and uprooted a nearby Palestinian land.
Resident Feryal Abu Haykal told the Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) that personnel of the so-called “Israeli Department of Antiquities” accompanied by several Israeli jeeps surrounded her father’s home, and demolished its wall.
She added that the army also uprooted farmland belonging to her father, and informed the family that the digging is part of “archaeological excavations”.
Abu Haykal told WAFA that the soldiers also wanted to uproot and confiscate a thousand-year-old olive tree, in her father’s yard, but the family managed to save it.
Resident Feryal Abu Haykal told the Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) that personnel of the so-called “Israeli Department of Antiquities” accompanied by several Israeli jeeps surrounded her father’s home, and demolished its wall.
She added that the army also uprooted farmland belonging to her father, and informed the family that the digging is part of “archaeological excavations”.
Abu Haykal told WAFA that the soldiers also wanted to uproot and confiscate a thousand-year-old olive tree, in her father’s yard, but the family managed to save it.
Adalah, the legal center for Arab minority rights, said the Israeli municipal council in the holy city intends to appropriate more than 700 dunums of Palestinian-owned land in east Jerusalem. Adalah stated on Sunday that the Israeli district planning and construction committee in (occupied) Jerusalem gave approval for a plan to build a Jewish national park on a large tract of Palestinian land in Issawiya and At-Tur districts to the east of the city.
The legal center noted that the land seized for this project is located in a Palestinian territory under Israel's occupation since 1967.
The center asserted that the plan, if implemented, would violate the international humanitarian law, which prohibits Israel from making changes to territories under its occupation.
For its part, the Arab center for alternative planning said this Israeli project would prevent any possibility for the future development of Issawiya district, whose population numbers about 15,000 Palestinian citizens, and At-Tur district, which is populated by 26,000 citizens.
It warned that this intended plan would interrupt the territorial contiguity between Palestinian neighborhoods and others areas.
The legal center noted that the land seized for this project is located in a Palestinian territory under Israel's occupation since 1967.
The center asserted that the plan, if implemented, would violate the international humanitarian law, which prohibits Israel from making changes to territories under its occupation.
For its part, the Arab center for alternative planning said this Israeli project would prevent any possibility for the future development of Issawiya district, whose population numbers about 15,000 Palestinian citizens, and At-Tur district, which is populated by 26,000 citizens.
It warned that this intended plan would interrupt the territorial contiguity between Palestinian neighborhoods and others areas.
18 may 2014
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Israeli bulldozers on Sunday demolished a house in a Bedouin village in the Negev desert, witnesses said.
Locals told Ma'an that Israeli bulldozers demolished the house in the unrecognized village of Wadi al-Niam under the pretext that it was built without a license. The demolition left a woman and five children homeless, the head of of Wadi al-Niam's village council said. "These children are like orphans -- their mom is raising them alone because their father is in jail," Labbad Abu Afasha told Ma'an. "They demolished the house leaving the children in the open." |
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Talab Abu Arar, a Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesset, described the demolition as "utmost oppression and arrogance."
Abu Arar said he would "support this afflicted family against this coward racism." Wadi al-Niam is one of dozens of Bedouin villages in Negev which is unrecognized by Israeli authorities. Israel refuses to recognize more than 35 Bedouin villages in the Negev, which collectively house nearly 90,000 people. Many were founded before 1966, when Bedouins were concentrated on reserves by the state and ruled under martial law, as were all Palestinian citizens of Israel. |
The Israeli state denies them access to basic services and infrastructure, such as electricity and running water, and refuses to place them under municipal jurisdiction.
Some communities are subject to frequent demolitions by authorities. The proposed Prawer Plan -- which would have forcibly removed tens of thousands of Bedouin from their homes in order to make room for Jewish towns in the region -- was taken off the agenda late last year following widespread protests.
Some communities are subject to frequent demolitions by authorities. The proposed Prawer Plan -- which would have forcibly removed tens of thousands of Bedouin from their homes in order to make room for Jewish towns in the region -- was taken off the agenda late last year following widespread protests.
Dozens of Israeli soldiers invaded Khirbit at-Tawil village, near Aqraba village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and confiscated tents displacing the residents for the third time.
Ghassan Daghlas, in charge of Israeli settlements file at the Palestinian Authority in the northern part of the West Bank, stated that several military jeeps invaded the village, removed and confiscated three tents sheltering Palestinian families.
Daghlas added that this is the third time in less than a month that the army invades the village, and confiscates tents.
Destruction of homes and property is an act of collective punishment that violates International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention, and all related international human rights agreements.
Israel is responsible for the destruction of dozens of thousands of homes and property in different parts of the occupied West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) previously reported that Israel has demolished about 27,000 Palestinian homes and other structures since 1967.
It also said that the exact number cannot be precisely determined, especially when taking into consideration that the Israeli Authorities only report the “demolition of structures”.
ICAHD explained that when, for instance, Israel demolishes a seven-story apartment building containing more than 20 housing units, the attack is only considered one demolition
Ghassan Daghlas, in charge of Israeli settlements file at the Palestinian Authority in the northern part of the West Bank, stated that several military jeeps invaded the village, removed and confiscated three tents sheltering Palestinian families.
Daghlas added that this is the third time in less than a month that the army invades the village, and confiscates tents.
Destruction of homes and property is an act of collective punishment that violates International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention, and all related international human rights agreements.
Israel is responsible for the destruction of dozens of thousands of homes and property in different parts of the occupied West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) previously reported that Israel has demolished about 27,000 Palestinian homes and other structures since 1967.
It also said that the exact number cannot be precisely determined, especially when taking into consideration that the Israeli Authorities only report the “demolition of structures”.
ICAHD explained that when, for instance, Israel demolishes a seven-story apartment building containing more than 20 housing units, the attack is only considered one demolition
15 may 2014
The Israeli Occupation Authorities threatened on Wednesday evening to carry out demolitions of 24 Palestinian homes in Samu’ town, south of al-Khalil, at the same time as agricultural crops were damaged by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) east of Yatta, also south of al-Khalil. According to Samu’ Mayor, Youssef Salamin, IOF soldiers attacked Khirbet Gwen adjacent to the town and handed 24 demolition threats to Palestinian citizens, giving them a 20-day time limit to evacuate their homes, barracks, and tents.
Such threats come as part of Israeli’s attempt to crack down on Palestinian native citizens and force them out of their lands so as to hold sway over them, Samu’ Mayor further maintained.
In another event, several wheat and barley crops were knocked down Wednesday by IOF in Yatta.
Hadi Ahmed Rubi’ee told PIC news reporter: “An Israeli military tank bulldozed agricultural crops and ruined more than four dunums of wheat and barley planted lands”.
“IOF soldiers are deliberately targeting our agricultural harvest to force us out of our native land amid heavy shooting and bomb explosions during intensive military drilling held in our land,” Hadj Ahmed added.
Such threats come as part of Israeli’s attempt to crack down on Palestinian native citizens and force them out of their lands so as to hold sway over them, Samu’ Mayor further maintained.
In another event, several wheat and barley crops were knocked down Wednesday by IOF in Yatta.
Hadi Ahmed Rubi’ee told PIC news reporter: “An Israeli military tank bulldozed agricultural crops and ruined more than four dunums of wheat and barley planted lands”.
“IOF soldiers are deliberately targeting our agricultural harvest to force us out of our native land amid heavy shooting and bomb explosions during intensive military drilling held in our land,” Hadj Ahmed added.
14 may 2014
A number of Palestinian students suffered breathing problems and others were arrested following violent confrontations with the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in a Ramallah village while several demolition procedures have been carried out in Occupied Jerusalem. Eye-witnesses told PIC correspondent Israeli patrols have been heavily deployed at the main entrance to Abud village, west of Ramallah, on Wednesday morning before abruptly storming a school in the village and targeting classrooms with tear gas and sound bombs.
Severe breathing problems and a state of extreme anxiety prevailed among students and citizens.
IOF soldiers arrested the student Ali Abu Rasem from nearby Deir Mishal village inside the school and took him to an unidentified destination, the witnesses further documented.
Palestinian citizen Jibril Abu Isneina from al-Khalil was also arrested and taken to an unknown location by IOF soldiers after having rummaged through his home and those of several citizens in different areas of al-Khalil. Other Palestinian civilians were summoned for interrogation by Israeli intelligence.
In a related context, Israeli civil administration, backed by dozens of army patrols, attacked Yatta town near al-Khalil and handed demolition threats to several Palestinian natives, as it has done many times before, under pretext of illegal construction.
The so-called Inspection Sub-committee in Beit El settlement scheduled 24 May 2014 as the projected date for a meeting over possibilities of knocking down the entire area.
Palestinian Citizen Ibrahim Awad said he has long been awaiting for his house to be constructed and to set up a home with his family and children. But the Israeli authorities have come into the way of making his dream come true.
The incident comes at a time when the Israeli municipality has demolished a house and three commercial compounds on Wednesday south of Occupied Jerusalem under pretext of illegal permits.
Mohamd Amin Shkirat, owner of the demolished house, said in a press statement the house covers an overall area of 140 km2 and has been inhabited by ten family members.
Shkirat and his family have been displaced once before when their house was reduced to rubbles a few years ago under the same pretext.
The three demolished commercial buildings extend over areas that run, consecutively, over 55km2, 100km2, and 18km2.
IOF soldiers, who provided an armed shield to the bulldozers and municipality crews, ordered shopkeepers and civilians to keep away from the demolition zone.
Severe breathing problems and a state of extreme anxiety prevailed among students and citizens.
IOF soldiers arrested the student Ali Abu Rasem from nearby Deir Mishal village inside the school and took him to an unidentified destination, the witnesses further documented.
Palestinian citizen Jibril Abu Isneina from al-Khalil was also arrested and taken to an unknown location by IOF soldiers after having rummaged through his home and those of several citizens in different areas of al-Khalil. Other Palestinian civilians were summoned for interrogation by Israeli intelligence.
In a related context, Israeli civil administration, backed by dozens of army patrols, attacked Yatta town near al-Khalil and handed demolition threats to several Palestinian natives, as it has done many times before, under pretext of illegal construction.
The so-called Inspection Sub-committee in Beit El settlement scheduled 24 May 2014 as the projected date for a meeting over possibilities of knocking down the entire area.
Palestinian Citizen Ibrahim Awad said he has long been awaiting for his house to be constructed and to set up a home with his family and children. But the Israeli authorities have come into the way of making his dream come true.
The incident comes at a time when the Israeli municipality has demolished a house and three commercial compounds on Wednesday south of Occupied Jerusalem under pretext of illegal permits.
Mohamd Amin Shkirat, owner of the demolished house, said in a press statement the house covers an overall area of 140 km2 and has been inhabited by ten family members.
Shkirat and his family have been displaced once before when their house was reduced to rubbles a few years ago under the same pretext.
The three demolished commercial buildings extend over areas that run, consecutively, over 55km2, 100km2, and 18km2.
IOF soldiers, who provided an armed shield to the bulldozers and municipality crews, ordered shopkeepers and civilians to keep away from the demolition zone.
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The occupation municipality’s bulldozers demolished on Wednesday a residential home for Amin Mohammad Shkeirat in the neighbourhood of “Khallet Abed” in Jabal Al-Mukabber in Jerusalem.
Amin’s mother said that the demolition operation was executed without prior notice and noted that nobody was home at the time of demolition and removal of furniture, and the family received a phone call from the neighbours to inform them of the demolition. She also explained that the forces broke into the house and carried out the demolition before the neighbours and family were able to remove all the furniture as the municipality’s crews only removed parts of it. |
She added that she built the 140-square meter house two years ago and that it consists of two rooms, a living room and their facilities; note that the municipality demolished two rooms and their facilities nearly three years ago.
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Israeli bulldozers demolished three Palestinian structures in East Jerusalem early Wednesday, locals told Ma'an.
Accompanied by Israeli forces and police officers, bulldozers entered the Palestinian neighborhoods of Beit Hanina, Shuafat, and Ras al-Amoud, where they destroyed two shops and a workshop. In the al-Ashqariyya neighborhood of Beit Hanina, bulldozers demolished a store belonging to Mousa al-Natsha. The store measured 55 square meters and was built in 2011, al-Natsha told Ma'an. |
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities demolished another store on al-Khansa street in the Shuafat neighborhood.
The store's owner, Muhammad Awadallah, told Ma'an the store measured 18 square meters and that its walls were built 80 years ago. Its tin roof was added in 2011, Awadallah said.
He said Jerusalem municipality workers had issued demolition orders "several times," but that he had paid a total of 20,000 shekels in fines to postpone the demolition.
Additionally, bulldozers in Ras al-Amoud demolished a steel structure owned by Sufyan Jabir.
Jabir said he used the building as a metal workshop. Built 14 years ago, the structure measured about 100 square meters.
Israel destroyed more than 500 Palestinian properties in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 2013, displacing over 850 people, according to UN figures.
Israel rarely grants Palestinians permits to build in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. It has demolished at least 27,000 Palestinian homes and structures since occupying the West Bank in 1967, according to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.
The store's owner, Muhammad Awadallah, told Ma'an the store measured 18 square meters and that its walls were built 80 years ago. Its tin roof was added in 2011, Awadallah said.
He said Jerusalem municipality workers had issued demolition orders "several times," but that he had paid a total of 20,000 shekels in fines to postpone the demolition.
Additionally, bulldozers in Ras al-Amoud demolished a steel structure owned by Sufyan Jabir.
Jabir said he used the building as a metal workshop. Built 14 years ago, the structure measured about 100 square meters.
Israel destroyed more than 500 Palestinian properties in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 2013, displacing over 850 people, according to UN figures.
Israel rarely grants Palestinians permits to build in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. It has demolished at least 27,000 Palestinian homes and structures since occupying the West Bank in 1967, according to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.
Israeli bulldozers carried out on Wednesday morning a limited incursion in the eastern border of the Gaza Strip amid intensive shooting at Palestinian houses.
According to "ALRAY correspondent , 8 military vehicles of Israeli occupation forces include six tanks and two bulldozers pushed into the agricultural lands east of Shijaiyeh city .
Eyewitnesses said that the IOF moved to a distance of more than two hundred meters, amid intensive flying of Israeli drones and razed the agricultural lands in the area.
According to "ALRAY correspondent , 8 military vehicles of Israeli occupation forces include six tanks and two bulldozers pushed into the agricultural lands east of Shijaiyeh city .
Eyewitnesses said that the IOF moved to a distance of more than two hundred meters, amid intensive flying of Israeli drones and razed the agricultural lands in the area.