16 may 2015
An Israeli construction company on Saturday called for tenders to estimate the prices of and to rebuild nine Palestinian neighborhoods in the Old City of Occupied Jerusalem which have been confiscated and partially destroyed.
In a press statement on Saturday, Khalil al-Tafakji, expert in settlement at the Arab Studies Society, said most of the targeted areas in the Old City are endowment territories belonging to Jerusalemite families.
These Arab neighborhoods were confiscated in 1968 after seizing 116 dunums for the public benefit. Their Palestinian inhabitants were displaced as well. The Israelis claim it as a Jewish district, while only 5 dunums out of 116 were inhabited by Jews.
He pointed out that the call for tenders is very dangerous as it means transferring the ownership of all the Palestinian neighborhoods to Jews who will be occupying them.
"Three years ago, the Israeli government announced its intention to register the properties of the Old City by new Jewish names to replace the Palestinians," Tafakji said.
He disclosed the endorsement of detailed plan to renovate and reconstruct an Israeli Synagogue for the Sephardic Jews in the Old City of Jerusalem with an area of 1,400 square meters and an altitude of 23 meters.
This decision followed the construction of a synagogue for the western Jews just 30 meters far from the location of the new synagogue to be built.
In a press statement on Saturday, Khalil al-Tafakji, expert in settlement at the Arab Studies Society, said most of the targeted areas in the Old City are endowment territories belonging to Jerusalemite families.
These Arab neighborhoods were confiscated in 1968 after seizing 116 dunums for the public benefit. Their Palestinian inhabitants were displaced as well. The Israelis claim it as a Jewish district, while only 5 dunums out of 116 were inhabited by Jews.
He pointed out that the call for tenders is very dangerous as it means transferring the ownership of all the Palestinian neighborhoods to Jews who will be occupying them.
"Three years ago, the Israeli government announced its intention to register the properties of the Old City by new Jewish names to replace the Palestinians," Tafakji said.
He disclosed the endorsement of detailed plan to renovate and reconstruct an Israeli Synagogue for the Sephardic Jews in the Old City of Jerusalem with an area of 1,400 square meters and an altitude of 23 meters.
This decision followed the construction of a synagogue for the western Jews just 30 meters far from the location of the new synagogue to be built.
13 may 2015
Israeli Occupation Authority (IOA) handed three demolition notices to Palestinians for razing three structures in Qusra town in southern Nablus.
Head of Qusra town’s council Abdulazim Wadi told the PIC reporter that the Israeli civil administration handed him notices to demolish three facilities in the town including an electricity grid.
The structures to be demolished are an electricity grid located to the south of the town, a water well which was constructed by a Dutch fund and used by Palestinian farmers and a house which has been under construction for five years.
Mr. Wadi pointed out that the house to be razed is located near Magdlam Jewish settlement.
The demolition orders were issued under the pretext of lacking construction permits and of being established on Area C which is controlled by the Israeli occupation.
The IOA has distributed 20 demolition notices since the beginning of the year. 27 others were handed to Palestinians in the town last year; many of which were demolished in February.
Mr. Wadi asked the competent authorities in the Palestinian Authority to support the Palestinian citizens in confronting the Israeli policy of demolition.
Head of Qusra town’s council Abdulazim Wadi told the PIC reporter that the Israeli civil administration handed him notices to demolish three facilities in the town including an electricity grid.
The structures to be demolished are an electricity grid located to the south of the town, a water well which was constructed by a Dutch fund and used by Palestinian farmers and a house which has been under construction for five years.
Mr. Wadi pointed out that the house to be razed is located near Magdlam Jewish settlement.
The demolition orders were issued under the pretext of lacking construction permits and of being established on Area C which is controlled by the Israeli occupation.
The IOA has distributed 20 demolition notices since the beginning of the year. 27 others were handed to Palestinians in the town last year; many of which were demolished in February.
Mr. Wadi asked the competent authorities in the Palestinian Authority to support the Palestinian citizens in confronting the Israeli policy of demolition.
In continuity with the previous executive, the infant Israeli government will not stop the policy of destroying "illegal" Palestinian homes. Entire Bedouin villages at risk.
The Israeli Prime Minister builds and demolishes. Brick by brick he builds his government – yesterday he presented a list of ministers and was given trust by the Knesset - and yet no signs of stopping the political destruction of Palestinian homes, "illegal" according to the Israeli law.
The last few days have been dramatic in this respect. Susiya, Araqib, Umm el Hiran, Semiramis, the names of the Arab towns where demolitions have occurred or will soon occur. At Semiramis, between Jerusalem and Ramallah, according to the decision of an Israeli court, eight buildings will be demolished, because it was built on land belonging to Israelis since 1971. In addiction, those who lived so far, 107 people in 23 apartments, will also pay a fine of 11,000 Euros.
The inhabitants do not give up, and repeated that the land where the buildings were built was purchased 13 years ago by a group of Palestinians.
A fine high two million shekels (half a million dollars) will have to pay instead the Bedouin families to Araqib, near the desert of the Negev, guilty of having rebuilt their village for 83 times after many demolitions carried out by the Israeli occupation authorities. The expulsion also awaits families in Susiya, a poor village south of Hebron: the Israeli Supreme Court has sentenced the legitimacy of the demolition of their miserable homes.
The most upsetting case for the Palestinians is that of Umm el Hiran, always in the Negev, one of the victims of the Prawer Plan that wants the eviction, even by force, of 70,000 Bedouins with Israeli citizenship.
For some time the 700 inhabitants of this village never recognized by the authorities crossed their fingers and hoped that the demolition orders would fall. Then last week, with the trial of two in favor and one against, the High Court of Justice, has validated the order of eviction against Umm el-Hiran and given the green light to the expulsions. A incomprehensible judgement since the inhabitants were not accused of being squatters and had not "illegally occupied" lands or private domain. The Israeli military government in fact had moved them there in 1956 after being forced to leave Khirbet Zubaleh in 1948. So there was nothing illegal in the presence of the villagers that the government intends to move to Hura, village established in 1989, in order to make way for the new Jewish town Hiran.
Atir will also be destroyed to allow the expansion of the forest of Yatir. Looking forward to "take over" the Bedouins are dozens of Israeli families currently camped in a close area. To them, the authorities have taken steps now to provide electricity and water while the inhabitants of Umm el-Hiran had their essential services been denied for decades.
The dissenting opinion of Judge Daphne Barak-Erez has been for nothing. She proposed to her colleagues to give the Bedouins the right to live in the new town of Hiran. "The ruling - said bitterly Amjad Iraq, the lawyer of the NGO Adalah who followed the case of Umm el Hiran - has demonstrated once again that the High Court is more interested in protecting the politics and the character of the Jewish State than that of the principles of democracy and justice".
The fact that an Arab village in Israel can be destroyed as easily as one of the Occupied Territories, reinforces the fear among the Palestinian citizens of Israel on the possibility to defend their collective rights through the legal system.
Just a few days ago at least two thousand Palestinians of Israel marched I the streets of Tel Aviv, to protest against the demolition of “illegal” houses (about 50 thousand) in the villages with an Arab majority in Israel and the growing scarcity of housing for the Arab minority. Adalah complaints the underinvestment in building in Arab areas of Israel, only 4.6 percent of the total new homes built in Israel. In 2014 in the Jewish communities 38,261 new housings were built against the 1,844 in area mostly populated by Arab Israelis.
Things are not going well in the Occupied Territories as well, of course. In 2014, according to data from OCHA, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, nearly 1,200 Palestinians have seen their homes demolished by the bulldozers: 969 in the West Bank and 208 in East Jerusalem. And in the meantime the construction of another 900 homes in the Jewish settlement of Ramat Shlomo have been approved in the Arab area of the occupied holy city.
The Israeli Prime Minister builds and demolishes. Brick by brick he builds his government – yesterday he presented a list of ministers and was given trust by the Knesset - and yet no signs of stopping the political destruction of Palestinian homes, "illegal" according to the Israeli law.
The last few days have been dramatic in this respect. Susiya, Araqib, Umm el Hiran, Semiramis, the names of the Arab towns where demolitions have occurred or will soon occur. At Semiramis, between Jerusalem and Ramallah, according to the decision of an Israeli court, eight buildings will be demolished, because it was built on land belonging to Israelis since 1971. In addiction, those who lived so far, 107 people in 23 apartments, will also pay a fine of 11,000 Euros.
The inhabitants do not give up, and repeated that the land where the buildings were built was purchased 13 years ago by a group of Palestinians.
A fine high two million shekels (half a million dollars) will have to pay instead the Bedouin families to Araqib, near the desert of the Negev, guilty of having rebuilt their village for 83 times after many demolitions carried out by the Israeli occupation authorities. The expulsion also awaits families in Susiya, a poor village south of Hebron: the Israeli Supreme Court has sentenced the legitimacy of the demolition of their miserable homes.
The most upsetting case for the Palestinians is that of Umm el Hiran, always in the Negev, one of the victims of the Prawer Plan that wants the eviction, even by force, of 70,000 Bedouins with Israeli citizenship.
For some time the 700 inhabitants of this village never recognized by the authorities crossed their fingers and hoped that the demolition orders would fall. Then last week, with the trial of two in favor and one against, the High Court of Justice, has validated the order of eviction against Umm el-Hiran and given the green light to the expulsions. A incomprehensible judgement since the inhabitants were not accused of being squatters and had not "illegally occupied" lands or private domain. The Israeli military government in fact had moved them there in 1956 after being forced to leave Khirbet Zubaleh in 1948. So there was nothing illegal in the presence of the villagers that the government intends to move to Hura, village established in 1989, in order to make way for the new Jewish town Hiran.
Atir will also be destroyed to allow the expansion of the forest of Yatir. Looking forward to "take over" the Bedouins are dozens of Israeli families currently camped in a close area. To them, the authorities have taken steps now to provide electricity and water while the inhabitants of Umm el-Hiran had their essential services been denied for decades.
The dissenting opinion of Judge Daphne Barak-Erez has been for nothing. She proposed to her colleagues to give the Bedouins the right to live in the new town of Hiran. "The ruling - said bitterly Amjad Iraq, the lawyer of the NGO Adalah who followed the case of Umm el Hiran - has demonstrated once again that the High Court is more interested in protecting the politics and the character of the Jewish State than that of the principles of democracy and justice".
The fact that an Arab village in Israel can be destroyed as easily as one of the Occupied Territories, reinforces the fear among the Palestinian citizens of Israel on the possibility to defend their collective rights through the legal system.
Just a few days ago at least two thousand Palestinians of Israel marched I the streets of Tel Aviv, to protest against the demolition of “illegal” houses (about 50 thousand) in the villages with an Arab majority in Israel and the growing scarcity of housing for the Arab minority. Adalah complaints the underinvestment in building in Arab areas of Israel, only 4.6 percent of the total new homes built in Israel. In 2014 in the Jewish communities 38,261 new housings were built against the 1,844 in area mostly populated by Arab Israelis.
Things are not going well in the Occupied Territories as well, of course. In 2014, according to data from OCHA, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, nearly 1,200 Palestinians have seen their homes demolished by the bulldozers: 969 in the West Bank and 208 in East Jerusalem. And in the meantime the construction of another 900 homes in the Jewish settlement of Ramat Shlomo have been approved in the Arab area of the occupied holy city.
Israeli soldiers invaded, on Wednesday at dawn, Beit Eskarya village, surrounded by the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, south of Bethlehem, handed a demolition order of a barn, and handed three families military orders to stop the construction of their homes.
Head of the Beit Eskarya village Council, Mohammad Ibrahim ‘Atallah, told the WAFA News Agency that the soldiers handed a demolition order to resident Mohammad As’ad Sa’ad, targeting his 60/square-meter barn.
The resident has seven days to file an appeal against the Israeli decision, but was not provided with any further information.
In addition, soldiers handed three residents orders to stop the construction of their homes in the village.
It is worth mentioning that the Civil Administration Office, run by the Israeli army in the West Bank, recently issued similar orders against 34 under construction homes, and structures, in the village.
The villagers filed appeals against the orders, but never received any response from the Israeli side.
On Wednesday morning, soldiers invaded Be’er al-Basha village, near Jenin, and searched the home of Abdul-Ghani Midhat, before interrogating him and his family.
The soldiers also invaded al-‘Arqa village, west of Jenin, and conducted searches in its neighborhoods.
On Tuesday evening, soldiers invaded Hebron’s Old City, and kidnapped one Palestinian, identified as ‘Emad Sa’adi at-Tarwa near the Ibrahimi Mosque.
Demolition Order Issued for Khallet Sakariya, Taqou Completely Sealed Off
Israeli forces on Wednesday delivered a demolition order for a Palestinian agricultural structure located inside of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, local officials said.
Head of the Khallet Sakariya village council, Muhammad Ibrahim Atallah, told Ma'an News Agency that Israeli forces issued the order to demolish a 60-meter-square metal structure used as a sheep barn.
The barn belongs to Muhammad Ahmad Ismail.
A month ago, Israeli forces delivered two demolition orders to Tayseer Muhammad Ahmad Saad and Khalil Muhammad Mahmoud Saad for their homes.
Over 30 residents in the small village have received demolition warrants, Atallah said, adding that villagers are gradually leaving because Israel's military forces do not allow any new construction.
Around 150 villagers have left since 2007, with the population now standing at 500.
Khallet Sakariya is located in the center of Israel's Gush Etzion bloc adjacent to the Jewish-only settlement of Rosh Zurim.
Around 2,000 dunams of the total area of 9,000 has been confiscated by military forces, Atallah added.
Also on Wednesday, Israeli forces blocked off all entrances leading to the town of Taqou, east of Bethlehem, preventing residents movement in and out of the area, according to a local official.
Head of the town’s municipality, Taysir Abu Mfreh, informed WAFA that Israeli forces deployed and set up surprise flying checkpoints at all entrances leading to the town, preventing residents’ movement.
B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian Territories, said in a report, “Israel's restrictions on Palestinians' freedom of movement in the West Bank are enforced by a system of fixed checkpoints, surprise flying checkpoints, physical obstructions, roads on which Palestinians are forbidden to travel, and gates along the Separation Barrier. The restrictions enable Israel to control Palestinian movement throughout the West Bank as suits its interests, in a sweeping breach of Palestinians' rights.”
It said that, “Prolonged checks and searches at some of the checkpoints, humiliating treatment by soldiers, and long lines deter Palestinian drivers from using some of the roads still open to their use. As a result, Palestinian movement on some of the main roads in the West Bank has decreased, and these roads are used almost exclusively by settlers.”
B'Tselem said that in February 2014 there were 99 fixed checkpoints in the West Bank: 59 are internal checkpoints, located well within the West Bank.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces attacked school students in the early morning hours, spurring confrontations with residents; forces fired tear gas bombs and stun grenades towards residents, however, no injuries were reported.
Head of the Beit Eskarya village Council, Mohammad Ibrahim ‘Atallah, told the WAFA News Agency that the soldiers handed a demolition order to resident Mohammad As’ad Sa’ad, targeting his 60/square-meter barn.
The resident has seven days to file an appeal against the Israeli decision, but was not provided with any further information.
In addition, soldiers handed three residents orders to stop the construction of their homes in the village.
It is worth mentioning that the Civil Administration Office, run by the Israeli army in the West Bank, recently issued similar orders against 34 under construction homes, and structures, in the village.
The villagers filed appeals against the orders, but never received any response from the Israeli side.
On Wednesday morning, soldiers invaded Be’er al-Basha village, near Jenin, and searched the home of Abdul-Ghani Midhat, before interrogating him and his family.
The soldiers also invaded al-‘Arqa village, west of Jenin, and conducted searches in its neighborhoods.
On Tuesday evening, soldiers invaded Hebron’s Old City, and kidnapped one Palestinian, identified as ‘Emad Sa’adi at-Tarwa near the Ibrahimi Mosque.
Demolition Order Issued for Khallet Sakariya, Taqou Completely Sealed Off
Israeli forces on Wednesday delivered a demolition order for a Palestinian agricultural structure located inside of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, local officials said.
Head of the Khallet Sakariya village council, Muhammad Ibrahim Atallah, told Ma'an News Agency that Israeli forces issued the order to demolish a 60-meter-square metal structure used as a sheep barn.
The barn belongs to Muhammad Ahmad Ismail.
A month ago, Israeli forces delivered two demolition orders to Tayseer Muhammad Ahmad Saad and Khalil Muhammad Mahmoud Saad for their homes.
Over 30 residents in the small village have received demolition warrants, Atallah said, adding that villagers are gradually leaving because Israel's military forces do not allow any new construction.
Around 150 villagers have left since 2007, with the population now standing at 500.
Khallet Sakariya is located in the center of Israel's Gush Etzion bloc adjacent to the Jewish-only settlement of Rosh Zurim.
Around 2,000 dunams of the total area of 9,000 has been confiscated by military forces, Atallah added.
Also on Wednesday, Israeli forces blocked off all entrances leading to the town of Taqou, east of Bethlehem, preventing residents movement in and out of the area, according to a local official.
Head of the town’s municipality, Taysir Abu Mfreh, informed WAFA that Israeli forces deployed and set up surprise flying checkpoints at all entrances leading to the town, preventing residents’ movement.
B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian Territories, said in a report, “Israel's restrictions on Palestinians' freedom of movement in the West Bank are enforced by a system of fixed checkpoints, surprise flying checkpoints, physical obstructions, roads on which Palestinians are forbidden to travel, and gates along the Separation Barrier. The restrictions enable Israel to control Palestinian movement throughout the West Bank as suits its interests, in a sweeping breach of Palestinians' rights.”
It said that, “Prolonged checks and searches at some of the checkpoints, humiliating treatment by soldiers, and long lines deter Palestinian drivers from using some of the roads still open to their use. As a result, Palestinian movement on some of the main roads in the West Bank has decreased, and these roads are used almost exclusively by settlers.”
B'Tselem said that in February 2014 there were 99 fixed checkpoints in the West Bank: 59 are internal checkpoints, located well within the West Bank.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces attacked school students in the early morning hours, spurring confrontations with residents; forces fired tear gas bombs and stun grenades towards residents, however, no injuries were reported.
12 may 2015
Israeli forces on Tuesday demolished a mosque under construction in the Bedouin village of Wadi al-Niam near Beersheba, locals said.
Heavily guarded bulldozers entered the village accompanied by dozens of Israeli police officers from the southern command and demolished the foundation of the mosque.
Labbad Abu Affash, a local committee chief, told Ma'an that Israeli forces demolish part of a home or other structure in the village every week.
In some cases, families demolish their own houses to avoid paying the heavy fines imposed by Israel.
"There has been a vicious crackdown against our village in an attempt to force us to move to the town of Shaqib al-Salam instead of recognizing our village which is home to 14,000," Abu Affash said.
Wadi al-Niam is not recognized by the Israeli state and so lacks all basic services such as water. A toxic dump and military firing zone have also been built in the area where the community lives.
It is among some 40 Negev villages that Israeli authorities have deemed unrecognized, arguing that the 53,000 Palestinian Bedouins living in them cannot prove land ownership.
Some 100 homes in unrecognized villages have been demolished since the beginning of 2015, while Israeli authorities have issued demolition notices to hundreds of others.
Heavily guarded bulldozers entered the village accompanied by dozens of Israeli police officers from the southern command and demolished the foundation of the mosque.
Labbad Abu Affash, a local committee chief, told Ma'an that Israeli forces demolish part of a home or other structure in the village every week.
In some cases, families demolish their own houses to avoid paying the heavy fines imposed by Israel.
"There has been a vicious crackdown against our village in an attempt to force us to move to the town of Shaqib al-Salam instead of recognizing our village which is home to 14,000," Abu Affash said.
Wadi al-Niam is not recognized by the Israeli state and so lacks all basic services such as water. A toxic dump and military firing zone have also been built in the area where the community lives.
It is among some 40 Negev villages that Israeli authorities have deemed unrecognized, arguing that the 53,000 Palestinian Bedouins living in them cannot prove land ownership.
Some 100 homes in unrecognized villages have been demolished since the beginning of 2015, while Israeli authorities have issued demolition notices to hundreds of others.
Israeli military bulldozers escorted by military vehicles razed at noon on Tuesday a storehouse for the second time in Silwad town to the east of Ramallah.
Local sources along with eyewitnesses told Quds Press that the Israeli vehicles demolished a structure used as a storehouse by a Palestinian man who works on stones.
Abdullah Hamid, the owner of the structure, said that the IOF razed the building without giving him a prior notice. He confirmed that the structure was completely destroyed. His estimate losses exceeded $1,000.
Hamid said that he is a tenant on the land above which the structure was constructed. He pointed out that the destruction of the warehouse affected three Palestinian families as the structure constituted the main source of income to them all.
The Israeli forces razed the same store previously on April 16 whereas the losses were estimated at $1,500. In a similar context, the Israeli forces notified the owner of two housing tents in Susiya village in al-Khalil with demolition.
The Activist in Yatta Ratib al-Jabour told Quds Press that the Israeli civil administration handed two demolition notices to a Palestinian man for destroying two housing tents where he and his family are living.
An Israeli court has recently issued a decision of displacing Susiya’s inhabitants and razing their houses regardless of the fact that 300 people will become homeless.
Local sources along with eyewitnesses told Quds Press that the Israeli vehicles demolished a structure used as a storehouse by a Palestinian man who works on stones.
Abdullah Hamid, the owner of the structure, said that the IOF razed the building without giving him a prior notice. He confirmed that the structure was completely destroyed. His estimate losses exceeded $1,000.
Hamid said that he is a tenant on the land above which the structure was constructed. He pointed out that the destruction of the warehouse affected three Palestinian families as the structure constituted the main source of income to them all.
The Israeli forces razed the same store previously on April 16 whereas the losses were estimated at $1,500. In a similar context, the Israeli forces notified the owner of two housing tents in Susiya village in al-Khalil with demolition.
The Activist in Yatta Ratib al-Jabour told Quds Press that the Israeli civil administration handed two demolition notices to a Palestinian man for destroying two housing tents where he and his family are living.
An Israeli court has recently issued a decision of displacing Susiya’s inhabitants and razing their houses regardless of the fact that 300 people will become homeless.
Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) issued 30,000 demolition orders against Palestinian-owned facilities since Oslo accords in 1993, an Israeli rights group said in Monday.
In a new report, Planners for Planning Rights (Bimkom) affirmed that since seizing the West Bank in 1967, Israel has held full control over all planning matters for both Palestinians and Jewish settlers in area C that covers over 60 percent of the territory.
The Israeli rights group said that although settlers can easily secure building permits, Palestinians found themselves forced to build "illegally", where hundreds of unauthorized structures have been yearly demolished.
Over 60 percent, around 360,000 hectares, of the West Bank is classified as Area C, where Israel has full control over security and also civilian affairs which are managed by the Civil Administration, a unit of the Israeli war ministry.
UN figures show there are an estimated 298,000 Palestinians living in Area C, grouped into 532 residential areas, while there are 341,000 Israelis living in 135 settlements and 100 unauthorized outposts.
"Only one percent of Area C is designated for Palestinian development, compared to 70 percent designated for settlements expansion," the UN says.
Palestinian construction in the other 29 percent of Area C is subject to severe Israeli restrictions.
"Since Oslo Accords, Israel has issued more than 14,600 demolition orders, of which 2,925 structures have actually been demolished," Bimkom reported.
Bimkom architect Alon Cohen Lifschitz estimates there are an average of two structures per order, meaning that over the past decade, Israel has issued demolition notices for nearly 30,000 Palestinian-owned facilities.
In 2014, 911 demolition orders were issued against Palestinian homes, barns, fence, cemeteries, and solar panels under the pretext of being built without permits.
There are currently more than 9,100 outstanding demolition orders which can be implemented at any time, Bimkom pointed out.
Since 1996, Israel has granted only a few hundred building permits for Palestinian structures.
According to Amnesty International, there were 76 building permits issued to Palestinians between 1996 and 1999.
And from 2000-2014, only 206 building permits were issued, Bimkom says.
In 2014, Israel granted a single building permit.
"In Area C, a two-tier planning system operates based on ethnic-national background: a civil and representative planning system for Jewish settlers and a military system without representation for Palestinians," Israeli NGO Rabbis for Human Rights said.
In planning for Palestinian villages, the objectives are to limit land use and encourage dense construction, whereas in the settlements, the trend is often the opposite –- to include as much area as possible, producing particularly low density levels, it explained.
In a new report, Planners for Planning Rights (Bimkom) affirmed that since seizing the West Bank in 1967, Israel has held full control over all planning matters for both Palestinians and Jewish settlers in area C that covers over 60 percent of the territory.
The Israeli rights group said that although settlers can easily secure building permits, Palestinians found themselves forced to build "illegally", where hundreds of unauthorized structures have been yearly demolished.
Over 60 percent, around 360,000 hectares, of the West Bank is classified as Area C, where Israel has full control over security and also civilian affairs which are managed by the Civil Administration, a unit of the Israeli war ministry.
UN figures show there are an estimated 298,000 Palestinians living in Area C, grouped into 532 residential areas, while there are 341,000 Israelis living in 135 settlements and 100 unauthorized outposts.
"Only one percent of Area C is designated for Palestinian development, compared to 70 percent designated for settlements expansion," the UN says.
Palestinian construction in the other 29 percent of Area C is subject to severe Israeli restrictions.
"Since Oslo Accords, Israel has issued more than 14,600 demolition orders, of which 2,925 structures have actually been demolished," Bimkom reported.
Bimkom architect Alon Cohen Lifschitz estimates there are an average of two structures per order, meaning that over the past decade, Israel has issued demolition notices for nearly 30,000 Palestinian-owned facilities.
In 2014, 911 demolition orders were issued against Palestinian homes, barns, fence, cemeteries, and solar panels under the pretext of being built without permits.
There are currently more than 9,100 outstanding demolition orders which can be implemented at any time, Bimkom pointed out.
Since 1996, Israel has granted only a few hundred building permits for Palestinian structures.
According to Amnesty International, there were 76 building permits issued to Palestinians between 1996 and 1999.
And from 2000-2014, only 206 building permits were issued, Bimkom says.
In 2014, Israel granted a single building permit.
"In Area C, a two-tier planning system operates based on ethnic-national background: a civil and representative planning system for Jewish settlers and a military system without representation for Palestinians," Israeli NGO Rabbis for Human Rights said.
In planning for Palestinian villages, the objectives are to limit land use and encourage dense construction, whereas in the settlements, the trend is often the opposite –- to include as much area as possible, producing particularly low density levels, it explained.
11 may 2015
The Israeli Magistrate Court ordered on Sunday the demolition and eviction of eight buildings in Semiramis neighborhood northern occupied Jerusalem. The buildings consist of 23 apartments housing 107 people.
The court claimed that the properties have been owned by Jewish Israelis since 1971.
According to the court's order, the residents are obliged to demolish the buildings by themselves by Aug. 1 unless they didn’t buy the apartments from the alleged Jewish owner Arieh King, head of the Israel Land Fund, a group which works to settle Jews in occupied Jerusalem.
A group of Palestinians bought a tract of land in 2001 in the neighborhood, with all parties registering the property with official bodies without any obstacles, Jerusalem newspaper explained.
However, Israeli authorities then confiscated 10,000 square meters of the land when construction of the separation wall began.
The court claimed that the properties have been owned by Jewish Israelis since 1971.
According to the court's order, the residents are obliged to demolish the buildings by themselves by Aug. 1 unless they didn’t buy the apartments from the alleged Jewish owner Arieh King, head of the Israel Land Fund, a group which works to settle Jews in occupied Jerusalem.
A group of Palestinians bought a tract of land in 2001 in the neighborhood, with all parties registering the property with official bodies without any obstacles, Jerusalem newspaper explained.
However, Israeli authorities then confiscated 10,000 square meters of the land when construction of the separation wall began.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Sunday evening demolished an Islamic historical shrine in Beit Dajan village, east of Nablus city.
Local sources told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that an Israeli bulldozer escorted by Israeli soldiers and civil servants stormed the eastern area of the village and knocked down the entire structure of Sheik Kamel shrine, which dates back to more than one hundred years.
The sources added that the invading troops confiscated all stones of the shrine before leaving the village.
Local sources told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that an Israeli bulldozer escorted by Israeli soldiers and civil servants stormed the eastern area of the village and knocked down the entire structure of Sheik Kamel shrine, which dates back to more than one hundred years.
The sources added that the invading troops confiscated all stones of the shrine before leaving the village.
