9 aug 2015
A lawyer representing a right-wing Israeli Jewish organization, Sunday, issued evacuation notices for three Palestinian homes in the Batn al-Hawa area of Silwan, occupied East Jerusalem.
The lawyer, representing Ateret Cohanim, told the Sarhan family that the land, on which the three houses were built, allegedly belongs to Jewish settlers.
The Silwan-based Wadi Hilweh Information Center reported that the Sarhan family was given 30 days to respond to the claims in court.
Ateret Cohanim, an organization which tries to create a Jewish majority in occupied East Jerusalem at the expense of Palestinian communities, claims that the land on which the Sarhan family lives belonged to three Jewish men from Yemen who lived there before 1948.
The chief of a local committee representing the Batn al-Hawa area, Zuheir al-Rajabi, said the Sarhan family has been living in the property for more than 80 years. The land and the houses, he said, belong to Ali Sarhan, his son Muhammad and another family member, Muhammad Mahir Sarhan.
Each home measures 80 square meters (861 square feet).
Al-Rajabi highlighted that a few days earlier, another Palestinian family, Abu Nab, received an evacuation notice from the same organization “which has been working on displacing the residents of the area.”
Attempts to aquare meters (56000 square feet) in the central quarter of Batn al-Hawa, the Wadi Hilweh Center told Ma'an News Agency.
The land in question houses around 300 Palestinians (80 families) living in more than 30 buildings, according to the Wadi Hilweh Center.
The center added that it released a report published in May that highlighted Ateret Cohanim's claims that a Jewish community from Yemen have owned six pieces of land in Batn al-Hawa since 1881.
The report claimed that the Israeli High Court confirmed the Jewish settlers from Yemen were the owners of the land in Batn al-Hawa.
In a controversial move, last year, Ateret Cohanim secretly bought and renovated a building in the heart of occupied East Jerusalem near the Damascus and Flowers gate entrances of the Old City. The building was turned into the Ateret Cohanim Jerusalem Torah Learning Centre, where groups of students from pre-army academies around Israel are brought in on learning retreats.
Following the purchase,emails between Ateret Cohanim and its supporters were leaked to Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, detailing the organization's plans for the future.
In one of the emails, the group's executive director said the purchase was "the first acquisition of its kind, in the area, which is in the heart of the commercial Arab district of Jerusalem" and said the group's work was "being done quietly under the radar."
The lawyer, representing Ateret Cohanim, told the Sarhan family that the land, on which the three houses were built, allegedly belongs to Jewish settlers.
The Silwan-based Wadi Hilweh Information Center reported that the Sarhan family was given 30 days to respond to the claims in court.
Ateret Cohanim, an organization which tries to create a Jewish majority in occupied East Jerusalem at the expense of Palestinian communities, claims that the land on which the Sarhan family lives belonged to three Jewish men from Yemen who lived there before 1948.
The chief of a local committee representing the Batn al-Hawa area, Zuheir al-Rajabi, said the Sarhan family has been living in the property for more than 80 years. The land and the houses, he said, belong to Ali Sarhan, his son Muhammad and another family member, Muhammad Mahir Sarhan.
Each home measures 80 square meters (861 square feet).
Al-Rajabi highlighted that a few days earlier, another Palestinian family, Abu Nab, received an evacuation notice from the same organization “which has been working on displacing the residents of the area.”
Attempts to aquare meters (56000 square feet) in the central quarter of Batn al-Hawa, the Wadi Hilweh Center told Ma'an News Agency.
The land in question houses around 300 Palestinians (80 families) living in more than 30 buildings, according to the Wadi Hilweh Center.
The center added that it released a report published in May that highlighted Ateret Cohanim's claims that a Jewish community from Yemen have owned six pieces of land in Batn al-Hawa since 1881.
The report claimed that the Israeli High Court confirmed the Jewish settlers from Yemen were the owners of the land in Batn al-Hawa.
In a controversial move, last year, Ateret Cohanim secretly bought and renovated a building in the heart of occupied East Jerusalem near the Damascus and Flowers gate entrances of the Old City. The building was turned into the Ateret Cohanim Jerusalem Torah Learning Centre, where groups of students from pre-army academies around Israel are brought in on learning retreats.
Following the purchase,emails between Ateret Cohanim and its supporters were leaked to Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, detailing the organization's plans for the future.
In one of the emails, the group's executive director said the purchase was "the first acquisition of its kind, in the area, which is in the heart of the commercial Arab district of Jerusalem" and said the group's work was "being done quietly under the radar."
The Israeli occupation is putting the final touches on a comprehensive scheme to complete the Judaization of al-Sharaf neighborhood, to the west of al-Aqsa Mosque.
150 million shekels (about 40 million dollars) were allocated to carry out concurrent Judaization projects in this neighborhood; these projects are sponsored by the so-called "The Company for the Reconstruction and Development of the Jewish Quarter (CRDJQ)".
The Israeli infrastructure minister Yoav Galant and the Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Ze’ev Elkin support this malevolent scheme and give it utmost importance, according to Israeli media sources.
According to the scheme, which was reviewed by QPress, an underground parking lot that can accommodate about 600 cars will be established after carrying out diggings in the southeastern side of the 200-acre neighborhood, and an underground tunnel that runs through the historical wall of Jerusalem will be excavated in order to reach the parking lot.
25 million shekels were allocated for building commercial shops and enhancing the infrastructure of the middle area of the neighborhood and a building permit will be issued soon to implement a project for constructing two elevators that connect al-Sharaf neighborhood with al-Magharba neighborhood and the Wailing Wall area (the Israeli reference to al-Buraq Wall); so as to intensify the Jewish presence, encourage the foreign tourism, and facilitate access to al-Buraq Wall area which will cost about 26 million shekels.
A tender will be announced within the coming weeks to build a huge synagogue called the Jewel of Israel in the same neighborhood at a cost of about 45 million shekels.
The CRDJQ is planning to transfer the ownership of scores of Jerusalemite properties and turn them into Jewish properties that are officially registered in the Israel Land Registry (Tabu).
Al-Sharaf neighborhood, which is inhabited by about 6000 Jewish settlers, was occupied by Israel in 1967 and was turned into a settlement neighborhood under the name of "the Jewish neighborhood".
150 million shekels (about 40 million dollars) were allocated to carry out concurrent Judaization projects in this neighborhood; these projects are sponsored by the so-called "The Company for the Reconstruction and Development of the Jewish Quarter (CRDJQ)".
The Israeli infrastructure minister Yoav Galant and the Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Ze’ev Elkin support this malevolent scheme and give it utmost importance, according to Israeli media sources.
According to the scheme, which was reviewed by QPress, an underground parking lot that can accommodate about 600 cars will be established after carrying out diggings in the southeastern side of the 200-acre neighborhood, and an underground tunnel that runs through the historical wall of Jerusalem will be excavated in order to reach the parking lot.
25 million shekels were allocated for building commercial shops and enhancing the infrastructure of the middle area of the neighborhood and a building permit will be issued soon to implement a project for constructing two elevators that connect al-Sharaf neighborhood with al-Magharba neighborhood and the Wailing Wall area (the Israeli reference to al-Buraq Wall); so as to intensify the Jewish presence, encourage the foreign tourism, and facilitate access to al-Buraq Wall area which will cost about 26 million shekels.
A tender will be announced within the coming weeks to build a huge synagogue called the Jewel of Israel in the same neighborhood at a cost of about 45 million shekels.
The CRDJQ is planning to transfer the ownership of scores of Jerusalemite properties and turn them into Jewish properties that are officially registered in the Israel Land Registry (Tabu).
Al-Sharaf neighborhood, which is inhabited by about 6000 Jewish settlers, was occupied by Israel in 1967 and was turned into a settlement neighborhood under the name of "the Jewish neighborhood".
Scores of Palestinian citizens have foiled an Israeli attempt to evacuate and confiscate al-Rajabi family house near the Ibrahimi mosque in the Old City of al-Khalil.
Muhammad al-Zghayer, spokesman of Hebron Rehabilitation Committee (HRC), said that more than fifty members of al-Rajabi family along with members and volunteers from different committees have been maintaining vigil at al-Rajabi house and decided not to leave until the evacuation order is cancelled.
Al-Zghayer added that a large force of the Israeli army and settlers attempted to evacuate the house on Saturday night but the protesters forced the Israeli military to postpone the evacuation until tomorrow.
The Israeli forces summoned a number of protesters for interrogation at al-Khalil intelligence headquarters.
Al-Zghayer clarified that the Israeli occupation had issued an evacuation order against al-Rajabi home under the pretext that it was previously sold to Israeli settlers, a claim that al-Rajabi family strongly denied.
Muhammad al-Zghayer, spokesman of Hebron Rehabilitation Committee (HRC), said that more than fifty members of al-Rajabi family along with members and volunteers from different committees have been maintaining vigil at al-Rajabi house and decided not to leave until the evacuation order is cancelled.
Al-Zghayer added that a large force of the Israeli army and settlers attempted to evacuate the house on Saturday night but the protesters forced the Israeli military to postpone the evacuation until tomorrow.
The Israeli forces summoned a number of protesters for interrogation at al-Khalil intelligence headquarters.
Al-Zghayer clarified that the Israeli occupation had issued an evacuation order against al-Rajabi home under the pretext that it was previously sold to Israeli settlers, a claim that al-Rajabi family strongly denied.
8 aug 2015
Israeli occupation forces confiscated a donkey from some children in the village of Al-Tur, under the pretext of annoying the settlers in a settlement outpost established in that area.
Witnesses explained to Wadi Hilweh Information Center that soldiers confiscated a donkey owned by the Abulhawa family, while some children were walking with it on Al-Khalleh Street, near the settlement outpost.
Witnesses also added that settlers living in the outpost called in the team, who immediately arrived to the area, confiscated the donkey and transferred it to an unknown place using a special vehicle.
Witnesses explained to Wadi Hilweh Information Center that soldiers confiscated a donkey owned by the Abulhawa family, while some children were walking with it on Al-Khalleh Street, near the settlement outpost.
Witnesses also added that settlers living in the outpost called in the team, who immediately arrived to the area, confiscated the donkey and transferred it to an unknown place using a special vehicle.
6 aug 2015
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) closed Thursday three agricultural roads and uprooted olive trees in Kafr Qaddum town near Qalqilya in the northern West Bank.
The Coordinator of the Popular Resistance Committees in the town, Murad Eshtaiwi, revealed that Israeli forces escorted by a military bulldozer blocked the roads by sand berms and uprooted perennial olive trees in the area.
He added that the forces closed the roads without a prior notice, claiming that it is for security reasons.
Eshtaiwi pointed out that the Israeli army has escalated the campaign of collective punishment against the town’s inhabitants for the continuation of the weekly march demanding the opening of a street which has been closed for 13 years.
The Coordinator of the Popular Resistance Committees in the town, Murad Eshtaiwi, revealed that Israeli forces escorted by a military bulldozer blocked the roads by sand berms and uprooted perennial olive trees in the area.
He added that the forces closed the roads without a prior notice, claiming that it is for security reasons.
Eshtaiwi pointed out that the Israeli army has escalated the campaign of collective punishment against the town’s inhabitants for the continuation of the weekly march demanding the opening of a street which has been closed for 13 years.
Israeli forces, on Thursday, demolished a tire repair shop and another structure in Bethlehem district, said two local activists.
Taha Hamamra, a local activist, told WAFA correspondence that Israeli forces demolished a tire repair shop at the western entrance of Husan village to the west of the city purportedly for being built without an Israeli building permit.
The Palestinian owner of the shop was identified as Bajes Shusha.
This was the second time Israeli forces demolished a property for Shusha. Almost a year ago, a flower shop belonging to Shusha was demolished.
Moreover, forces demolished a structure belonging to a Palestinian in the area opposite to the tunnel checkpoint between Beit Jala and Jerusalem. The Palestinian owner was identified as Tareq al-Walaji.
Israel rarely grants construction permits to Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and regularly demolishes structures built without permits, forcing Palestinians to embark on construction without permit to shelter and provide their families with livelihoods.
Having no other choice, many Palestinians in Area C of the West Bank, under complete Israeli control, are forced to build without permits to be able to provide a shelter for their families, risking in the process having their buildings demolished.
Humanitarian and legal bodies and institutions such as the United Nations, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and B’Tselem confirm that the planning policies applied by Israel in Area C and East Jerusalem discriminate against Palestinians, making it extremely difficult for them to obtain building permits.
“As a result, many Palestinians build without permits to meet their housing needs and risk having their structures demolished. Palestinians must have the opportunity to participate in a fair and equitable planning system that ensures their needs are met,” OCHA reports.
Data from OCHA’s Protection of Civilians weekly report, covering a two week period starting from 14 July 2015, indicate that Israel demolished 10 Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank during this period, displacing 16 Palestinians.
Data also reveal that demolition has been taking place at a weekly average of 17 structures in the West Bank Area C and three structures in East Jerusalem, displacing 19 Palestinians from Area C and two Palestinians from East Jerusalem.
Taha Hamamra, a local activist, told WAFA correspondence that Israeli forces demolished a tire repair shop at the western entrance of Husan village to the west of the city purportedly for being built without an Israeli building permit.
The Palestinian owner of the shop was identified as Bajes Shusha.
This was the second time Israeli forces demolished a property for Shusha. Almost a year ago, a flower shop belonging to Shusha was demolished.
Moreover, forces demolished a structure belonging to a Palestinian in the area opposite to the tunnel checkpoint between Beit Jala and Jerusalem. The Palestinian owner was identified as Tareq al-Walaji.
Israel rarely grants construction permits to Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and regularly demolishes structures built without permits, forcing Palestinians to embark on construction without permit to shelter and provide their families with livelihoods.
Having no other choice, many Palestinians in Area C of the West Bank, under complete Israeli control, are forced to build without permits to be able to provide a shelter for their families, risking in the process having their buildings demolished.
Humanitarian and legal bodies and institutions such as the United Nations, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and B’Tselem confirm that the planning policies applied by Israel in Area C and East Jerusalem discriminate against Palestinians, making it extremely difficult for them to obtain building permits.
“As a result, many Palestinians build without permits to meet their housing needs and risk having their structures demolished. Palestinians must have the opportunity to participate in a fair and equitable planning system that ensures their needs are met,” OCHA reports.
Data from OCHA’s Protection of Civilians weekly report, covering a two week period starting from 14 July 2015, indicate that Israel demolished 10 Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank during this period, displacing 16 Palestinians.
Data also reveal that demolition has been taking place at a weekly average of 17 structures in the West Bank Area C and three structures in East Jerusalem, displacing 19 Palestinians from Area C and two Palestinians from East Jerusalem.
Palestinian farmers from Qarawat Bani Hassan town, west of Salfit, has complained that Jewish settlers from Havat Yair settlement stole their land in an area known locally as Nuwaitef.
The farmers said in press remarks that the settlers justified the appropriation of their land that Nuwaitef is a nature reserve, where no one can use it for constructional or agricultural purposes.
For his part, specialist in settlement affairs Khaled Maali said that the Israeli occupation authority claims the area as a reserve not to protect the nature but to annex it gradually for the expansion of nearby settlements.
He affirmed that the Israeli nature protection authority destroys the nature through allowing the settlers to seize and destroy olive and forest trees in order to build more housing units in settlements, while preventing the Palestinians from reclaiming and cultivating their lands in Salfit and other occupied areas.
The farmers said in press remarks that the settlers justified the appropriation of their land that Nuwaitef is a nature reserve, where no one can use it for constructional or agricultural purposes.
For his part, specialist in settlement affairs Khaled Maali said that the Israeli occupation authority claims the area as a reserve not to protect the nature but to annex it gradually for the expansion of nearby settlements.
He affirmed that the Israeli nature protection authority destroys the nature through allowing the settlers to seize and destroy olive and forest trees in order to build more housing units in settlements, while preventing the Palestinians from reclaiming and cultivating their lands in Salfit and other occupied areas.
5 aug 2015
Israeli bulldozers razed Wednesday al-Araqib village in the Negev to the south of 1948 occupied Palestine for the 87th time since 2010.
The Activist Salim al-Araqib revealed that Israeli military vehicles escorted by police forces raided at noon the village, evacuated its inhabitants, and gathered them near the village’s cemetery before starting demolition of their houses which consist of tents and tinplate.
Aziz al-Touri, the village’s Imam (preacher), told Quds Press that “the inhabitants of Araqib village will not surrender to Israeli terrorism and will remain in their land and rebuild their houses out of challenge to the Israeli government”.
Touri told Quds Press that razing the village followed the ceremony of challenge and steadfastness held a few days ago in the village on the occasion of the fifth memorial of the first demolition of the town by the Israeli forces.
The demolition of Araqib village along with many other areas in the Negev is part of the Israeli plan to expel more than 120 thousand Palestinians from their homes to establish new Jewish settlements on the ruins of the so-called unrecognized Palestinian villages.
Since the beginning of 2015, 100 houses have been razed by Israeli forces, while hundreds of others have been notified to be demolished later.
The Activist Salim al-Araqib revealed that Israeli military vehicles escorted by police forces raided at noon the village, evacuated its inhabitants, and gathered them near the village’s cemetery before starting demolition of their houses which consist of tents and tinplate.
Aziz al-Touri, the village’s Imam (preacher), told Quds Press that “the inhabitants of Araqib village will not surrender to Israeli terrorism and will remain in their land and rebuild their houses out of challenge to the Israeli government”.
Touri told Quds Press that razing the village followed the ceremony of challenge and steadfastness held a few days ago in the village on the occasion of the fifth memorial of the first demolition of the town by the Israeli forces.
The demolition of Araqib village along with many other areas in the Negev is part of the Israeli plan to expel more than 120 thousand Palestinians from their homes to establish new Jewish settlements on the ruins of the so-called unrecognized Palestinian villages.
Since the beginning of 2015, 100 houses have been razed by Israeli forces, while hundreds of others have been notified to be demolished later.
Israeli police Wednesday asked two East Jerusalem Palestinian families to leave their homes, under the pretext of absentee ownership, according to WAFA correspondent. Israeli police ordered Sabri Abu-Nab and Abdullah Abu-Nab, two Jerusalemite Palestinians, and their families to leave their homes before August 11, because the two properties are “absentee”.
Jewish settler organizations, claim the two homes are located on the site of an abandoned Jewish synagogue.
Abdullah Abu-Nab described the order a “manipulation” by the Israeli judiciary which was biased toward the settlers.
He said settler groups had no proof of ownership of the two homes, which have been inhabited by the Abu-Nab family for hundreds of years, even before the establishment of Israel.
Zuhair Rajabi, a pro-Jerusalemites activist and advocate, said a number of lawyers and him were planning to gather as much legal documents as needed to prove the Abu-Nab family’s ownership of the two homes. He said the lawyers will travel to Turkey to obtain paperwork from the Ottoman era that proves the Abu-Nab’s ownership of the two homes.
For years, Israel instituted a series of mandatory laws, regulations and policies to legalize the confiscation of Palestinians’ lands and property and prevent them from returning to their homes.
Palestinians’ land was deemed “absentee property” based on the 1950 Absentee Property Law and the control of the land was transferred to the government and semi-governmental agencies, such as the Jewish National Fund and Israel’s Land Administration for the benefit of Jewish Israelis.
Under this law, Palestinian refugees and the internally displaced are regarded as “present absentees”, designations that authorized the confiscation of their land. The implication of this was that the majority of the Palestinian land was lost.
The law was first enacted and took effect in 1950 after the great population transfer that Israel experienced in its early days, as thousands of Palestinian Arabs were forced to flee the city of fear of being killed. The law was approved by the Supreme Court of Israel on April 16 2015.
Secretary General of the Islamic-Christian Committee to Support Occupied Jerusalem and Holy Sites, Hanna Issa, denounced the court’s decision, and said such property belongs to thousands of indigenous Arab and Palestinian residents who were forced out of their homeland, following the 1948 and 1967 wars.
Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign says that, “By classifying every citizen or persons present in an “enemy” territory or country as an “absentee” vis-à-vis property in Israel, the law has served to confiscate the land and real estate left behind by the Palestinians who were forcibly displaced 1948,”
In 1967, most Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) de facto became “absentees” with regard to their property in East Jerusalem, which was unilaterally and illegally annexed by Israel.
Israel’s annexation and extension of the Absentees’ Property Law to occupied East Jerusalem is in violation of international law and has been strongly condemned by the United Nations.
Jewish settler organizations, claim the two homes are located on the site of an abandoned Jewish synagogue.
Abdullah Abu-Nab described the order a “manipulation” by the Israeli judiciary which was biased toward the settlers.
He said settler groups had no proof of ownership of the two homes, which have been inhabited by the Abu-Nab family for hundreds of years, even before the establishment of Israel.
Zuhair Rajabi, a pro-Jerusalemites activist and advocate, said a number of lawyers and him were planning to gather as much legal documents as needed to prove the Abu-Nab family’s ownership of the two homes. He said the lawyers will travel to Turkey to obtain paperwork from the Ottoman era that proves the Abu-Nab’s ownership of the two homes.
For years, Israel instituted a series of mandatory laws, regulations and policies to legalize the confiscation of Palestinians’ lands and property and prevent them from returning to their homes.
Palestinians’ land was deemed “absentee property” based on the 1950 Absentee Property Law and the control of the land was transferred to the government and semi-governmental agencies, such as the Jewish National Fund and Israel’s Land Administration for the benefit of Jewish Israelis.
Under this law, Palestinian refugees and the internally displaced are regarded as “present absentees”, designations that authorized the confiscation of their land. The implication of this was that the majority of the Palestinian land was lost.
The law was first enacted and took effect in 1950 after the great population transfer that Israel experienced in its early days, as thousands of Palestinian Arabs were forced to flee the city of fear of being killed. The law was approved by the Supreme Court of Israel on April 16 2015.
Secretary General of the Islamic-Christian Committee to Support Occupied Jerusalem and Holy Sites, Hanna Issa, denounced the court’s decision, and said such property belongs to thousands of indigenous Arab and Palestinian residents who were forced out of their homeland, following the 1948 and 1967 wars.
Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign says that, “By classifying every citizen or persons present in an “enemy” territory or country as an “absentee” vis-à-vis property in Israel, the law has served to confiscate the land and real estate left behind by the Palestinians who were forcibly displaced 1948,”
In 1967, most Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) de facto became “absentees” with regard to their property in East Jerusalem, which was unilaterally and illegally annexed by Israel.
Israel’s annexation and extension of the Absentees’ Property Law to occupied East Jerusalem is in violation of international law and has been strongly condemned by the United Nations.
Israeli authorities Wednesday demolished 18 Palestinian-owned agricultural structures in northern Jordan Valley, as well as handed Palestinians near Hebron demolition notices for 20 houses, and demolished a home in Beit Ummar, according to local sources.
Motaz Bisharat, in charge of the Jordan Valley settlements file in the Palestinian Authority, said Israeli army forces broke into al-Aqaba, Mayta, and Yazra, small villages in the northern Jordan Valley, and demolished agricultural structures used as storage sheds and as animal shelters, in addition to two residential structures. Forces further uprooted an electricity pole in the village of al-Aqaba.
In Hebron, forces demolished a 60-square-meter house in the town of Beit Ummar without any prior notice, displacing 8 family members. The house belongs to local Azmi al-Ajloni.
Meanwhile in al-Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron, Israeli army and bulldozers demolished a house under construction, citing unpermitted construction as a pretext.
The army also notified Palestinians in the camp of their intentions to demolish 20 homes under the same pretext.
Both villages are located in Area C, under complete Israeli military control, where Israel rarely grants construction permits for Palestinian locals, forcing many of them to embark on construction without obtaining permits.
According to the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, Israeli authorities prohibit Palestinian construction in vast areas of Area C citing various rationales, such as “defining these areas as state land, survey land, firing zones, nature reserves and natural parks, or by incorporating lands into the jurisdiction of settlements and regional councils.”
Most Palestinians are forced to build without a permit to meet their needs. In many cases, displacement is due to cumulative pressure created by a combination of factors, including settler violence, movement restrictions (including the Barrier) and restricted access to services and resources, said OCHA.
It said that, “Despite a decline in the number of structures demolished in 2014 compared to 2013 (601 vs. 663), the number of people displaced increased by almost 10 per cent.”
Four houses were demolished on punitive grounds in 2014 for the first time since 2005, added OCHA.
On average 64 structures were demolished in 2015 on a monthly basis in the first three months of 2015, which is higher than its equivalent figures in 2014 and 2013 (51 and 53, respectively, reported OCHA.
Meanwhile, B’Tselem estimated that from 2006 until 30 June 2015, Israel demolished at least 876 Palestinian residential units in the West Bank (not including East Jerusalem), causing 4,105 people – including at least 2,011 minors – to lose their homes.
To be noted, Israel is planning to annex the Jordan Valley into a completely Israeli area, primarily in agriculture, targeting to ban territorial contiguity between a future Palestinian state and the rest of the Arab world.
Motaz Bisharat, in charge of the Jordan Valley settlements file in the Palestinian Authority, said Israeli army forces broke into al-Aqaba, Mayta, and Yazra, small villages in the northern Jordan Valley, and demolished agricultural structures used as storage sheds and as animal shelters, in addition to two residential structures. Forces further uprooted an electricity pole in the village of al-Aqaba.
In Hebron, forces demolished a 60-square-meter house in the town of Beit Ummar without any prior notice, displacing 8 family members. The house belongs to local Azmi al-Ajloni.
Meanwhile in al-Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron, Israeli army and bulldozers demolished a house under construction, citing unpermitted construction as a pretext.
The army also notified Palestinians in the camp of their intentions to demolish 20 homes under the same pretext.
Both villages are located in Area C, under complete Israeli military control, where Israel rarely grants construction permits for Palestinian locals, forcing many of them to embark on construction without obtaining permits.
According to the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, Israeli authorities prohibit Palestinian construction in vast areas of Area C citing various rationales, such as “defining these areas as state land, survey land, firing zones, nature reserves and natural parks, or by incorporating lands into the jurisdiction of settlements and regional councils.”
Most Palestinians are forced to build without a permit to meet their needs. In many cases, displacement is due to cumulative pressure created by a combination of factors, including settler violence, movement restrictions (including the Barrier) and restricted access to services and resources, said OCHA.
It said that, “Despite a decline in the number of structures demolished in 2014 compared to 2013 (601 vs. 663), the number of people displaced increased by almost 10 per cent.”
Four houses were demolished on punitive grounds in 2014 for the first time since 2005, added OCHA.
On average 64 structures were demolished in 2015 on a monthly basis in the first three months of 2015, which is higher than its equivalent figures in 2014 and 2013 (51 and 53, respectively, reported OCHA.
Meanwhile, B’Tselem estimated that from 2006 until 30 June 2015, Israel demolished at least 876 Palestinian residential units in the West Bank (not including East Jerusalem), causing 4,105 people – including at least 2,011 minors – to lose their homes.
To be noted, Israel is planning to annex the Jordan Valley into a completely Israeli area, primarily in agriculture, targeting to ban territorial contiguity between a future Palestinian state and the rest of the Arab world.
Israeli bulldozers demolished Wednesday morning a Palestinian home under construction in Aroub refugee camp in al-Khalil to the south of West Bank.
Eyewitnesses told PIC reporter that Israeli Occupation Forces stormed the refugee camp accompanied with a military bulldozer and started demolishing a home under the pretext of being built without permit.
Israeli forces intensified their presence in the vicinity of the home, preventing local residents from approaching it.
Along the same line, Israeli forces notified 20 other homes in the area with demolition under the same flimsy pretext.
Eyewitnesses told PIC reporter that Israeli Occupation Forces stormed the refugee camp accompanied with a military bulldozer and started demolishing a home under the pretext of being built without permit.
Israeli forces intensified their presence in the vicinity of the home, preventing local residents from approaching it.
Along the same line, Israeli forces notified 20 other homes in the area with demolition under the same flimsy pretext.
4 aug 2015
Israeli occupation bulldozers, on Tuesday morning, tore down three homes in Dahmash town, near occupied Ramla, under the pretext of building without a permit.
The homes are the property of the Assaf family, and were demolished on April 15, earlier this year , but were rebuilt by the villagers and the popular committees.
The Dahmash neighborhood shelters about 700 Palestinians, and its case dates back to the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe ) in 1948, when the Zionist forces forcefully displaced over 800 thousand Palestinians from their homes.
The people currently living in Dahmash were originally displaced from their homes in 1948 and took the neighborhood to be their home, refusing to leave Palestine.
Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament (Knesset), MK Taleb Abu Arar said that Israel’s second demolition of these homes shows insolence and insistence on apartheid.
Despite the strong heat-wave in the country right now, Israel chose to demolish the home and leave the people in it to suffer in the open.
Abu Arar demanded international protection for the Palestinians living in Israel, who face continuous displacement and demolition threats, while the Israeli government approves the construction of thousands of illegal settlement units on stolen Palestinian land.
The homes are the property of the Assaf family, and were demolished on April 15, earlier this year , but were rebuilt by the villagers and the popular committees.
The Dahmash neighborhood shelters about 700 Palestinians, and its case dates back to the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe ) in 1948, when the Zionist forces forcefully displaced over 800 thousand Palestinians from their homes.
The people currently living in Dahmash were originally displaced from their homes in 1948 and took the neighborhood to be their home, refusing to leave Palestine.
Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament (Knesset), MK Taleb Abu Arar said that Israel’s second demolition of these homes shows insolence and insistence on apartheid.
Despite the strong heat-wave in the country right now, Israel chose to demolish the home and leave the people in it to suffer in the open.
Abu Arar demanded international protection for the Palestinians living in Israel, who face continuous displacement and demolition threats, while the Israeli government approves the construction of thousands of illegal settlement units on stolen Palestinian land.
Israeli authorities, Tuesday, knocked down three Palestinian-owned homes in Dahmash, an unrecognized Palestinian village located on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, according to media sources.
The demolished structures belong to the Assaf family, and were recently reconstructed after being demolished by the authorities on March 15 under the pretext they were illegally constructed.
WAFA further reports that the demolition of these structures, on March 15, took place despite of a High Court decision that called for a mutual agreement between local owners and the Israel authorities.
Though the village’s Palestinian family has a solid proof of ownership in the Israel Land Registry, the state has so far not recognized their claim to the land, and has deprived the village of the necessary infrastructure and even the most basic services, such as sewage, roads, electricity, garbage collection or a post office.
Unrecognized and underprovided, the village is the last Palestinian Arab community to remain in Central Israel district which houses the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
Over the past few years, Palestinians of Dahmash have been struggling against repeated home demolitions by coming up with their own master plan in order to gain recognition for their rights to live on their land.
The demolished structures belong to the Assaf family, and were recently reconstructed after being demolished by the authorities on March 15 under the pretext they were illegally constructed.
WAFA further reports that the demolition of these structures, on March 15, took place despite of a High Court decision that called for a mutual agreement between local owners and the Israel authorities.
Though the village’s Palestinian family has a solid proof of ownership in the Israel Land Registry, the state has so far not recognized their claim to the land, and has deprived the village of the necessary infrastructure and even the most basic services, such as sewage, roads, electricity, garbage collection or a post office.
Unrecognized and underprovided, the village is the last Palestinian Arab community to remain in Central Israel district which houses the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
Over the past few years, Palestinians of Dahmash have been struggling against repeated home demolitions by coming up with their own master plan in order to gain recognition for their rights to live on their land.
Israeli soldiers invaded Khashm ad-Daraj Bedouin community, east of Yatta town, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and demolished a residential shed, and a barn. Soldiers also demolished a shed in Beit Kahel, northwest of Hebron.
Coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in southern Hebron, Rateb Jabour, said a large military force, accompanied with a number of bulldozers, invaded the village, after surrounding it.
Jabour added that the soldiers then demolished a residential shed, belonging to resident Mousa Ahmad al-Hathaleen, and his nine family members, and also demolished their barn.
Jabour denounced the attack, and said it is part of an Israeli plan to remove the Palestinians from the area, in order to build and expand its Jewish-only illegal settlements.
There are around 1200 Palestinians living the village, lacking basic infrastructure, and subject to repeated assaults and violations by Israeli soldiers, and fanatic illegal settlers.
In addition, soldiers invaded Beit Kahel village, and demolished an agricultural shed, allegedly for being installed without a construction permit.
The demolished shed is 16 square meters, used for storing agricultural supplies, and as a dwelling, especially in the summer time.
Coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in southern Hebron, Rateb Jabour, said a large military force, accompanied with a number of bulldozers, invaded the village, after surrounding it.
Jabour added that the soldiers then demolished a residential shed, belonging to resident Mousa Ahmad al-Hathaleen, and his nine family members, and also demolished their barn.
Jabour denounced the attack, and said it is part of an Israeli plan to remove the Palestinians from the area, in order to build and expand its Jewish-only illegal settlements.
There are around 1200 Palestinians living the village, lacking basic infrastructure, and subject to repeated assaults and violations by Israeli soldiers, and fanatic illegal settlers.
In addition, soldiers invaded Beit Kahel village, and demolished an agricultural shed, allegedly for being installed without a construction permit.
The demolished shed is 16 square meters, used for storing agricultural supplies, and as a dwelling, especially in the summer time.
3 aug 2015
Jewish settlers have recently taken over an area of Palestinian lands near Ramallah and established a settlement outpost on it. The Israeli army funded the new settlement’s water and electricity services.
Haaretz Hebrew newspaper revealed on Monday that a group of settlers have lately managed to take over an abandoned military camp of the Israeli army close to Shilo settlement in northern Ramallah city. A settlement called Malachi Shalom has recently been established on the location.
The newspaper slammed the Israeli army for funding the new settlement’s electricity and water services while it called taking over the abandoned part of the camp by settlers as an illegal invasion of a military zone.
According to Haaretz, the Israeli army attempted to evacuate the settlers one month ago from the new settlement, but they returned back to it and ran electricity and water services by Israeli army funding.
It pointed out that the outposts in “Shilo valley” location were established in the nineties within a comprehensive settlement plan aiming at guaranteeing the establishment of settlements in the area located between Ariel and southern Nablus city until the Jordan valley.
Haaretz Hebrew newspaper revealed on Monday that a group of settlers have lately managed to take over an abandoned military camp of the Israeli army close to Shilo settlement in northern Ramallah city. A settlement called Malachi Shalom has recently been established on the location.
The newspaper slammed the Israeli army for funding the new settlement’s electricity and water services while it called taking over the abandoned part of the camp by settlers as an illegal invasion of a military zone.
According to Haaretz, the Israeli army attempted to evacuate the settlers one month ago from the new settlement, but they returned back to it and ran electricity and water services by Israeli army funding.
It pointed out that the outposts in “Shilo valley” location were established in the nineties within a comprehensive settlement plan aiming at guaranteeing the establishment of settlements in the area located between Ariel and southern Nablus city until the Jordan valley.
2 aug 2015
Israeli occupation forces Sunday dumped large amounts of soil in agricultural land belonging to Palestinian locals in the town of al-Khader to the south of Bethlehem, according to one of the land owners. The owner, Issa Salah, told WAFA that he was surprised when he arrived in his land to see large amounts of soil dumped in his land, along with other neighboring land belonging to other locals.
He said another land was razed for the benefit of building a cement wall for a nearby settlement.
Salah expressed fear that his land would be seized for the benefit of settlement expansion, due to the proximity of his land to the illegal settlement of Ifrat.
International law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as 'occupied territories' and considers all Jewish settlement building on the land illegal.
According to United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine (UNISPAL), “Israeli settlements are an obstacle to the creation of a future Palestinian state.”
It said that, “ Israel has committed itself under the Quartet road map to freeze all settlement activity, including the “natural growth” of settlements, a commitment never fully implemented.
“While there was a partial freeze of settlement activity for a period of 10 months in 2010, since then no further measures have been undertaken to meet that commitment.”
UNISPAL said that Estimates of the Israeli settler population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory vary between 500,000 and 650,000, living in some 150 settlements and 100 “outposts” in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
“The settler population (excluding that of East Jerusalem) has grown over the past decade at an average yearly rate of 5.3 per cent, compared with 1.8 per cent for the Israeli population as a whole.”
It stressed that, Israeli legal and administrative measures to furnish socioeconomic incentives, security, infrastructure and social services to citizens of Israel residing in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, amount to the transfer by Israel of its population into the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” which is prohibited under international law.
“The continuation of that transfer and the maintenance and expansion of settlements have severe negative impacts on the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people.”
It said that, the right to self-determination is generally understood as having several components, including the right to have a demographic and territorial presence and the right to permanent sovereignty over natural resources.
“Those elements are adversely affected not only by the expansion of Israeli settlements but also by the mere presence of the settlements,” added UNISPAL.
He said another land was razed for the benefit of building a cement wall for a nearby settlement.
Salah expressed fear that his land would be seized for the benefit of settlement expansion, due to the proximity of his land to the illegal settlement of Ifrat.
International law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as 'occupied territories' and considers all Jewish settlement building on the land illegal.
According to United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine (UNISPAL), “Israeli settlements are an obstacle to the creation of a future Palestinian state.”
It said that, “ Israel has committed itself under the Quartet road map to freeze all settlement activity, including the “natural growth” of settlements, a commitment never fully implemented.
“While there was a partial freeze of settlement activity for a period of 10 months in 2010, since then no further measures have been undertaken to meet that commitment.”
UNISPAL said that Estimates of the Israeli settler population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory vary between 500,000 and 650,000, living in some 150 settlements and 100 “outposts” in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
“The settler population (excluding that of East Jerusalem) has grown over the past decade at an average yearly rate of 5.3 per cent, compared with 1.8 per cent for the Israeli population as a whole.”
It stressed that, Israeli legal and administrative measures to furnish socioeconomic incentives, security, infrastructure and social services to citizens of Israel residing in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, amount to the transfer by Israel of its population into the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” which is prohibited under international law.
“The continuation of that transfer and the maintenance and expansion of settlements have severe negative impacts on the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people.”
It said that, the right to self-determination is generally understood as having several components, including the right to have a demographic and territorial presence and the right to permanent sovereignty over natural resources.
“Those elements are adversely affected not only by the expansion of Israeli settlements but also by the mere presence of the settlements,” added UNISPAL.
