1 apr 2016
Dozens of Palestinians were injured after Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) suppressed on Friday West Bank weekly marches.
The PIC reporter said that Israeli forces violently attacked the anti-occupation march of Nabi Saleh that came in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Land Day.
Israeli forces also attacked Jordanian journalists and prevented them from covering the events.
Dozens of local residents and foreign activists had participated in the march. Meanwhile, teargas suffocation cases were reported as Israeli forces suppressed Bil’in weekly march west of Ramallah. Participants waved during the march Palestinian flags and chanted slogans in support of national unity and Palestinian constants.
Banners calling for prisoners’ release and activating resistance option were also raised. Teargas bombs and rubber bullets were fired at the participants once they reached the separation wall, injuring dozens of them.
Several nearby olive and almond trees were burned due to the heavy firing of teargas bombs. In Qalqilia, several locals suffered effects of teargas inhalation when Israeli forces suppressed Kafer Qaddum anti-settlement march.
Israeli forces deployed since the morning hours in the area and closed the main road in village before attacking the participants with teargas bombs. In Qabatia, clashes broke out after Israeli forces stormed the town Friday evening amid heavy firing of teargas bombs. Several injuries were reported.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that Israeli forces stormed the town and filmed a home belonging to Ahmed Abu Rab who was earlier killed by Israeli gunfire. The house was threatened with demolition as part of Israeli collective punishment policy against Palestinians suspected of carrying out anti-occupation attacks.
In occupied Jerusalem, a protest vigil was organized Friday afternoon in Silwan town in protest against Israeli decision to demolish 50 local homes starting from April. The protesters declared their total rejection of Israel’s racist practices and displacement policy against Jerusalemites.
In Jenin, Israeli forces stormed Yabad town south of the city and erected a military checkpoint at its main entrance. Several vehicles were stopped and searched at the checkpoint, while a local home was stormed during the raid.
The PIC reporter said that Israeli forces violently attacked the anti-occupation march of Nabi Saleh that came in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Land Day.
Israeli forces also attacked Jordanian journalists and prevented them from covering the events.
Dozens of local residents and foreign activists had participated in the march. Meanwhile, teargas suffocation cases were reported as Israeli forces suppressed Bil’in weekly march west of Ramallah. Participants waved during the march Palestinian flags and chanted slogans in support of national unity and Palestinian constants.
Banners calling for prisoners’ release and activating resistance option were also raised. Teargas bombs and rubber bullets were fired at the participants once they reached the separation wall, injuring dozens of them.
Several nearby olive and almond trees were burned due to the heavy firing of teargas bombs. In Qalqilia, several locals suffered effects of teargas inhalation when Israeli forces suppressed Kafer Qaddum anti-settlement march.
Israeli forces deployed since the morning hours in the area and closed the main road in village before attacking the participants with teargas bombs. In Qabatia, clashes broke out after Israeli forces stormed the town Friday evening amid heavy firing of teargas bombs. Several injuries were reported.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that Israeli forces stormed the town and filmed a home belonging to Ahmed Abu Rab who was earlier killed by Israeli gunfire. The house was threatened with demolition as part of Israeli collective punishment policy against Palestinians suspected of carrying out anti-occupation attacks.
In occupied Jerusalem, a protest vigil was organized Friday afternoon in Silwan town in protest against Israeli decision to demolish 50 local homes starting from April. The protesters declared their total rejection of Israel’s racist practices and displacement policy against Jerusalemites.
In Jenin, Israeli forces stormed Yabad town south of the city and erected a military checkpoint at its main entrance. Several vehicles were stopped and searched at the checkpoint, while a local home was stormed during the raid.
Continued violations of the Israeli authorities against the people of the al-Araqib village (a Bedouin unrecognized village in the Negev region, south of 1948 occupied Palestine) did not stop at a certain extent, not only the demolition of their village many times in a row, where the Israeli municipal bulldozers demolished it 95 times, but also to the prosecution of its people in Israeli courts asking them to pay the costs of the demolition of their homes.
Palestinian activist, Aziz al-Araqib, one of the village citizens, revealed that the Israeli authorities are demanding the village residents to pay $500.000, as costs of the demolition of their houses in the village by the Israeli bulldozers. He noted in an interview with Quds Press that dozens of the village residents go weekly to the Israeli Magistrate's Court in the city of Beersheba, to appear before the court on a complaint filed by those authorities against them to demand the demolition expenses.
Activist Aziz explained that the money demanded by the Israeli government is "the expenses of only the first to the eighth demolitions". He expects that the IOA would ask them to pay millions of shekels as expenses of the 95 demolitions.
Families are being displaced
The Palestinian activist said that 22 families live in al-Araqib village; most of these families are children and women, living in tents, after the Israeli forces demolished their homes. He stressed that the Israeli authorities had failed in forcing the residents to flee from their village by force, adding that: "these authorizes are now resorting to other methods and means to evacuate the village, including prosecuting us in courts and demanding the costs of demolitions in order to force us to leave."
He pointed out that the Israeli authorities have imposed on the residents of the village, "even on children", a fine of 50 thousand shekels (the equivalent of $12,500), for each day they stay in al-Araqib village. The fine was imposed on the residents of al-Araqib village in 2014, under the pretext of "disregard of the Israeli courts, and not implementing verdicts to evacuate the village", noting that the people of the village goes from one court to another since 2010. Aziz said that the village residents are charged with "seizing the Israeli state land without right", and building homes without permits.
Prosecution and exhaustion
He continued: "al-Araqib village residents are subjected to arbitrary practices, which aim mainly to exhaust them", pointing out that al-Araqib village's file is, "the first of its kind in Israeli courts”. Aziz called on human rights organizations and the international community to compensate the village residents and to support their just cause, stressing that: "al-Araqib village's residents seek justice and equality."
The Palestinian activist noted that the residents of al-Araqib village have ownership documents since the Turkish and British eras; proving their ownership of land in the village. He stressed that "the village existed before the creation of the state of Israel, but the latter refuses to recognize the ownership documents, and insists on the demolition and displacement of the village's population."
Al-Araqib village is one of 51 Palestinian villages in the Negev region which, "are not recognized by the Israeli government," instead it continuously targets them with demolition and displacement of inhabitants, in conjunction with the construction of Israeli settlement blocs in the Negev. The most recent practice the Israeli authorities pursued against theses villages was the decision to raze Umm Al-Hieran and Atir villages to pave the way for the establishment of the only-Jewish settlement of Hiran on their ruins. The settlement of Hiran is one of 20 settlements the Israeli government plans to establish in the Negev region.
Palestinian activist, Aziz al-Araqib, one of the village citizens, revealed that the Israeli authorities are demanding the village residents to pay $500.000, as costs of the demolition of their houses in the village by the Israeli bulldozers. He noted in an interview with Quds Press that dozens of the village residents go weekly to the Israeli Magistrate's Court in the city of Beersheba, to appear before the court on a complaint filed by those authorities against them to demand the demolition expenses.
Activist Aziz explained that the money demanded by the Israeli government is "the expenses of only the first to the eighth demolitions". He expects that the IOA would ask them to pay millions of shekels as expenses of the 95 demolitions.
Families are being displaced
The Palestinian activist said that 22 families live in al-Araqib village; most of these families are children and women, living in tents, after the Israeli forces demolished their homes. He stressed that the Israeli authorities had failed in forcing the residents to flee from their village by force, adding that: "these authorizes are now resorting to other methods and means to evacuate the village, including prosecuting us in courts and demanding the costs of demolitions in order to force us to leave."
He pointed out that the Israeli authorities have imposed on the residents of the village, "even on children", a fine of 50 thousand shekels (the equivalent of $12,500), for each day they stay in al-Araqib village. The fine was imposed on the residents of al-Araqib village in 2014, under the pretext of "disregard of the Israeli courts, and not implementing verdicts to evacuate the village", noting that the people of the village goes from one court to another since 2010. Aziz said that the village residents are charged with "seizing the Israeli state land without right", and building homes without permits.
Prosecution and exhaustion
He continued: "al-Araqib village residents are subjected to arbitrary practices, which aim mainly to exhaust them", pointing out that al-Araqib village's file is, "the first of its kind in Israeli courts”. Aziz called on human rights organizations and the international community to compensate the village residents and to support their just cause, stressing that: "al-Araqib village's residents seek justice and equality."
The Palestinian activist noted that the residents of al-Araqib village have ownership documents since the Turkish and British eras; proving their ownership of land in the village. He stressed that "the village existed before the creation of the state of Israel, but the latter refuses to recognize the ownership documents, and insists on the demolition and displacement of the village's population."
Al-Araqib village is one of 51 Palestinian villages in the Negev region which, "are not recognized by the Israeli government," instead it continuously targets them with demolition and displacement of inhabitants, in conjunction with the construction of Israeli settlement blocs in the Negev. The most recent practice the Israeli authorities pursued against theses villages was the decision to raze Umm Al-Hieran and Atir villages to pave the way for the establishment of the only-Jewish settlement of Hiran on their ruins. The settlement of Hiran is one of 20 settlements the Israeli government plans to establish in the Negev region.
31 mar 2016
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) demolished overnight five Palestinian facilities in Jalama town, north of Jenin, under the pretext of being built without permit in a “military zone.”
Local sources told the PIC reporter that an Israeli bulldozer along with a number of military vehicles cordoned off the area and started demolishing the five commercial facilities located on the main road leading to Jalama crossing.
Israeli forces asked the facilities’ owners to evacuate them before the demolition process, the sources pointed out.
The owners were also warned not to rebuild their demolished facilities.
On the other hand, IOF soldiers stormed at dawn Thursday Wadi Harba neighborhood, south of al-Khalil, and violently broke into a martyr’s house before demolishing a part of it.
During the demolition process, the family members of the martyr Ihab Zakariya Massouda were forced to stay outdoors despite the very cold weather at the dawn hours.
Eyewitnesses affirmed that more than ten Israeli military vehicles stormed the neighborhood before carrying out the demolition process. Massouda was shot and killed by Israeli gunfire near the Ibrahimi Mosque in December 2015 for an alleged stabbing attack.
The Israeli military has been accused several times of practicing collective punishment against the Palestinian people as an official policy.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that an Israeli bulldozer along with a number of military vehicles cordoned off the area and started demolishing the five commercial facilities located on the main road leading to Jalama crossing.
Israeli forces asked the facilities’ owners to evacuate them before the demolition process, the sources pointed out.
The owners were also warned not to rebuild their demolished facilities.
On the other hand, IOF soldiers stormed at dawn Thursday Wadi Harba neighborhood, south of al-Khalil, and violently broke into a martyr’s house before demolishing a part of it.
During the demolition process, the family members of the martyr Ihab Zakariya Massouda were forced to stay outdoors despite the very cold weather at the dawn hours.
Eyewitnesses affirmed that more than ten Israeli military vehicles stormed the neighborhood before carrying out the demolition process. Massouda was shot and killed by Israeli gunfire near the Ibrahimi Mosque in December 2015 for an alleged stabbing attack.
The Israeli military has been accused several times of practicing collective punishment against the Palestinian people as an official policy.
29 mar 2016
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) razed Tuesday morning four houses in addition to agricultural structures of a Palestinian family in Rammoun town east of Ramallah.
Ekab Kuhle, one of the affected inhabitants of the town, told Quds Press that IOF bulldozers razed his home along with others homes of his father and two brothers without a prior notice or even allowing the family to take out their furniture.
The houses demolished provided shelter for 14 members of their family, he pointed out. Kuhle said that the demolishing process affected agricultural structures and stockyards that belong to the family as well.
Israeli soldiers forced the family members to go out of their homes before starting to knock the structures down. Kuhle appealed to official authorities to support the family after being homeless in such extreme cold weather.
Ekab Kuhle, one of the affected inhabitants of the town, told Quds Press that IOF bulldozers razed his home along with others homes of his father and two brothers without a prior notice or even allowing the family to take out their furniture.
The houses demolished provided shelter for 14 members of their family, he pointed out. Kuhle said that the demolishing process affected agricultural structures and stockyards that belong to the family as well.
Israeli soldiers forced the family members to go out of their homes before starting to knock the structures down. Kuhle appealed to official authorities to support the family after being homeless in such extreme cold weather.
Dozens of Israeli soldiers and police officers, accompanied with personnel of the Jerusalem City Council and the Israel Antiquities Authority, invaded on Tuesday morning the town of Silwan, in occupied Jerusalem, and demolished a playground, a room and several walls.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan (Silwanic) said the soldiers invaded the al-'Abbasiyya neighborhood in the town, and surrounded a land owned by Khaled az-Zeer, before demolishing a recently constructed playground for children, including swings and slides.
Az-Zeer built the recreational area for children, and their families, several months ago, and said he never received any warnings or notices from the City Council.
"They just drove in, and demolished everything," he told Silwanic, "they also bulldozed the grounds, cut and uprooted trees, demolished walls, and demolished a 12 square/meter storage room."
He told Silwanic that the soldiers forcibly removed him from his property, and assaulted one of his relatives, identified as Jihad az-Zeer.
The soldiers also removed a fence, surrounding his property, and illegally confiscated 14 Dunams of his lands to use them as part of the “National Gardens” project.
In addition, resident Mohammad Samrein said the soldiers surrounded his home in the al-'Abbasiyya neighborhood in Silwan, and bulldozed a farmland without any prior notice or warning.
Samrein said his family transformed the land from a garbage dumpster into a fertile agricultural area, and added that the soldiers also forced him to remove a stable for horses.
Silwanic said the soldiers assaulted a child, identified as Adam Samrein, only 12 years of age, causing various cuts and bruises.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan (Silwanic) said the soldiers invaded the al-'Abbasiyya neighborhood in the town, and surrounded a land owned by Khaled az-Zeer, before demolishing a recently constructed playground for children, including swings and slides.
Az-Zeer built the recreational area for children, and their families, several months ago, and said he never received any warnings or notices from the City Council.
"They just drove in, and demolished everything," he told Silwanic, "they also bulldozed the grounds, cut and uprooted trees, demolished walls, and demolished a 12 square/meter storage room."
He told Silwanic that the soldiers forcibly removed him from his property, and assaulted one of his relatives, identified as Jihad az-Zeer.
The soldiers also removed a fence, surrounding his property, and illegally confiscated 14 Dunams of his lands to use them as part of the “National Gardens” project.
In addition, resident Mohammad Samrein said the soldiers surrounded his home in the al-'Abbasiyya neighborhood in Silwan, and bulldozed a farmland without any prior notice or warning.
Samrein said his family transformed the land from a garbage dumpster into a fertile agricultural area, and added that the soldiers also forced him to remove a stable for horses.
Silwanic said the soldiers assaulted a child, identified as Adam Samrein, only 12 years of age, causing various cuts and bruises.
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) confiscated equipment of a blacksmith workshop and broke into and searched homes of both martyrs Amer Abu Aisheh and Abdulla al-Qawasmi at dawn hours on Monday in al-Khalil.
Israeli forces claimed finding weapons in Ramallah and al-Khalil during search operations they conducted at night on Monday. Israeli Maariv newspaper alleged that the Israeli army found two sniper rifles, Carl Gustav rifle and a hunting gun in al-Khalil city.
Israeli forces claimed finding weapons in Ramallah and al-Khalil during search operations they conducted at night on Monday. Israeli Maariv newspaper alleged that the Israeli army found two sniper rifles, Carl Gustav rifle and a hunting gun in al-Khalil city.
28 mar 2016
Israeli forces issued a notification on Monday calling for a Palestinian company to stop building a structure in the village of Idhna near Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank.
The structure belongs to Khalid Muhammad al-Batran, who began building the structure a year ago and said he has not received any demolition notices until now.
Al-Batran told Ma’an that he was surprised on Monday when he received the demolition notice.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli authority in the Palestinian Territory, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The majority home demolitions in the occupied West Bank occur in Area C, which is under full Israeli military control. In order for Palestinians to build in Area C, land owners must obtain building permits from the Israeli authorities. Such permits are nearly impossible to obtain for Palestinian, forcing communities to build illegally.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) found that between 2010 and 2014, only 1.5 percent of 2,020 Palestinian building permit requests submitted were approved.
As of mid-February, the number of Palestinians displaced due to Israeli demolitions in 2016 was already equivalent to over half of the total number displaced in all of 2015, a senior UN official said last month.
The structure belongs to Khalid Muhammad al-Batran, who began building the structure a year ago and said he has not received any demolition notices until now.
Al-Batran told Ma’an that he was surprised on Monday when he received the demolition notice.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli authority in the Palestinian Territory, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The majority home demolitions in the occupied West Bank occur in Area C, which is under full Israeli military control. In order for Palestinians to build in Area C, land owners must obtain building permits from the Israeli authorities. Such permits are nearly impossible to obtain for Palestinian, forcing communities to build illegally.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) found that between 2010 and 2014, only 1.5 percent of 2,020 Palestinian building permit requests submitted were approved.
As of mid-February, the number of Palestinians displaced due to Israeli demolitions in 2016 was already equivalent to over half of the total number displaced in all of 2015, a senior UN official said last month.
Israeli soldiers invaded, on Monday at dawn, an area north of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, demolished a home, a playground, electricity and water networks, in addition to uprooting farmlands, belonging to a Palestinian family.
The demolished properties belong to a Palestinian, identified as Khader Nimir al-Jarashi, after the Israeli army claimed they were built without permits.
Khader said more than 50 Israeli military vehicles, and four armored bulldozers invaded the area, and demolished his home, in addition to its surrounding walls, located close to military roadblock #300.
He added that the soldiers also demolished his bird farm, and a playground used for tennis and basketball, in addition to bulldozing his farmland, and uprooted many trees.
The soldiers also destroyed electricity and water networks, providing his properties, and nearby areas, with the needed power and water.
The invaded area and demolished properties, are close to a main road used by Israeli colonizers in the occupied West Bank, and the army.
The demolished properties belong to a Palestinian, identified as Khader Nimir al-Jarashi, after the Israeli army claimed they were built without permits.
Khader said more than 50 Israeli military vehicles, and four armored bulldozers invaded the area, and demolished his home, in addition to its surrounding walls, located close to military roadblock #300.
He added that the soldiers also demolished his bird farm, and a playground used for tennis and basketball, in addition to bulldozing his farmland, and uprooted many trees.
The soldiers also destroyed electricity and water networks, providing his properties, and nearby areas, with the needed power and water.
The invaded area and demolished properties, are close to a main road used by Israeli colonizers in the occupied West Bank, and the army.
27 mar 2016
A report issued by the national office for the defense of land and resistance of settlement revealed that the number of Palestinians’ homes razed by Israeli occupation forces jumped to two times since the beginning of 2016 in comparison to 2015.
The office, which is affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said that Israel pursues the policy of house demolition as a collective punishment against the families of Palestinians who choose to fight Israeli occupation or for pretexts such as construction without permission.
The report quoted the Coordinator for Humanitarian and UN Development Activities for the occupied Palestinian territory, Robert Piper, as saying that Israel gives construction permits to 1.5% of the applications made by Palestinians.
The office, which is affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said that Israel pursues the policy of house demolition as a collective punishment against the families of Palestinians who choose to fight Israeli occupation or for pretexts such as construction without permission.
The report quoted the Coordinator for Humanitarian and UN Development Activities for the occupied Palestinian territory, Robert Piper, as saying that Israel gives construction permits to 1.5% of the applications made by Palestinians.
26 mar 2016
A Palestinian Bedouin woman stands next to her destroyed tent in the village of Atouf in the Jordan Valley.
Mass Israeli demolitions, in the Jordan Valley village of Khirbet Tana, have left more than a third of its Palestinian residents homeless since the beginning of the year, the UN said Friday.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 87 of the village's 250 residents, including 35 children, had lost their homes in three separate demolitions since January.
The demolitions are, according to Ma'an, part of one of the most extensive demolition campaigns in the occupied West Bank over the last seven years, which has left a total of more than 650 Palestinians homeless in less than three months, more than half of whom were children, OCHA said.
"These demolitions generate a coercive environment, exacerbating residents' risk of forcible transfer, prohibited by international humanitarian law," the body said.
In Khribet Tana, 53 structures have been destroyed, including 22 homes, 19 animal shelters, six latrine units, five traditional ovens, and a water reservoir.
The UN body said 18 of these structures had been donated as humanitarian aid by the international community, the majority after demolitions were carried out earlier this year.
Half of all Israeli demolitions across the occupied West Bank, this year, have taken place in areas declared by Israel as "firing zones," or restricted military areas, which OCHA said constitute nearly 20 percent of the occupied West Bank.
Khirbet Tana is located in "Firing Zone 904A," in a part of the Jordan Valley which rights groups say Israel intends to fully annex.
Thousands of Bedouins, who have lived there for decades, face the threat of forced displacement, a threat that rights groups say has become more acute in recent years, particularly with large numbers of resident forced to flee during Israeli military training exercises.
Israel's Civil Administration demolished all structures in Khirbet Tana in 2012, leaving 152 Palestinian residents homeless, including 64 children, according to Israeli rights groups B'Tselem.
That was the fifth wave of demolitions the village had faced since 2005.
Israel's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories previously said that the demolitions were carried out in the village because they were built illegally, and were endangered, due to their situation inside the firing zone.
However, OCHA noted two illegal Israeli settlement outposts -- recently established and built in the same firing zone -- where the Israeli authorities have not carried out any demolitions, despite issuing demolition orders.
Mass Israeli demolitions, in the Jordan Valley village of Khirbet Tana, have left more than a third of its Palestinian residents homeless since the beginning of the year, the UN said Friday.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 87 of the village's 250 residents, including 35 children, had lost their homes in three separate demolitions since January.
The demolitions are, according to Ma'an, part of one of the most extensive demolition campaigns in the occupied West Bank over the last seven years, which has left a total of more than 650 Palestinians homeless in less than three months, more than half of whom were children, OCHA said.
"These demolitions generate a coercive environment, exacerbating residents' risk of forcible transfer, prohibited by international humanitarian law," the body said.
In Khribet Tana, 53 structures have been destroyed, including 22 homes, 19 animal shelters, six latrine units, five traditional ovens, and a water reservoir.
The UN body said 18 of these structures had been donated as humanitarian aid by the international community, the majority after demolitions were carried out earlier this year.
Half of all Israeli demolitions across the occupied West Bank, this year, have taken place in areas declared by Israel as "firing zones," or restricted military areas, which OCHA said constitute nearly 20 percent of the occupied West Bank.
Khirbet Tana is located in "Firing Zone 904A," in a part of the Jordan Valley which rights groups say Israel intends to fully annex.
Thousands of Bedouins, who have lived there for decades, face the threat of forced displacement, a threat that rights groups say has become more acute in recent years, particularly with large numbers of resident forced to flee during Israeli military training exercises.
Israel's Civil Administration demolished all structures in Khirbet Tana in 2012, leaving 152 Palestinian residents homeless, including 64 children, according to Israeli rights groups B'Tselem.
That was the fifth wave of demolitions the village had faced since 2005.
Israel's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories previously said that the demolitions were carried out in the village because they were built illegally, and were endangered, due to their situation inside the firing zone.
However, OCHA noted two illegal Israeli settlement outposts -- recently established and built in the same firing zone -- where the Israeli authorities have not carried out any demolitions, despite issuing demolition orders.
25 mar 2016
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) at dawn Friday notified the demolition of the family home of a Palestinian prisoner on allegations that he carried out an anti-occupation stabbing in Occupied Jerusalem.
Local sources told a PIC journalist that Israeli occupation patrols rolled into Qabatiya at the crack of dawn and cordoned off its residential neighborhoods before they stormed the home of prisoner Bilal Ahmad Suheib Abu Zeid and handed his family a military demolition order.
The Israeli military order accused Abu Zeid of involvement in a shooting and stabbing attack against Israeli soldiers on February 16, 2016. The IOF interrogated Abu Zeid’s family and wreaked havoc on the house before they withdrew.
Local sources told a PIC journalist that Israeli occupation patrols rolled into Qabatiya at the crack of dawn and cordoned off its residential neighborhoods before they stormed the home of prisoner Bilal Ahmad Suheib Abu Zeid and handed his family a military demolition order.
The Israeli military order accused Abu Zeid of involvement in a shooting and stabbing attack against Israeli soldiers on February 16, 2016. The IOF interrogated Abu Zeid’s family and wreaked havoc on the house before they withdrew.
24 mar 2016
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) at dawn Thursday confiscated some contents of a stationery store providing university services for students in Nablus city.
Eyewitnesses told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that Israeli soldiers stormed and ransacked "Midad" stationary store for university services near the new campus of an-Najah National University.
They added that the soldiers broke open the door of the store, and caused havoc on and confiscated some of its contents.
Eyewitnesses told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that Israeli soldiers stormed and ransacked "Midad" stationary store for university services near the new campus of an-Najah National University.
They added that the soldiers broke open the door of the store, and caused havoc on and confiscated some of its contents.
The Ayyad family in occupied Jerusalem managed on Tuesday to enter its “Cliff Hotel”, in Abu Dis town, southeast of occupied Jerusalem, for the first time in 13 years. The Israeli military had occupied the building since 2003, after taking possession of it under the so-called "Absentee Property Law."
Bassam Bahar, head of the Land Defense Committee in occupied Jerusalem, said the Ayyad family, the rightful owners of the hotel, managed to enter the building on Wednesday, following a lengthy legal battle with the Israeli authorities, after the building and nearby area, were illegally annexed by Israel.
Bahar said that the Ayyad family owns the entire property, but had to battle Israel for thirteen years over the Israeli decision to annex it.
He stated that family members Ali and Khaled Ayyad, along with a delegation of the Norwegian embassy, managed to enter the building and saw the excessive damage caused by the Israeli army and police.
"We finally managed to enter the building after Israel confiscated it, citing security considerations, in 2003, in order to take it over," Ali said, "We immediately filed an appeal against the decision, and remained persistent for 13 years, fighting Israel’s illegal decision that considered us ‘absent’."
Bahar said that the family’s Israeli lawyer Yotam Hillel is currently working on getting the court to order the complete surrender of the property to the family. Some of the family members live abroad and are considered ‘absent’ under the absentee property law (which applies to non-Jewish owners of property in Israel and Jerusalem).
The owners are challenging the Israeli law, saying that they have a right to remain owners of their property regardless of their place of residence. Most of the family is still resident on the land they own, next to the hotel that was confiscated. But two family members live abroad.
"In 1996, the Israeli army occupied the hotel building, then it withdrew; shortly after that, in 2003, the family started the legal procedures to regain control of their building, yet, the Israel army continued to use it as a military post and monitoring tower," he added, "We went to court, presented our case, and in early September 2013, the Israeli general prosecutor decided that the building does not qualify as absentee property."
After the army and police occupied the building, they installed surveillance cameras, installed barbed-wire, and prevented all Palestinians from entering it, in addition to confiscating its surrounding lands for the same reasons, and for the construction of the Annexation Wall section in the area.
An important part of the legal battle is the army's insistence on keeping its advanced surveillance system and cameras on the roof of the building, which also means to continue using the rooftop of the hotel, while security officials said last year that there is no need to continue using the entire building as a military base, but they still want to keep the surveillance system.
Bahar said that the army wants the hotel and its surrounding area to build a new colonial neighborhood for Jewish settlers.
Although the Israeli army left the hotel building in May of 2015, the owners were unable to return to the building, not even to conduct renovations before officially reopening it.
The Cliff Hotel was officially opened by the Ayyad family in 1961, six years before Israel occupied East Jerusalem, and before Israel established a municipal border line between the Ayyad family home and their hotel.
The Israeli daily Haaretz said the family managed to keep the hotel open until the year 2002, when Israel decided to annex the building and its lands for what it called “security considerations.”
After the illegal takeover, Israel then claimed ownership of the building and its land under the “Absentee Property Law,” although the family members who own the property were never absent, and never abandoned their property, including their home, that is just 200 yards away.
Bassam Bahar, head of the Land Defense Committee in occupied Jerusalem, said the Ayyad family, the rightful owners of the hotel, managed to enter the building on Wednesday, following a lengthy legal battle with the Israeli authorities, after the building and nearby area, were illegally annexed by Israel.
Bahar said that the Ayyad family owns the entire property, but had to battle Israel for thirteen years over the Israeli decision to annex it.
He stated that family members Ali and Khaled Ayyad, along with a delegation of the Norwegian embassy, managed to enter the building and saw the excessive damage caused by the Israeli army and police.
"We finally managed to enter the building after Israel confiscated it, citing security considerations, in 2003, in order to take it over," Ali said, "We immediately filed an appeal against the decision, and remained persistent for 13 years, fighting Israel’s illegal decision that considered us ‘absent’."
Bahar said that the family’s Israeli lawyer Yotam Hillel is currently working on getting the court to order the complete surrender of the property to the family. Some of the family members live abroad and are considered ‘absent’ under the absentee property law (which applies to non-Jewish owners of property in Israel and Jerusalem).
The owners are challenging the Israeli law, saying that they have a right to remain owners of their property regardless of their place of residence. Most of the family is still resident on the land they own, next to the hotel that was confiscated. But two family members live abroad.
"In 1996, the Israeli army occupied the hotel building, then it withdrew; shortly after that, in 2003, the family started the legal procedures to regain control of their building, yet, the Israel army continued to use it as a military post and monitoring tower," he added, "We went to court, presented our case, and in early September 2013, the Israeli general prosecutor decided that the building does not qualify as absentee property."
After the army and police occupied the building, they installed surveillance cameras, installed barbed-wire, and prevented all Palestinians from entering it, in addition to confiscating its surrounding lands for the same reasons, and for the construction of the Annexation Wall section in the area.
An important part of the legal battle is the army's insistence on keeping its advanced surveillance system and cameras on the roof of the building, which also means to continue using the rooftop of the hotel, while security officials said last year that there is no need to continue using the entire building as a military base, but they still want to keep the surveillance system.
Bahar said that the army wants the hotel and its surrounding area to build a new colonial neighborhood for Jewish settlers.
Although the Israeli army left the hotel building in May of 2015, the owners were unable to return to the building, not even to conduct renovations before officially reopening it.
The Cliff Hotel was officially opened by the Ayyad family in 1961, six years before Israel occupied East Jerusalem, and before Israel established a municipal border line between the Ayyad family home and their hotel.
The Israeli daily Haaretz said the family managed to keep the hotel open until the year 2002, when Israel decided to annex the building and its lands for what it called “security considerations.”
After the illegal takeover, Israel then claimed ownership of the building and its land under the “Absentee Property Law,” although the family members who own the property were never absent, and never abandoned their property, including their home, that is just 200 yards away.
