30 june 2016
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Army Minister Avigdor Lieberman decided Thursday to impose a series of punitive measures against Bani Naim town, south of al-Khalil, following an anti-occupation attack in Kiryat Arba settlement illegally built near the city.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health earlier declared that a Palestinian minor identified as 17-year-old Muhammad Nasser Tarayra, from the village of Bani Naim, was killed by Israeli gunfire for allegedly carrying a stabbing attack in Kiryat Arba illegal settlement.
A statement issued by the Israeli Prime Minister's office on Thursday afternoon announced that the decision had been made to "cordon off" Tarayra's hometown Bani Naim. Furthermore, work permits of Tarayra's family members would be revoked.
The statement added that procedures to demolish Tarayra's family's home were already under way. Israel’s punitive policies against Palestinian communities in the wake of attacks have been repeatedly condemned by human rights groups, who point out that such punitive measures constitute “collective punishment” and “court-sanctioned revenge” in clear violation of the international law.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health earlier declared that a Palestinian minor identified as 17-year-old Muhammad Nasser Tarayra, from the village of Bani Naim, was killed by Israeli gunfire for allegedly carrying a stabbing attack in Kiryat Arba illegal settlement.
A statement issued by the Israeli Prime Minister's office on Thursday afternoon announced that the decision had been made to "cordon off" Tarayra's hometown Bani Naim. Furthermore, work permits of Tarayra's family members would be revoked.
The statement added that procedures to demolish Tarayra's family's home were already under way. Israel’s punitive policies against Palestinian communities in the wake of attacks have been repeatedly condemned by human rights groups, who point out that such punitive measures constitute “collective punishment” and “court-sanctioned revenge” in clear violation of the international law.
A number of fanatic Israeli colonists attacked, late on Wednesday evening, Palestinian hothouses, and wrote racist graffiti, in addition to uprooting plants, in Wadi Fukin village, west of the West Bank district of Bethlehem.
Ahmad Sukkar, the head of Wadi Fukin Village Council, told the WAFA Palestinian News Agency that the fanatics infiltrated into Palestinian farmlands, in the al-Fawwar area, south of the village, and destroyed two hothouses, in addition to uprooting dozens of plants, owned by Maher Assaf and Jamil Assaf.
Sukkar added that the assailants also uprooted plants in lands owned by Mohammad Saleh Assaf and Na’im Daoud ‘Ateyya, in addition to writing racist graffiti, including “death to Arabs.”
He also stated that the village has been subject to frequent similar assaults, carried out by extremists of the nearby Beitar Illit colony, illegally built on Palestinian lands owned by residents of Husan, Nahhalin and Wadi Fukin.
Ahmad Sukkar, the head of Wadi Fukin Village Council, told the WAFA Palestinian News Agency that the fanatics infiltrated into Palestinian farmlands, in the al-Fawwar area, south of the village, and destroyed two hothouses, in addition to uprooting dozens of plants, owned by Maher Assaf and Jamil Assaf.
Sukkar added that the assailants also uprooted plants in lands owned by Mohammad Saleh Assaf and Na’im Daoud ‘Ateyya, in addition to writing racist graffiti, including “death to Arabs.”
He also stated that the village has been subject to frequent similar assaults, carried out by extremists of the nearby Beitar Illit colony, illegally built on Palestinian lands owned by residents of Husan, Nahhalin and Wadi Fukin.
29 june 2016
Israeli Occupation forces (IOF) handed out demolition notices to Palestinians residing in al-Ras al-Ahmar area in the northern Jordan Valley.
The notices stipulated knocking down a number of civic facilities. Mutaz Bsharat, the official of Jordan Valley file, said that among the structures to be demolished there are homes, tents, stockyards, and housing facilities in addition to a water line extending along 1000 meters.
The notices also included a stop-of-construction order against a home belonging to the family of Raed Bsharat. It is located in the same area.
The notices stipulated knocking down a number of civic facilities. Mutaz Bsharat, the official of Jordan Valley file, said that among the structures to be demolished there are homes, tents, stockyards, and housing facilities in addition to a water line extending along 1000 meters.
The notices also included a stop-of-construction order against a home belonging to the family of Raed Bsharat. It is located in the same area.
Israeli bulldozers demolished homes in the Bedouin village of al-Araqib, in the Negev desert, for the 100 time on Wednesday, in addition to a home in the Negev village of Atir, local activists said.
Israeli police reportedly imposed a blockade on al-Araqib before carrying out the demolitions, according to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency.
Activist Saleem Araqeeb said that Israeli bulldozers, accompanied by military jeeps, stormed the village in the morning, forcing the locals to leave their houses and demolish them.
The activist said that demolitions in al-Araqib continue to take place, even after the Israeli Higher Court of Justice ruled that al-Araqib’s lands do not belong to the state.
He said that local Israeli authorities, who dispute the ruling, have filed a lawsuit demanding the court to order residents of al-Araqib to pay a daily fine of 5,000 shekels (approximately $1280 USD).
Demolitions, in addition to denial of basic services and access to infrastructure, are part of an ongoing campaign by Israeli planning committees against Bedouin villages in the Negev desert, where roughly 70-90,000 people live.
In May 2013, an Israeli government committee approved a draft bill setting a framework to implement the evacuation of “unrecognized” Bedouin villages in the Negev, most of which existed before the state of Israel came into being.
Both Al-Araqib and Atir are 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 police reportedly imposed a blockade on al-Araqib before carrying out the demolitions, according to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency.
Activist Saleem Araqeeb said that Israeli bulldozers, accompanied by military jeeps, stormed the village in the morning, forcing the locals to leave their houses and demolish them.
The activist said that demolitions in al-Araqib continue to take place, even after the Israeli Higher Court of Justice ruled that al-Araqib’s lands do not belong to the state.
He said that local Israeli authorities, who dispute the ruling, have filed a lawsuit demanding the court to order residents of al-Araqib to pay a daily fine of 5,000 shekels (approximately $1280 USD).
Demolitions, in addition to denial of basic services and access to infrastructure, are part of an ongoing campaign by Israeli planning committees against Bedouin villages in the Negev desert, where roughly 70-90,000 people live.
In May 2013, an Israeli government committee approved a draft bill setting a framework to implement the evacuation of “unrecognized” Bedouin villages in the Negev, most of which existed before the state of Israel came into being.
Both Al-Araqib and Atir are 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.
28 june 2016
Israeli confiscation policy has notably escalated in occupied Jerusalem and West Bank by 439% since the beginning of 2016 in comparison to last year, a Palestinian report revealed Tuesday.
Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ) revealed in a report issued Tuesday that Israeli authorities confiscated since the beginning of the year 7,773 acres of Palestinian-owned lands, recording an increase by 439% in comparison with last year where 1,442 acres were seized.
The Israeli occupation authority has recently escalated its Judaization policy in the West Bank notably by expanding its settlement projects, the report pointed out.
During the reporting period, Israeli occupation forces demolished 276 Palestinian homes in the West Bank including East Jerusalem while 108 homes were destroyed during 2015.
343 agricultural facilities were also destroyed during the first half of 2016 while 59 Palestinian facilities were demolished during the same period last year.
ARIJ revealed that the IOA started building 139 using units last May in Shiloh illegal settlement as part of a big project to expand 10 new settlements.
Although Israeli authorities do not make settlement population statistics public, the Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem has reported a population of some 766,000 Israeli settlers residing in illegal settlements scattered across the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
All Israeli settlements on Palestinian land are considered illegal under international law.
Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ) revealed in a report issued Tuesday that Israeli authorities confiscated since the beginning of the year 7,773 acres of Palestinian-owned lands, recording an increase by 439% in comparison with last year where 1,442 acres were seized.
The Israeli occupation authority has recently escalated its Judaization policy in the West Bank notably by expanding its settlement projects, the report pointed out.
During the reporting period, Israeli occupation forces demolished 276 Palestinian homes in the West Bank including East Jerusalem while 108 homes were destroyed during 2015.
343 agricultural facilities were also destroyed during the first half of 2016 while 59 Palestinian facilities were demolished during the same period last year.
ARIJ revealed that the IOA started building 139 using units last May in Shiloh illegal settlement as part of a big project to expand 10 new settlements.
Although Israeli authorities do not make settlement population statistics public, the Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem has reported a population of some 766,000 Israeli settlers residing in illegal settlements scattered across the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
All Israeli settlements on Palestinian land are considered illegal under international law.
25 june 2016
UNRWA is gravely concerned about the recent decision of the Israeli High Court of Justice to reject the appeals filed by Palestine refugee families against two punitive demolitions in Qalandia refugee camp. The two families were given five days as of 14 June to evacuate the apartments. Today, the family is in a state of perpetual apprehension as they wait for implementation of the punitive demolition which could occur at any undefined time.
The demolition orders were given for stabbing attacks perpetrated by individual members of the families outside Jaffa gate, Jerusalem Old City on 23 December 2015. Two Israeli civilians died during the attack while a third civilian was seriously wounded. The perpetrators were shot dead by Israeli Security Forces. The United Nations has repeatedly condemned all attacks against Israeli or Palestinian civilians, including in statements by Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.
UNRWA remains concerned that six Palestine refugees are at risk of being made homeless as a result of the punitive demolitions. Further, although the Court stated the demolition of the home located in the most crowded area should not involve explosives, it could impact other neighboring structures. On 16 November 2015, during a punitive demolition in the same refugee camp, 19 Palestine refugees were displaced and 46 persons were affected. Two Palestine refugees were also killed during the clashes that erupted during the operation.
Punitive demolitions are illegal under international law. UNRWA communicated its position to the Israeli authorities in April 2016 in the context of Israeli court proceedings relating to punitive demolitions in Qalandia refugee camp. UNRWA calls upon the Israeli authorities to put an end to the practice of punitive demolitions in the West Bank.
In 2015 and 2016, a total of 30 punitive demolitions were carried out, displacing and rendering homeless 243 Palestinians, including 42 Palestine refugees, as a result.
christopher gunness | spokesperson, director of advocacy and strategic communications
unrwa | office of the commissioner general | jerusalem
t: +972 2 589 0267 | m: +972 54 240 2659 | f: +972 2 589 0240
e: c.gunness@unrwa.org | skype: chrisrobertgunness l Twitter: @ChrisGunness
unrwa.org | facebook | youtube | twitter
The demolition orders were given for stabbing attacks perpetrated by individual members of the families outside Jaffa gate, Jerusalem Old City on 23 December 2015. Two Israeli civilians died during the attack while a third civilian was seriously wounded. The perpetrators were shot dead by Israeli Security Forces. The United Nations has repeatedly condemned all attacks against Israeli or Palestinian civilians, including in statements by Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.
UNRWA remains concerned that six Palestine refugees are at risk of being made homeless as a result of the punitive demolitions. Further, although the Court stated the demolition of the home located in the most crowded area should not involve explosives, it could impact other neighboring structures. On 16 November 2015, during a punitive demolition in the same refugee camp, 19 Palestine refugees were displaced and 46 persons were affected. Two Palestine refugees were also killed during the clashes that erupted during the operation.
Punitive demolitions are illegal under international law. UNRWA communicated its position to the Israeli authorities in April 2016 in the context of Israeli court proceedings relating to punitive demolitions in Qalandia refugee camp. UNRWA calls upon the Israeli authorities to put an end to the practice of punitive demolitions in the West Bank.
In 2015 and 2016, a total of 30 punitive demolitions were carried out, displacing and rendering homeless 243 Palestinians, including 42 Palestine refugees, as a result.
christopher gunness | spokesperson, director of advocacy and strategic communications
unrwa | office of the commissioner general | jerusalem
t: +972 2 589 0267 | m: +972 54 240 2659 | f: +972 2 589 0240
e: c.gunness@unrwa.org | skype: chrisrobertgunness l Twitter: @ChrisGunness
unrwa.org | facebook | youtube | twitter
23 june 2016
Two Likud Knesset members submitted on Wednesday a bill calling for imposing a seven-year waiting period between the issuing of an administrative demolition order against illegal outposts in the West Bank and its implementation.
This step came after Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu recently asked Likud lawmakers to come up with legislation postponing the demolition of the Amona outpost, ordered in 2014 by the high court of justice.
The Israeli court ruling came in response to a petition filed by the NGO Yesh Din on behalf of 10 Palestinians from the nearby village of Silwad who claim ownership of the land.
The outpost, which is located on the outskirts of the Ofra settlement, was first built in 1995 with a NIS 2.16 million grant from the ministry of construction and housing.
The Knesset bill, which was submitted by MKs Miki Zohar and David Bitan, does not name Amona specifically. Haaretz newspaper described Amona as a "sputtering time bomb for the coalition."
"Netanyahu evacuating settlers by force would hurt him and Likud badly ahead of the next elections," a Likud MK told Haaretz Wednesday.
"Netanyahu does not want to evict the settlers, and more than that, he does not want to trample on his natural constituency," the Likud source added.
According to the source, evacuating Amona could be the move that spurs Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennett to stalk out of the government coalition, taking quite a few Likud voters with him, and Netanyahu would not want that either.
Sources in Habayit Hayehudi already warned earlier this month that the demolition of Amona could be grounds for abandoning the coalition, according to Haaretz.
This step came after Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu recently asked Likud lawmakers to come up with legislation postponing the demolition of the Amona outpost, ordered in 2014 by the high court of justice.
The Israeli court ruling came in response to a petition filed by the NGO Yesh Din on behalf of 10 Palestinians from the nearby village of Silwad who claim ownership of the land.
The outpost, which is located on the outskirts of the Ofra settlement, was first built in 1995 with a NIS 2.16 million grant from the ministry of construction and housing.
The Knesset bill, which was submitted by MKs Miki Zohar and David Bitan, does not name Amona specifically. Haaretz newspaper described Amona as a "sputtering time bomb for the coalition."
"Netanyahu evacuating settlers by force would hurt him and Likud badly ahead of the next elections," a Likud MK told Haaretz Wednesday.
"Netanyahu does not want to evict the settlers, and more than that, he does not want to trample on his natural constituency," the Likud source added.
According to the source, evacuating Amona could be the move that spurs Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennett to stalk out of the government coalition, taking quite a few Likud voters with him, and Netanyahu would not want that either.
Sources in Habayit Hayehudi already warned earlier this month that the demolition of Amona could be grounds for abandoning the coalition, according to Haaretz.
The Israeli occupation police on Wednesday forced the family of martyr Abu Ihab Hashima to remove a sebil (public water fountain) from the wall of their house on a street in the Old City of Occupied Jerusalem.
The family of Hashima had to remove the sebil after the police threatened to forcibly demolish it and make it pay a heavy fine.
According to the family, the fountain was intended to provide water for the Muslim worshipers who go to the Aqsa Mosque through Aqabat al-Khalidiya street in the Old City.
The police took this measure after a horde of Jewish settlers living in an outpost on the street filed a complaint about it.
The removed fountain was located about four meters away from a memorial the settlers had built on the same street after one of them had been killed in al-Khalidiya neighborhood in 1988.
The family of Hashima had to remove the sebil after the police threatened to forcibly demolish it and make it pay a heavy fine.
According to the family, the fountain was intended to provide water for the Muslim worshipers who go to the Aqsa Mosque through Aqabat al-Khalidiya street in the Old City.
The police took this measure after a horde of Jewish settlers living in an outpost on the street filed a complaint about it.
The removed fountain was located about four meters away from a memorial the settlers had built on the same street after one of them had been killed in al-Khalidiya neighborhood in 1988.
21 june 2016
testimony catalog number: 852350
unit: Judea Regional Brigade
area: Hebron area
period: 2012
“We went to Umm al-Khair, which is right up next to [the settlement of] Carmel. We went there for a demolition. We demolished a shed or two in there. You get an order about what to demolish, you coordinate it with the brigade, and you do it.
Every demolition we do, you bring people to move stuff and you carry the contents out, put them at a distance from the demolition site, take footage inside and around the empty structure that we’re going to destroy. We walk through the structure to see that there’s nothing valuable left inside of it, or anyone inside it, and only after that we demolish it.
Any claims that goats were killed, that things like that were destroyed – are total fabrications; I tell you this with certainty. I don’t agree with the demolition activities, and I think that in most cases they are wrong – simply not humane. Would I say that I’m at peace with what I did while I was in the army?
No. But, would I say that we adhered to working according to the protocols, down to the smallest detail? Yes, we did. We adhered to them and we knew them, and there had already been cases that the civil administration was sued because it demolished and wrecked things by accident.
No structure was demolished with its contents still inside, ever. We never demolished a single house without clearing out its contents first.
[One time,] we went to Umm al-Khair, and there was a disagreeable demolition. The village’s sheikh, he lay there in front of the tractor, and we had to get the border police to pull him away, there was cursing and yelling. In the end he came up to us and asked, “Do you hear the tractors working in the new neighborhood in Carmel? What’s that?”
And we told him, “They’re building with an approved plan, you aren’t.” He goes, “Does that sound just, to you?” And we told him, “That’s the way it is.”
And, you know that the new neighborhood was indeed approved, and it had a plan and they were working according to the plan and everything.
But, that man, who lives five meters from their fence and is illegal according to the administration’s definitions, that’s a problem. It’s an unpleasant situation: To force old people, children, women out of their homes. To do it day after day. It’s a difficult situation, a bad situation. You evacuate people the age of your grandma out of some tin shed where they live, onto a pile of rocks, and it breaks your heart.
But, what can you do?”
unit: Judea Regional Brigade
area: Hebron area
period: 2012
“We went to Umm al-Khair, which is right up next to [the settlement of] Carmel. We went there for a demolition. We demolished a shed or two in there. You get an order about what to demolish, you coordinate it with the brigade, and you do it.
Every demolition we do, you bring people to move stuff and you carry the contents out, put them at a distance from the demolition site, take footage inside and around the empty structure that we’re going to destroy. We walk through the structure to see that there’s nothing valuable left inside of it, or anyone inside it, and only after that we demolish it.
Any claims that goats were killed, that things like that were destroyed – are total fabrications; I tell you this with certainty. I don’t agree with the demolition activities, and I think that in most cases they are wrong – simply not humane. Would I say that I’m at peace with what I did while I was in the army?
No. But, would I say that we adhered to working according to the protocols, down to the smallest detail? Yes, we did. We adhered to them and we knew them, and there had already been cases that the civil administration was sued because it demolished and wrecked things by accident.
No structure was demolished with its contents still inside, ever. We never demolished a single house without clearing out its contents first.
[One time,] we went to Umm al-Khair, and there was a disagreeable demolition. The village’s sheikh, he lay there in front of the tractor, and we had to get the border police to pull him away, there was cursing and yelling. In the end he came up to us and asked, “Do you hear the tractors working in the new neighborhood in Carmel? What’s that?”
And we told him, “They’re building with an approved plan, you aren’t.” He goes, “Does that sound just, to you?” And we told him, “That’s the way it is.”
And, you know that the new neighborhood was indeed approved, and it had a plan and they were working according to the plan and everything.
But, that man, who lives five meters from their fence and is illegal according to the administration’s definitions, that’s a problem. It’s an unpleasant situation: To force old people, children, women out of their homes. To do it day after day. It’s a difficult situation, a bad situation. You evacuate people the age of your grandma out of some tin shed where they live, onto a pile of rocks, and it breaks your heart.
But, what can you do?”
Israeli Occupation Authority (IOA) on Tuesday handed three orders to Samih Salah to stop the construction of agricultural structures and to raze his home for lacking construction permits.
The facilities to be demolished include a home with an area of 160 square meters, a room, and a caravan used for agricultural purposes in Alia hamlet in al-Khader town to the west of Bethlehem.
Ahmad Salah, coordinator of the anti-settlement national committee in al-Khader town, told Quds Press that the IOA has been waging a large-scale demolition campaign in the town since the beginning of the year.
Israeli forces last year knocked down 23 Palestinian houses and structures and handed out 36 demolition orders in Bethlehem under the pretext of lacking construction permits, according to the Land Research Center’s report.
The facilities to be demolished include a home with an area of 160 square meters, a room, and a caravan used for agricultural purposes in Alia hamlet in al-Khader town to the west of Bethlehem.
Ahmad Salah, coordinator of the anti-settlement national committee in al-Khader town, told Quds Press that the IOA has been waging a large-scale demolition campaign in the town since the beginning of the year.
Israeli forces last year knocked down 23 Palestinian houses and structures and handed out 36 demolition orders in Bethlehem under the pretext of lacking construction permits, according to the Land Research Center’s report.
Dozens of Israeli soldiers invaded, on Tuesday at dawn, Hijja village, east of the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia, and demolished the inner walls of a home of a Palestinian who was killed in March after carrying out a fatal stabbing attack in Jaffa.
Media sources in Qalqilia said the soldiers, accompanied by armored bulldozers, invaded the village, and surrounded the home of Bashar Masalha, 22, before forcing the family out, and demolished the inner walls of their property.
The army did not demolish the entire property because it is a three-story building, owned by several families, and instead demolish the inner walls of Masalha’s family home, rendering the family homeless.
It is worth mentioning that Masalha was shot and killed on March, 8, 2016, and the army held his body until May 20th.
A U.S. army veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan wars, identified as Taylor Force, 28, was killed in the attack, and several Israelis were injured, Israeli sources said.
Media sources in Qalqilia said the soldiers, accompanied by armored bulldozers, invaded the village, and surrounded the home of Bashar Masalha, 22, before forcing the family out, and demolished the inner walls of their property.
The army did not demolish the entire property because it is a three-story building, owned by several families, and instead demolish the inner walls of Masalha’s family home, rendering the family homeless.
It is worth mentioning that Masalha was shot and killed on March, 8, 2016, and the army held his body until May 20th.
A U.S. army veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan wars, identified as Taylor Force, 28, was killed in the attack, and several Israelis were injured, Israeli sources said.