29 dec 2017
Several Palestinian homeowners in Issawiya district, east of Occupied Jerusalem, on Thursday received Israeli demolition or stop-work orders, and others were referred to the municipal authority.
In addition to the demolition and stop-work orders, some citizens received notices warning them of using structures or buildings, according to a local follow-up committee.
Over 10 homes were also photographed by an Israeli municipal crew, who entered the district under tight police guard.
In addition to the demolition and stop-work orders, some citizens received notices warning them of using structures or buildings, according to a local follow-up committee.
Over 10 homes were also photographed by an Israeli municipal crew, who entered the district under tight police guard.
Israeli forces have destroyed on Friday a village in the southern Negev region for the 123rd time.
Residents of al-Araqib village said that armed forces and riot police stormed into the village with bulldozers, razing its remaining buildings to the ground.
The village, home to around 220 people, was first demolished on July 27, 2010. Since then, displaced residents have sought help from local activists to rebuild.
Israeli authorities regularly carry out demolition orders in the Negev, arguing that these villages lack building permits, but residents say it is impossible to obtain a permit to build legally.
Al-Araqib is one of some 45 "unrecognized" Bedouin villages in southern Israel that are under existential threat.
Residents of al-Araqib village said that armed forces and riot police stormed into the village with bulldozers, razing its remaining buildings to the ground.
The village, home to around 220 people, was first demolished on July 27, 2010. Since then, displaced residents have sought help from local activists to rebuild.
Israeli authorities regularly carry out demolition orders in the Negev, arguing that these villages lack building permits, but residents say it is impossible to obtain a permit to build legally.
Al-Araqib is one of some 45 "unrecognized" Bedouin villages in southern Israel that are under existential threat.
The Israeli occupation navy on Thursday kidnapped Palestinian fishermen off Gaza’s northern seashore.
Head of Gaza’s Fishermen Union, Nizar Ayyash, said Sameh al-Kouka and Shawki Bakr were kidnapped by the Israeli navy while setting sail off Gaza’s northern waters.
The occupation navy seized the fishermen’s vessel.
Ayyash called on the international community and Palestinian consensus government to take urgent action over Israel’s arbitrary abduction of Gaza’s fishermen.
In 2016, at least 125 Palestinian fishermen were kidnapped by the Israeli navy, three among them after they were shot with bullet fire. Two fishermen were killed by the occupation navy, including one of them whose body has not been recovered.
Head of Gaza’s Fishermen Union, Nizar Ayyash, said Sameh al-Kouka and Shawki Bakr were kidnapped by the Israeli navy while setting sail off Gaza’s northern waters.
The occupation navy seized the fishermen’s vessel.
Ayyash called on the international community and Palestinian consensus government to take urgent action over Israel’s arbitrary abduction of Gaza’s fishermen.
In 2016, at least 125 Palestinian fishermen were kidnapped by the Israeli navy, three among them after they were shot with bullet fire. Two fishermen were killed by the occupation navy, including one of them whose body has not been recovered.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) at daybreak Friday kidnapped six Palestinian men from the West Bank and left another injured.
The Israeli army claimed responsibility for the abduction of six Palestinians on allegations of involvement in anti-occupation activities.
The IOF also seized cash from Palestinian homes in al-Khalil under the pretext that it is allocated to resistance activities.
The occupation army further shot Palestinian civilians in Beit Ummar, leaving one injured.
Activist Mohamed Awad said a 25-year-old youth was kidnapped by the IOF in the assault.
Several Palestinians were treated for breathing disorders by the Red Crescent paramedics after the IOF showered the area with teargas grenades.
Reporting from Qalqilya, a PIC news correspondent said Israeli soldiers also rolled into the city and cordoned off residential neighborhoods before they sealed off its access roads with makeshift checkpoints.
Heavily-armed occupation forces kidnapped 27-year-old Abdul Kader Walwil after they broke into his family home and rummaged into the building.
The IOF also stormed Azzoun town, to the east, and closed off its main entrance.
At the same time, five Israeli patrols stormed Burin and ravaged the home of Jamal As’ous, before they kidnapped his son Nabil.
The Israeli army claimed responsibility for the abduction of six Palestinians on allegations of involvement in anti-occupation activities.
The IOF also seized cash from Palestinian homes in al-Khalil under the pretext that it is allocated to resistance activities.
The occupation army further shot Palestinian civilians in Beit Ummar, leaving one injured.
Activist Mohamed Awad said a 25-year-old youth was kidnapped by the IOF in the assault.
Several Palestinians were treated for breathing disorders by the Red Crescent paramedics after the IOF showered the area with teargas grenades.
Reporting from Qalqilya, a PIC news correspondent said Israeli soldiers also rolled into the city and cordoned off residential neighborhoods before they sealed off its access roads with makeshift checkpoints.
Heavily-armed occupation forces kidnapped 27-year-old Abdul Kader Walwil after they broke into his family home and rummaged into the building.
The IOF also stormed Azzoun town, to the east, and closed off its main entrance.
At the same time, five Israeli patrols stormed Burin and ravaged the home of Jamal As’ous, before they kidnapped his son Nabil.
The Israeli occupation authorities notified on Thursday the demolition of Palestinian homes, a Mosque, and a school in al-Khalil’s southern town of Yatta.
Activist Rateb Jabour said the Israeli authorities handed over nine demolition notifications targeting seven Palestinian homes owned by al-Azazma family, along with a school and a mosque in al-Bireen, north of Yatta.
Activist Rateb Jabour said the Israeli authorities handed over nine demolition notifications targeting seven Palestinian homes owned by al-Azazma family, along with a school and a mosque in al-Bireen, north of Yatta.
28 dec 2017
The Israeli occupation army on Thursday announced its intent to appropriate three dunums and 279 square meters of agricultural land belonging to Palestinian citizens in Tammun town, south of Tubas in the West Bank.
A local official said the Israeli army’s civil administration delivered a notice stating its intent to commandeer this tract of land in order to build an agricultural road for Jewish settlers.
The official added that there were efforts to know the owners of this land.
A local official said the Israeli army’s civil administration delivered a notice stating its intent to commandeer this tract of land in order to build an agricultural road for Jewish settlers.
The official added that there were efforts to know the owners of this land.
A group of Jewish settlers escorted by soldiers on Wednesday surveyed a vast tract of land in an area between the towns of Duma and Qusra, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
Local sources said that several settlers and soldiers were seen using maps in their land survey, expressing fears of Israeli intents to annex lands in their area for settlement projects.
Recently, one Palestinian farmer was killed and dozens were either injured or arrested after hordes of settlers and soldiers stormed Qusra area and attacked locals.
Local sources said that several settlers and soldiers were seen using maps in their land survey, expressing fears of Israeli intents to annex lands in their area for settlement projects.
Recently, one Palestinian farmer was killed and dozens were either injured or arrested after hordes of settlers and soldiers stormed Qusra area and attacked locals.
The Israeli authorities on Wednesday demolished a Palestinian home in Negev, south of territories occupied in 1948 (Israel).
Local sources reported that the home belongs to the Palestinian citizen Oudeh Abu Kreinat and was knocked down under the pretext of unlicensed construction.
The Israeli forces also smashed Oudeh’s car and bulldozed his cultivated land tract.
Israeli police troops and special units—Yoav—further demolished a tent and leveled a land belonging to the Nasasra family, in al-Mathbah village, in Negev.
Head of the Regional Council of Unrecognized Villages, Atiyeh al-A’sem, slammed the simmering demolitions carried out by the Israeli authorities against Palestinian homes and structures in Negev.
He added that last year nearly 1,000 Palestinian buildings were demolished in Negev.
At least 45 Palestinian villages are unrecognized by Israel in the Negev area, home to 240,000 Palestinians.
Local sources reported that the home belongs to the Palestinian citizen Oudeh Abu Kreinat and was knocked down under the pretext of unlicensed construction.
The Israeli forces also smashed Oudeh’s car and bulldozed his cultivated land tract.
Israeli police troops and special units—Yoav—further demolished a tent and leveled a land belonging to the Nasasra family, in al-Mathbah village, in Negev.
Head of the Regional Council of Unrecognized Villages, Atiyeh al-A’sem, slammed the simmering demolitions carried out by the Israeli authorities against Palestinian homes and structures in Negev.
He added that last year nearly 1,000 Palestinian buildings were demolished in Negev.
At least 45 Palestinian villages are unrecognized by Israel in the Negev area, home to 240,000 Palestinians.
Israeli navy ships attacked, Thursday, several Palestinian fishing boats in the Sudaniyya Sea area, northwest of Gaza Strip, and abducted two fishermen, before confiscating their boat.
Eyewitnesses said the navy fired many live rounds at the fishing boats, while sailing less than four nautical miles from the shore, and abducted two fishermen after forcing them to undress and jump in the cold water.
The two, identified as Sameh Haidar al-Qoqa and Shawqi Saleh Bakr, were abducted before the soldiers took them, and their boat, to Ashdod Port.
Eyewitnesses said the navy fired many live rounds at the fishing boats, while sailing less than four nautical miles from the shore, and abducted two fishermen after forcing them to undress and jump in the cold water.
The two, identified as Sameh Haidar al-Qoqa and Shawqi Saleh Bakr, were abducted before the soldiers took them, and their boat, to Ashdod Port.
27 dec 2017
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The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) on Tuesday confiscated a donkey and cars from Palestinian citizens and plundered commercial stores in Silwan district, south of the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
A photo taken in Silwan showed police troops taking away a donkey during a campaign in Silwan. Local sources said that the police had already arrested the owner of the donkey at the pretext that he had no permit to own such animal. In a separate incident, Israeli municipal employees under police escort stormed on the same day the neighborhoods of Ein al-Loza |
and Beir Ayoub in Silwan, raided commercial stores and confiscated some of their merchandise and items displayed outside.
They also seized a refrigerator from one of those stores and removed a door from another one that sells gas cylinders.
They also seized a refrigerator from one of those stores and removed a door from another one that sells gas cylinders.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that Israeli soldiers abducted, on Wednesday at dawn, five Palestinians in the West Bank governorates of Ramallah, Jenin, Jerusalem and Hebron. They were taken prisoner after the soldiers abducted, earlier, fourteen Palestinians in Silwan town, in occupied Jerusalem, and one in Jenin.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) in Ramallah, in central West Bank, said the soldiers invaded Ni’lin village, west of Ramallah, searched homes and abducted Ahmad Mohammad Srour and Ibrahim Khalil Srour.
The PPS office of Jenin, in northern West Bank, said the soldiers invaded Rommana village, and abducted Mohammad Saleh Abu Sharba, from his home.
In occupied Jerusalem, the soldiers abducted Hussein Nabil Samara, 22, from his home in Biddu town, northwest of the city.
In Hebron, in southern West Bank, the soldiers abducted Mohammad Yousef Hreinat, from his home in Yatta town, south of Hebron.
The soldiers also invaded many neighborhoods in Hebron city, and broke into several homes in the al-‘Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron, in addition to the towns of Yatta and Beit Awwa, south and west of Hebron.
The soldiers also confiscated three Palestinian cars, and searched many homes in the al-‘Arroub refugee camp, after invading and ransacking many homes.
Owners of some of the invaded homes have been identified as Mohammad Jawabra, Mahmoud Jawabra, Ahmad Jawabra, Abdul-Rahman Abu Taqiyya, Ezzat Banat, Issa Le’jouli, Ishaq Jawabra, Jawad Abu al-Kheiran, Khaled Erfa’eyya, Mahmoud Abu Warda and Jamil al-Hoor.
In Beit ‘Awwa, southwest of Heron, the soldiers invaded and searched the home of Rezeq Odeh Masalma, in addition to the home in Jamal Abed Awad, in Yatta town, south of Hebron.
Furthermore, the soldiers installed roadblocks at the main entrances of many villages, towns and refugee camps, in Hebron.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) in Ramallah, in central West Bank, said the soldiers invaded Ni’lin village, west of Ramallah, searched homes and abducted Ahmad Mohammad Srour and Ibrahim Khalil Srour.
The PPS office of Jenin, in northern West Bank, said the soldiers invaded Rommana village, and abducted Mohammad Saleh Abu Sharba, from his home.
In occupied Jerusalem, the soldiers abducted Hussein Nabil Samara, 22, from his home in Biddu town, northwest of the city.
In Hebron, in southern West Bank, the soldiers abducted Mohammad Yousef Hreinat, from his home in Yatta town, south of Hebron.
The soldiers also invaded many neighborhoods in Hebron city, and broke into several homes in the al-‘Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron, in addition to the towns of Yatta and Beit Awwa, south and west of Hebron.
The soldiers also confiscated three Palestinian cars, and searched many homes in the al-‘Arroub refugee camp, after invading and ransacking many homes.
Owners of some of the invaded homes have been identified as Mohammad Jawabra, Mahmoud Jawabra, Ahmad Jawabra, Abdul-Rahman Abu Taqiyya, Ezzat Banat, Issa Le’jouli, Ishaq Jawabra, Jawad Abu al-Kheiran, Khaled Erfa’eyya, Mahmoud Abu Warda and Jamil al-Hoor.
In Beit ‘Awwa, southwest of Heron, the soldiers invaded and searched the home of Rezeq Odeh Masalma, in addition to the home in Jamal Abed Awad, in Yatta town, south of Hebron.
Furthermore, the soldiers installed roadblocks at the main entrances of many villages, towns and refugee camps, in Hebron.
Israeli soldiers abducted, on Tuesday evening, a young Palestinian man, from Rommana village, west of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and confiscated his motorcycle.
Media sources in Jenin said the soldiers invaded a gas station, near Salem military roadblock, abducted the young man, and confiscated his motorcycle.
They added that the young man, identified as Mohammad Saleh Abu Sharba, 27, was taken, along with his motorcycle, to the nearby Salem military base.
Media sources in Jenin said the soldiers invaded a gas station, near Salem military roadblock, abducted the young man, and confiscated his motorcycle.
They added that the young man, identified as Mohammad Saleh Abu Sharba, 27, was taken, along with his motorcycle, to the nearby Salem military base.
Israeli soldiers invaded, on Wednesday at dawn, Silwan town, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied Jerusalem, and conducted violent searches of homes, before abducting at least thirteen Palestinians, including children, and demolished two buildings.
Media sources in Silwan said the soldiers stormed and ransacked dozens of homes in the town, and abducted thirteen Palestinians, in addition to summing many others for interrogation.
The invasion was carried out by dozens of soldiers and police officers, who also installed roadblocks in many neighborhoods, in addition to closing several roads with concrete blocks.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan (Silwanic), identified the abducted Palestinians as:
The soldiers also forced the Palestinians to remove graffiti, calling for resistance and liberation, from many walls.
In addition, the army demolished a commercial building, and a barn in the town, allegedly for being constructed without permits.
The army also handed several demolition orders targeting many homes and buildings, in Silwan.
Silwanic said the soldiers violently invaded many stores, causing excessive damage, and confiscated goods and supplies, in addition to smashing the door of a store, selling propane gas, and confiscated propane gas barrels.
Furthermore, the soldiers invaded a shop, and confiscated a fridge, in addition to confiscating a car in the town.
The soldiers also invaded a Restaurant in Silwan, and confiscated seven propane gas barrels, in addition to forcing a man to smash the door of his scarp shop, before invading it.
Media sources in Silwan said the soldiers stormed and ransacked dozens of homes in the town, and abducted thirteen Palestinians, in addition to summing many others for interrogation.
The invasion was carried out by dozens of soldiers and police officers, who also installed roadblocks in many neighborhoods, in addition to closing several roads with concrete blocks.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan (Silwanic), identified the abducted Palestinians as:
- Mohammad Sarhan, 14.
- Mo’men al-Abbassi.
- Mofeed Mohammad al-Abbassi.
- Fuad al-Qaaq, 20.
- Odai Samer Abu Tayeh, 20.
- Mohammad Zidani.
- Amjad Shweiki, 43.
- Mohannad al-Qawasmi, 24.
- Mohammad Shiokhi.
- Karim Shiokhi.
- Bassel Hamza Shalloudi, 17.
- Hamada Odeh.
- Mohammad Mousa al-Abbassi, 20.
The soldiers also forced the Palestinians to remove graffiti, calling for resistance and liberation, from many walls.
In addition, the army demolished a commercial building, and a barn in the town, allegedly for being constructed without permits.
The army also handed several demolition orders targeting many homes and buildings, in Silwan.
Silwanic said the soldiers violently invaded many stores, causing excessive damage, and confiscated goods and supplies, in addition to smashing the door of a store, selling propane gas, and confiscated propane gas barrels.
Furthermore, the soldiers invaded a shop, and confiscated a fridge, in addition to confiscating a car in the town.
The soldiers also invaded a Restaurant in Silwan, and confiscated seven propane gas barrels, in addition to forcing a man to smash the door of his scarp shop, before invading it.
26 dec 2017
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The Abu Rajab family of Silwan neighborhood, in East Jerusalem, found themselves homeless again on Saturday, after the Israeli government ordered the family to demolish their home for the second time in two months.
The family said they had to demolish the home themselves, after the Israeli Jerusalem Municipal Authority issued a demolition order, or else the Israeli authorities would come and demolish it, and charge exorbitant fees. This is the second family in two weeks in Silwan that has been forced to demolish their own home – and the second time in two months that the Abu Rajab family has been rendered homeless. |
The family lives in the al-Bustan area of Silwan, in east Jerusalem. According to Ma’an News Agency, “A spokesman of a Silwan-based committee formed to fight demolitions, Fakhri Abu Diab, previously told Ma’an that all 100 residential structures in the al-Bustan area are slated for demolition, and that the 1,570 residents of the area have exhausted all legal options.”
The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem says about the al-Bustan region of Silwan, the Israeli municipal government master plan defines the area as an open space where construction is prohibited.
The group states, “Silwan’s al-Bustan neighborhood lies in Kidron Valley, between the Wadi Hilwa neighborhood and Jerusalem Walls National park to the west and Silwan’s old quarter (Silwan al-Wasta) to the east. Until 1967 residents of Silwan cultivated fruit trees in the valley. City master plan No. 9, which was to determine the conservation to development ratio in the Old City Basin, defines al-Bustan Valley as an open space where construction is prohibited. The plan allowed only the few buildings in place at the time the plan was approved in 1976.
Neighborhood master plans approved over the years for parts of Silwan did not allocate land for expansion or increase building rights. As crowding worsened, Silwan residents had no choice but to build in the valley and there are now more than 90 residential structures there.
The buildings, built mostly since the 1980s, were constructed without permits. Approximately 1,000 people live in this neighborhood. The residents face great difficulties because it is not officially recognized and must contend with demolition orders issued against their homes. Residents cannot build additions to their homes or new homes on their land, nor can they lay down proper infrastructure or build public facilities.”
According to the Israeli human rights organization Ir-Amim, “The King’s Garden [is] an expansion of the City of David National Park and will involve the demolition of most of the al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan.
“Similar to cases of settlements in the heart of Palestinian neighborhoods, national parks are also an arena in which state authorities have joined hands with private bodies, with the state transferring administration and development powers for public, touristic, archaeological and educational projects into the hands of right wing private organizations. Frequently, representatives of the organizations participate in the planning of the projects and even initiate them, and people who previously worked for them serve in senior positions in public bodies that are responsible for those projects, such as Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
For example, the Elad organization, the biggest and most prominent of the right wing organizations, operates the City of David National Park, an educational project in the Tzurim Valley National Park, a project in the Peace Forest and the information center in the Mount of Olives cemetery, while also endorsing archaeological excavations in the entire area of Silwan.
“Archaeological excavations and tourism development are frequently undertaken and/or underwritten by the right-wing organizations, which in turn use them to justify their activity and disseminate and impose their historic narrative of Jerusalem through extensive educational activity. The narrative in question derives pronounced political and nationalist conclusions from historic Jewish presence, while covering up the diversity and wealth of cultures that existed in Jerusalem through its thousands of years of history.
By-and-by, this awareness delegitimizes any non-Jewish presence in the city. The Education Ministry, the Defense Ministry, the Jewish Agency, and other bodies send hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren, soldiers, officers and college students from Israel and abroad to participate in educational projects operated by right-wing organizations in East Jerusalem, who in turn provide visitors with a story that binds history, heritage and politics in one.
A visit to these tourist sites provides a comfortable setting for establishment of Israeli presence in East Jerusalem and at the heart of Palestinian neighborhoods, while ignoring its political implications.”
The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem says about the al-Bustan region of Silwan, the Israeli municipal government master plan defines the area as an open space where construction is prohibited.
The group states, “Silwan’s al-Bustan neighborhood lies in Kidron Valley, between the Wadi Hilwa neighborhood and Jerusalem Walls National park to the west and Silwan’s old quarter (Silwan al-Wasta) to the east. Until 1967 residents of Silwan cultivated fruit trees in the valley. City master plan No. 9, which was to determine the conservation to development ratio in the Old City Basin, defines al-Bustan Valley as an open space where construction is prohibited. The plan allowed only the few buildings in place at the time the plan was approved in 1976.
Neighborhood master plans approved over the years for parts of Silwan did not allocate land for expansion or increase building rights. As crowding worsened, Silwan residents had no choice but to build in the valley and there are now more than 90 residential structures there.
The buildings, built mostly since the 1980s, were constructed without permits. Approximately 1,000 people live in this neighborhood. The residents face great difficulties because it is not officially recognized and must contend with demolition orders issued against their homes. Residents cannot build additions to their homes or new homes on their land, nor can they lay down proper infrastructure or build public facilities.”
According to the Israeli human rights organization Ir-Amim, “The King’s Garden [is] an expansion of the City of David National Park and will involve the demolition of most of the al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan.
“Similar to cases of settlements in the heart of Palestinian neighborhoods, national parks are also an arena in which state authorities have joined hands with private bodies, with the state transferring administration and development powers for public, touristic, archaeological and educational projects into the hands of right wing private organizations. Frequently, representatives of the organizations participate in the planning of the projects and even initiate them, and people who previously worked for them serve in senior positions in public bodies that are responsible for those projects, such as Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
For example, the Elad organization, the biggest and most prominent of the right wing organizations, operates the City of David National Park, an educational project in the Tzurim Valley National Park, a project in the Peace Forest and the information center in the Mount of Olives cemetery, while also endorsing archaeological excavations in the entire area of Silwan.
“Archaeological excavations and tourism development are frequently undertaken and/or underwritten by the right-wing organizations, which in turn use them to justify their activity and disseminate and impose their historic narrative of Jerusalem through extensive educational activity. The narrative in question derives pronounced political and nationalist conclusions from historic Jewish presence, while covering up the diversity and wealth of cultures that existed in Jerusalem through its thousands of years of history.
By-and-by, this awareness delegitimizes any non-Jewish presence in the city. The Education Ministry, the Defense Ministry, the Jewish Agency, and other bodies send hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren, soldiers, officers and college students from Israel and abroad to participate in educational projects operated by right-wing organizations in East Jerusalem, who in turn provide visitors with a story that binds history, heritage and politics in one.
A visit to these tourist sites provides a comfortable setting for establishment of Israeli presence in East Jerusalem and at the heart of Palestinian neighborhoods, while ignoring its political implications.”
23 dec 2017
Photo: An Israeli soldier stands guard as an army bulldozer with a demolition permit pulls down the house of a Palestinian family near the West Bank town of Hebron
A Palestinian family in occupied East Jerusalem was forced to tear down their own home on Saturday, to avoid paying exorbitant demolition fees to the Israeli Jerusalem Municipality, following a demolition order on their home.
WAFA reported that the Abu Rajab family tore down their home in the al-Bustan area of Silwan, a neighborhood in East Jerusalem, after they were given and demolition notice.
The family was given two choices: destroy their home themselves, or wait for the municipality to destroy it and then pay the cost of the demolition.
The municipality claimed the home was built without a difficult to obtain Israeli-issued building permit.
A spokesman of a Silwan-based committee formed to fight demolitions, Fakhri Abu Diab, previously told Ma’an News Agency that all 100 residential structures in the al-Bustan area are slated for demolition, and that the 1,570 residents of the area have exhausted all legal options.
The residents of al-Bustan have been embroiled in a decades-long battle that began in the 1970s after the Israeli government embarked on a plan to build a national park in the area, with the city’s master plan defining the area as an open space where construction was prohibited, according to Israeli rights group B’Tselem.
Due to the designation, residents have long faced great difficulties contending with demolition orders issued against the homes that were built there without permits — mostly in the 1980s — due to the increasing population in Silwan.
The municipality began issuing demolition orders and indictments to homes in al-Bustan in 2005 as part of the Israeli authorities’ plan to establish the Jewish site “King David’s Garden”, in Silwan and around the “Holy Basin,” which includes many Christian and Muslim holy sites.
Silwan is one of many Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem that has seen an influx of Israeli settlers at the cost of home demolitions and the eviction of Palestinian families.
According to UN documentation, as of December 18, 139 Palestinian-owned structures were demolished by Israel in East Jerusalem since the beginning of the year, displacing at least 228 Palestinians. A total of 190 Palestinian buildings were demolished in East Jerusalem in 2016.
A Palestinian family in occupied East Jerusalem was forced to tear down their own home on Saturday, to avoid paying exorbitant demolition fees to the Israeli Jerusalem Municipality, following a demolition order on their home.
WAFA reported that the Abu Rajab family tore down their home in the al-Bustan area of Silwan, a neighborhood in East Jerusalem, after they were given and demolition notice.
The family was given two choices: destroy their home themselves, or wait for the municipality to destroy it and then pay the cost of the demolition.
The municipality claimed the home was built without a difficult to obtain Israeli-issued building permit.
A spokesman of a Silwan-based committee formed to fight demolitions, Fakhri Abu Diab, previously told Ma’an News Agency that all 100 residential structures in the al-Bustan area are slated for demolition, and that the 1,570 residents of the area have exhausted all legal options.
The residents of al-Bustan have been embroiled in a decades-long battle that began in the 1970s after the Israeli government embarked on a plan to build a national park in the area, with the city’s master plan defining the area as an open space where construction was prohibited, according to Israeli rights group B’Tselem.
Due to the designation, residents have long faced great difficulties contending with demolition orders issued against the homes that were built there without permits — mostly in the 1980s — due to the increasing population in Silwan.
The municipality began issuing demolition orders and indictments to homes in al-Bustan in 2005 as part of the Israeli authorities’ plan to establish the Jewish site “King David’s Garden”, in Silwan and around the “Holy Basin,” which includes many Christian and Muslim holy sites.
Silwan is one of many Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem that has seen an influx of Israeli settlers at the cost of home demolitions and the eviction of Palestinian families.
According to UN documentation, as of December 18, 139 Palestinian-owned structures were demolished by Israel in East Jerusalem since the beginning of the year, displacing at least 228 Palestinians. A total of 190 Palestinian buildings were demolished in East Jerusalem in 2016.
21 dec 2017
Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement of Yitzhar, to the south of Nablus city in the northern West Bank, on Thursday cut down about 20 olive trees in Madama town to the south of the city.
Head of Madama local council, Ihab Qet, said that over 10 settlers broke into the land that belongs to Abdurrahman Nassar and cut about 20 trees.
The extremist settlers also ruined an agricultural water well owned by Idris Qet, he added.
Head of Madama local council, Ihab Qet, said that over 10 settlers broke into the land that belongs to Abdurrahman Nassar and cut about 20 trees.
The extremist settlers also ruined an agricultural water well owned by Idris Qet, he added.
