Tag: House Demolition

Nablus area family served demolition order

24 June 2009

Luban al-Sharqiya, Palestine – Khawla Abdel-Qader Ewes, her husband, sister, and 6 children are facing a daunting situation. They have been living in the village of Luban for their entire lives, and for the past 20 years, this life has consisted of a 7 square meter single room.

Luban al-Sharqiya is a village of approximately 3,500 people, 5 kilometers southeast of Nablus City. The village is completely surrounded by Area B and C land, while the village itself is Area A as defined by the Oslo Interim Agreement (Figure 1).

Luban Village (OCHA)
Luban Village (OCHA)

There are several illegal settlements in close proximity to the village. The only means Ewes had to improve her quality of life was to build upon the land bequeathed to her by her father, outside of the village. In order to finance building a new home she was forced to sell her jewelry as well as her current home. This 400 square meter plot of land is located in Area C.

A significant amount of work has already gone into the construction on this home, but last week Ewes received a demolition order from the neighboring government of Israel. The order states that she must go to court on July 2, 2009 in order to start the demolition process. Now Ewes finds herself forced to use the last of her funds to pay a lawyer in an attempt to save her new house. Meanwhile, she will be forced to leave the house her family currently occupies next month.

While in Luban, ISM representatives also met Anwar Ballouta whose house was demolished in 2005. He rebuilt it, and has been fighting a demolition order on the new house for several years now. His family’s case has reached the Israeli High Court. However, without the means to pay for a lawyer, Ewes’s case looks much grimmer.

IWPS: Twelve new house-demolition orders delivered in the village of Deir Ballut

International Women’s Peace Service

29 June 2009

Twelve new demolition orders were delivered at houses in the Salfit village of Deir Ballut on June 15th, 2009. The papers were left at their homes, most of which are still under construction. Two of the homes are already occupied. Five of the homeowners have a court hearing on July 5th, 2009 and seven on July 16th, 2009. Lawyers have told the families that they must make an application to the Israeli authorities for building permits before the court dates.

The reason given for the demolition orders is that the homes do not have the required permits for construction in Israeli-controlled Area C. However, not all houses in Area C in Deir Ballut have building permits, nor have they all received demolition orders. Deir Ballut’s mayor said he believes new demolition orders were delivered to these twelve houses because they are located near the planned route of the Wall.

In November 2006 Deir Ballut received a notice from Israel informing them of construction of a section of the Wall east of Deir Ballut and south of the neighbouring village of Rafat. This will cause Deir Ballut to be completely surrounded by the Wall, and its farmers to lose more than half their land. In 1948 the village lost more than 15,000 dunams of land. In the first phase of the Wall construction the village lost 6,000 more dunams.

Forty-one houses in Deir Ballut now have outstanding demolition orders against them.

East Jerusalem residents prepare for demolitions

24 June 2009

The people of Silwan, East Jerusalem, were on red alert on the morning of June 23rd, as rumours spread the neighbourhood that the army was set to arrive to demolish houses. This was based on warnings from the Palestinian Authority, a journalists tip, and the fact that many special police forces were visibly analysing the road crossings the night before. ISM volunteers joined residents of Silwan in the early hours of Tuesday morning in expectation of the bulldozers arriving.

Ultimately, they never came, but the Palestinian residents of Silwan continue to live in fear of their homes being destroyed. In the Bustan neighbourhood of the area 88 houses are planned to be demolished to make way for a new planned Archaeological Park. Renewed demolition orders were given to families recently but resistance to Israel’s policy of ethnic cleansing remains fierce amongst Palestinian locals who have lived in their houses for generations.

Meanwhile, in the Isiwiye area of East Jerusalem, there were reports of the army entering the town and closing off part of the area. Activists arrived and were greeted with the sight of around 25 soldiers (from the border guard) who had cut off access to 2 Palestinian houses and the hill behind it. The police were mounted on horses whilst soldiers has large dogs with them and attempted to use them to scare people from the site. When the activists attempted circumventing the soldiers to see what construction/destructive work was occurring, they were blocked by the police and refused permission to climb the hill. When press arrived in an attempt to discover what the commotion was about, they were grudgingly given permission to climb the hill and photograph the construction site.

According to journalists at the site a ramp-like structure was being built which could serve to cut the outlying houses off from the empty hill behind it. This would allow the adjacent hill to be used for future settlement construction which local residents fear is happening.

Israeli construction in East Jerusalem is illegal under international law, specifically the 4th Geneva convention that obligated the occupying authorities, Israel, to maintain the geographic and demographic characteristic of occupied East Jerusalem.

Israeli forces demolish Aqraba area homes

17 June 2009

On Wednesday, June 17, 2009, the Israeli Army demolished seven houses of shepherds in the small village Qurusdyia in the Aqraba district, southeast of Nablus. About two months ago, the affected families had received eviction orders in Hebrew which they did not understand. Once the deadline had passed for the families to leave the area, the Army moved in with bulldozers and tore everything down. The families now live in tents in Aqraba and moved their livestock to fields nearby.

The demolished houses consisted of three family houses and four farm houses. They were simple structures such as large tents, and three separate kitchens built with sheets of corrugated iron. According to the Mayor of Aqraba, about two months ago, the three families that were all related (3 brothers) had received eviction orders in Hebrew. They did not understand the content of these documents and did not inform the Municipality. Once the deadline for evicting the area had passed, the lawyers could not do anything to help. Qurusdyia lies in area C as defined by the Oslo Accord requiring building permits for any house or tent. These families have been living here for generations. The concept or the process of building permits is foreign to them.

Everything but the well used as drinking water for the animals at this extremely remote site in the desert has been completely destroyed by the Israeli Army. Water canisters have been slashed, kitchens put out of function, and the water pipes severed. It appears that the families must have fled the scene in great haste since there were carpets left behind, children’s books half-way buried under rubble, a car toy, and a few shoes here and there plus many other small personal belongings.

The Mayor pointed out that it is not so much the issue of losing houses, but rather of losing their land. People should be able to remain on their land. He seeks financial compensation through international organizations for any house that is being destroyed.

Aqraba (aka Akraba) in which Qurusdyia is located, has a total of 144,000 dunums of land, 80% of which have been taken by the Israeli Army for ‘training purposes’, as they claim. In reality, their objective is to build new settlements on these lands. Since 1967, Aqraba district is declared a Area C, but for a long time the people were allowed to farm; they have been treated worse and worse each year since, until they have gotten to the situation they are now in. The people living here are now being treated worse than before.

In Twael which is another small village in the Aqraba district, several houses including a mosque and a school have also been given eviction orders.

Palestinian harvest in Hebron disrupted by settlers and Israeli forces

19 June 2009

On a piece of land located between two Jewish settlements (Kiryat Arba and Givat Ha’Avot) in an area north-east of Hebron, Palestinian farmers attempted to harvest their land. Accompanied by international from ISM and Israeli activists from Tayyoush, Palestinians hoped to participate in an agricultural activity on the al Jabari family land. The group’s objective was to harvest barley and olive tree branches to feed the family livestock.

The land is also the site of a large tent erected by settlers. The tent has been repeatedly demolished by the Israeli army but has been rapidly re-built following each demolition.

After ten minutes of harvesting, two settler women walked into the general vicinity and made calls on their cell-phones. They remained in the area for several minutes before leaving, after which a truck carrying three Israeli soldiers arrived. The soldiers told the group to stop and leave the land in Hebrew. The Palestinian, Israeli and international activists refused and continued to work the land. Another group of soldiers arrived by truck, along with a settler who began filming the group and asking them questions.  About 15 minutes later, another truck of soldiers, settlers and Israeli police arrived (totaling to 10 soldiers, 5 police and 7 settlers). The settlers attempted to provoke the activists with verbal abuse and their cameras.

The settlers and soldiers continued to harass the Palestinians. One settler kicked an international solidarity activist in the leg. Several members of the group continued to try to work. Eventually, the Palestinian farmers chose to leave the area with the crops they had successfully collected.