Israeli army bulldozers demolished a Palestinian owned building that host disabled children’s society located in Wadi Al Joze neighborhood in east Jerusalem on Tuesday morning.
Palestinian sources reported that Israeli army troops stormed the neighborhood in the morning then two bulldozers destroyed a building that belongs to Hanni Totah from Jerusalem. The building was used by a Palestinian NGO called Al Nojom ( stars) society that works with fiscally challenged children.
Israeli authorities used the same excuse that the building was built without needed documents; documents that after Israeli occupied the city of Jerusalem in 1967 rarely gave to Palestinians living in the city.
Human rights organizations in the city stated that since the beginning of the year Israeli have destroyed 48 Palestinian owned buildings and houses under the pretext of built without permits.
Demolition at Beit Izja/Givon Hahadasha from ICAHD, 3 May 2007
This morning, Thursday 3rd May 2007, the IDF, Border Police guards, Private Security Guards, a contractor and some labourers arrived at the home of Abu Samir (Muhammad Sabri Ghanayem) to take down the fence around his house and replace it with a higher and more solid one. Abu Samir lives on the outer edge of Beit Ijza village, on what is effectively now part of the Givon HaHadasha settlement. His house was built in the early 90’s (Pre-Oslo) with permission from the relevant authorities at the time (ie. Bet El – Civil Administration Office) and therefore, after several court hearings, the Supreme Court had ruled that the house may NOT be demolished.
The arrival of the workers and the security forces this morning alarmed Abu Samir and his three sons, and they went out to try to stop the workers. Clashes ensued between Abu Samir’s family (including his elderly wife) and the security forces and one of his sons was seriously injured and taken to Ramallah hospital. Meanwhile Abu Samir and the other two sons were arrested for obstructing the work.
I arrived on the scene after they were already taken but I was assured by the many IDF Officers present that the construction was simply to create a higher fence, on top of a one-metre high concrete wall, to create more security for the residents of the area, in what is a very ‘delicate’ situation.
In the meantime, I have tried to contact the Israeli DCL to check on Abu Samir and his sons but I have not heard back from them yet.
Thanks to all of you for your interest today, and I will keep you posted with any further developments.
For more info, contact:
Angela Godfrey-Goldstein
angela@icahd.org
Residents of Al Nu’man Resist Exclusion and Indirect Forcible Transfer!
Call For symbolic action – lift the siege!
Saturday, 5th May 11 a.m.
Residents of Al Nu’man will stage a symbolic action drawing attention to human rights violations experienced daily through the Israeli policy of transfer, the construction of the Israeli separation wall, and Israeli settlement construction and expansion.
Al Nu’man villagers, that two weeks ago hosted the visit of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict of UN General Secretary, Mrs Radhika Coomaraswamy, are waiting now for the High Court hearing – scheduled for May 13 th – that will decide about the petition recently filed by the community and asking for the improvement of living conditions.
Accompanied by international human rights workers and members of Israeli and Palestinian organizations, residents of Al Nu’man will meet their relatives living in the neighbouring West Bank villages at the checkpoint, established for the exclusive passage of the twenty-some families of Al Nu’man.
Since May 2006 residents of the village are not allowed visitors of any kind from beyond the fence: No family members, school friends, providers of basic services as doctors and veterinarian for the goats, garbage trucks, gas providers. Although the community is now completely cut off from the West Bank, the Municipality of Jerusalem refuses to provide the basic services.
This is due to the fact that, in 1967, the lands of the community were unilaterally annexed to Israel but the residents of Al Nu’man were not given Jerusalem ID cards. As a result residents are classified by the Israeli Ministry of the Interior as “persons staying illegally” on Israeli lands.
The community is inviting all press to visit Al Nu’man to cover this story!
Speakers from Palestinian and Israeli organizations involved in the case will be present to provide analysis on Al Nu’man’s current situation.
Organized by the Community of Al Nu’man and Stop Bethlehem Bleeding Campaign, in cooperation with: Ta’ayush, AIC, Al-Haq, and other Israeli and Palestinian civil society organizations.
Meeting Point:
Jerusalem – Liberty Bell Garden , Parking Lot at 9.30.am (Transportation contact: Oded 052.8590924).
Beit Sahour – Souq Shab at 10.00 a.m. (for more info contact 054-5718763 – 054.6376735).
For more information contact:
English – Caroline EAPPI 054.799.8724 / Hebrew (and English) – Efrat 054.5617414
Arabic – Jamal 0599.716959 – 0522.879461
Prevention of Demolition of Centre for Autistic and Special Need Children in East Jerusalem from ICAHD, 29 April 2007
The Jerusalem Municipality is planning, during the coming days, to demolish a building in Wadi Joz in East Jerusalem which is used by the Iyat amuta, (an amuta for the advance of children with special needs) and the amuta Kochavey Jerusalem. The prevention of the demolition will help the children and families of a particularly vulnerable sector of the community which is in very real need for urgent help.
From Monday, April 30, onwards, activists will be present at the centre’s site in Wadi Joz to try to prevent the demolition. In order to get there, go to Wadi Joz, in Suwani, after the wholesale market continue straight down, 50 metres, to the entrance to the industrial area, and then turn right onto a rough track and you will see the centre (Palestinian public transport goes to that area from nearby Damascus Gate). The centre is within walking distance of Augusta Victoria and the Hebrew University.
The demolition is being carried out according to the final decision of the district court. The centre hosts children for two week special stays, and is an afternoon daycare centre. It is important to state that all special education schools in the east of the city are located in the Wadi Joz area, near the centre’s address. This is something which affects access and transport to the centre. The Iyat amuta searched for a long time for a suitable premises for the school, but didn’t manage to find such a place, because of the scarcity of available buildings and the sky-high rents charged in the area. At the premises of the centre they already undertook various alterations and renovations to serve the children’s special needs and are involved in ongoing work there for that end. Iyat is the only service provider in the entire East Jerusalem area providing for the special needs and therapy for autistic children, handicapped or challenged children and on many occasions has to refuse to accept any more children for treatment, with all the anguish that is involved in such refusal.
Jerusalem – Ma’an – The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) has successfully exerted pressure on an Irish transport organisation, Veolia, leading them to cancel a contract to train Israeli drivers for a light railway system in East Jerusalem. The railway system will link several Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem to West Jerusalem; the settlements include Pisgat Ze’ev, French Hill, Neve Ya’akov and Gilo.
Veolia is a constituent of Connex, the rail company that is currently building the tramline in East Jerusalem. Connex was awarded the $500 million US contract to build and operate Jerusalem’s light rail system.
Israel had been holding negotiations with Veolia to train Israeli engineers and drivers on the Dublin Luas tramline system. But Irish trade union representatives, in response to the IPSC, exerted pressure on Veolia to withdraw from the proposed project.
British charity, War on Want, reported an IPSC spokesperson as saying that: “This is a small but significant victory for the Palestinian right to self-determination. This tramline, like the Apartheid Wall, is an integral component of Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem. You would expect a tramline to be fairly innocuous, but the lesson is no: when you do business with Israel, you invariably do business with the Occupation. Veolia clearly understand that there is a growing awareness of this within Irish society. People are realising that diplomacy has utterly failed to curb Israeli crimes. We must cut ties with Israel in order to force it to end its Occupation,”
The spokesperson further stated, “Veolia’s position, however, is extraordinary. In cancelling this contract, Veolia acknowledge that the Israeli line is illegal and unsupportable. Yet it is they who are building it! The hypocrisy is inexcusable, and their attempts to deny that they bowed to pressure are laughable. Since the Minister for Transport and the Railway Procurement Agency have ultimate control over who runs the Luas, the IPSC now calls on Martin Cullen and the RPA to cancel Veolia’s contract unless they cease building this illegal tramline on occupied Palestinian territory.”
The IPSC concluded by stating that: “If human rights groups and Palestinian solidarity campaigns can ensure that no country will train Israeli engineers and drivers, then perhaps we can help to ‘derail’ this criminal project entirely.”
