23 july 2019
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The Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (Euro-Med) said today that Israel’s demolition of Palestinian residential buildings in Jerusalem and displacement of civilians from their homes constituted a war crime.
On Monday, Euro-Med sent urgent letters to United Nations representatives urging them to take urgent steps to prevent the Israeli authorities demolishing residential buildings in Wadi al-Hummus area of Sur Baher neighborhood in Jerusalem. The United Nations Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories, the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief were the recipients of these letters. The letters stated that the Israeli authorities' displacement of residents from their homes and the placing of explosive materials inside Palestinian buildings constituted a war crime under the Statute of the International Criminal Court. Euro-Med's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Anas al-Jarjawi, said that "Israeli officials should know that arbitrary demolition and displacement aren't time-barred and that they will be brought to justice for these actions." Al-Jarjawi said that it is the duty of the UN to ensure the implementation of international law, specifically the Geneva Conventions. The UN must also |
make it clear to the Israeli officials that if the demolitions and displacement continue, those responsible will be held accountable to judicial authorities outside Israel, he added.
According to Palestinian and Israeli reports, the Israeli authorities demolished about 70 apartments in 10 buildings in the Palestinian Authority controlled neighborhood of East Jerusalem.
The Israeli authorities issued the demolition orders under the pretext that houses were near the Israeli wall that separates Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank.
"The Israel security excuse is not enough to proceed with the demolitions, especially against the buildings built on Palestinian land and under the supervision of the Palestinian National Authority," Euro-Med legal researcher Mohammed Emad said.
Emad stressed the need for urgent action by the UN special rapporteurs and highlighted the urgent need for relief for the dozens of families displaced during the demolitions.
According to Euro-Med, international law, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Fourth Geneva Convention, prohibits an occupying power from demolishing the property of citizens of the occupied territory. International human rights law also guarantees the right to housing and the protection of private property.
The rights organization stressed that housing is a prerequisite for other rights such as the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to physical and psychological health, the right to privacy and the right to family life. Hence, the Israeli authorities, in light of their control over the Palestinian territories, are obliged to respect the right to housing for Palestinian citizens.
At the end of its statement, Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor demanded the United Nations and the Security Council intervene immediately to prevent the Israeli authorities from violating Palestinians' rights in Wadi al-Hummus.
The organization called on the international community to exert all forms of pressure on the Israeli authorities to abide by basic international law. The rights organization also called on Israel to protect the civilian population and their homes from constant assaults by security forces and through the court system.
Euro-Med concluded by warning that the demolitions are one of the most common crimes against the Palestinians, extending as far back as the 1967 demolition of the Mughrabi neighborhood of Jerusalem.
According to Palestinian and Israeli reports, the Israeli authorities demolished about 70 apartments in 10 buildings in the Palestinian Authority controlled neighborhood of East Jerusalem.
The Israeli authorities issued the demolition orders under the pretext that houses were near the Israeli wall that separates Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank.
"The Israel security excuse is not enough to proceed with the demolitions, especially against the buildings built on Palestinian land and under the supervision of the Palestinian National Authority," Euro-Med legal researcher Mohammed Emad said.
Emad stressed the need for urgent action by the UN special rapporteurs and highlighted the urgent need for relief for the dozens of families displaced during the demolitions.
According to Euro-Med, international law, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Fourth Geneva Convention, prohibits an occupying power from demolishing the property of citizens of the occupied territory. International human rights law also guarantees the right to housing and the protection of private property.
The rights organization stressed that housing is a prerequisite for other rights such as the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to physical and psychological health, the right to privacy and the right to family life. Hence, the Israeli authorities, in light of their control over the Palestinian territories, are obliged to respect the right to housing for Palestinian citizens.
At the end of its statement, Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor demanded the United Nations and the Security Council intervene immediately to prevent the Israeli authorities from violating Palestinians' rights in Wadi al-Hummus.
The organization called on the international community to exert all forms of pressure on the Israeli authorities to abide by basic international law. The rights organization also called on Israel to protect the civilian population and their homes from constant assaults by security forces and through the court system.
Euro-Med concluded by warning that the demolitions are one of the most common crimes against the Palestinians, extending as far back as the 1967 demolition of the Mughrabi neighborhood of Jerusalem.
Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) today called in letters to world foreign ministers to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an immediate investigation into what he described as war crimes committed Israeli officials.
He also called for the support of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in implementing her mandate under UN Human Rights Council resolution 31/36 (2016) to issue a database of the companies working and complicit in illegal Israeli settlements and to strive for international protection of the Palestinian people living under Israeli occupation.
This came in identical letters sent by Erekat and addressed to the foreign ministers of the European Union, Russia, China, India, Latin America and the Caribbean, Canada, Australia, Japan and other countries explaining the systematic and illegal measures of the occupying power, including the illegal annexation of Jerusalem since 1967, aimed at abolishing Palestinian existence, creating a majority of Jewish settlers and expanding the colonial settlement project at the expense of Palestinian rights.
He explained the unilateral policies taken by the occupation authority to expel Palestinians from the city, including confiscation of land, resources, identification papers, revocation of residency status, rejection of family reunification, diving land, prohibition of Palestinian construction and other illegal measures. He stressed that the policy of forced displacement, home demolitions, displacement of protected Palestinians are an integral part of this policy, which is flagrantly contrary to the rules of international law.
Erekat briefed the foreign ministers on the serious Israeli escalation in the town of Sur Baher in occupied East Jerusalem and the demolition of at least 10 Palestinian buildings, including some 70 apartments, and the displacement of 24 Palestinians, including 14 children. "The Israeli occupation forces, with the support of the Israeli Supreme Court, have ordered the demolition of these buildings using a security pretext, but the demolitions in Sur Baher are another example of Israel's illegal policies and practices aimed at eliminating the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem and defending the existence of the Israeli occupation.”
He stressed that, despite repeated calls on the international community to intervene to stop these demolitions and the resulting forced displacement and countless Israeli violations against the Palestinian people under occupation, Israel nevertheless continue to escape punishment time and time again.”
He added, "The international community has not only failed to stop the demolitions and forced displacement in Sur Bahir but also failed to hold Israel accountable for its continued violations of international law. Israel's actions are not only serious violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention but are war crimes pursuant to the Rome Statute of the ICC and therefore we urge you to comply with your legal and political obligations and to intervene urgently to stop the committing of internationally recognized crimes in the occupied State of Palestine."
He also called for the support of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in implementing her mandate under UN Human Rights Council resolution 31/36 (2016) to issue a database of the companies working and complicit in illegal Israeli settlements and to strive for international protection of the Palestinian people living under Israeli occupation.
This came in identical letters sent by Erekat and addressed to the foreign ministers of the European Union, Russia, China, India, Latin America and the Caribbean, Canada, Australia, Japan and other countries explaining the systematic and illegal measures of the occupying power, including the illegal annexation of Jerusalem since 1967, aimed at abolishing Palestinian existence, creating a majority of Jewish settlers and expanding the colonial settlement project at the expense of Palestinian rights.
He explained the unilateral policies taken by the occupation authority to expel Palestinians from the city, including confiscation of land, resources, identification papers, revocation of residency status, rejection of family reunification, diving land, prohibition of Palestinian construction and other illegal measures. He stressed that the policy of forced displacement, home demolitions, displacement of protected Palestinians are an integral part of this policy, which is flagrantly contrary to the rules of international law.
Erekat briefed the foreign ministers on the serious Israeli escalation in the town of Sur Baher in occupied East Jerusalem and the demolition of at least 10 Palestinian buildings, including some 70 apartments, and the displacement of 24 Palestinians, including 14 children. "The Israeli occupation forces, with the support of the Israeli Supreme Court, have ordered the demolition of these buildings using a security pretext, but the demolitions in Sur Baher are another example of Israel's illegal policies and practices aimed at eliminating the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem and defending the existence of the Israeli occupation.”
He stressed that, despite repeated calls on the international community to intervene to stop these demolitions and the resulting forced displacement and countless Israeli violations against the Palestinian people under occupation, Israel nevertheless continue to escape punishment time and time again.”
He added, "The international community has not only failed to stop the demolitions and forced displacement in Sur Bahir but also failed to hold Israel accountable for its continued violations of international law. Israel's actions are not only serious violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention but are war crimes pursuant to the Rome Statute of the ICC and therefore we urge you to comply with your legal and political obligations and to intervene urgently to stop the committing of internationally recognized crimes in the occupied State of Palestine."
The demolition of 10 buildings by Israeli forces in the Sur Baher neighborhood in East Jerusalem yesterday, totaling around 70 apartments, is a grave breach of international humanitarian law and sets a dangerous precedent, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said today.
The majority of the structures are located in Areas A and B, which fall under Palestinian civil control, including for planning and building matters, as designated by the Oslo Accords.
“Israel’s security arguments to justify these demolitions sets a dangerous precedent that leaves thousands at heightened risk,” said NRC’s Palestine Country Director, Kate O’Rourke. “The commission of grave breaches of international humanitarian law must be challenged by the international community.”
An Israeli military order issued in 2011 designated a buffer zone of 100 to 300 meters on both sides of the separation barrier in Sur Baher and prohibited construction in the Wadi al-Hummus area of the neighborhood as a security measure. While the number of structures facing similar risk is difficult to estimate, local residents say that roughly 100 additional buildings could be at heightened risk of demolition in Sur Baher alone.
Sur Baher land in Area A, B, and C remain part of the West Bank, but the route of Israel’s separation barrier left them on the Israeli side, preventing the Palestinian Authority from accessing or delivering services to these areas. Nonetheless, the Palestinian Authority still issues building permits to the residents as permitted under the Oslo Accords.
Residents, represented by attorney Saher Ali and the Society of St. Yves, a Jerusalem-based human rights organization and local NRC partner, petitioned the Israeli High Court to request the cancellation of the military order prohibiting construction or, alternatively, a reprieve from demolishing the structures. On 11 June, the court dismissed their petitions.
The developments in Sur Baher come amid renewed momentum to further entrench and tighten Israeli control over key locations across East Jerusalem. Since the beginning of the year, Israeli authorities have demolished 140 Palestinian-owned structures in the city, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Together with an increase in eviction cases, these demolitions point toward an intent to accelerate forcible transfer of Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem and alter the demographic composition of the city.
“Israel’s destruction of property in Sur Baher breaches its obligations under international humanitarian law and other peremptory norms of international law, including the duty to maintain territorial integrity and the prohibition on acquisition of territory by force,” said NRC.
The majority of the structures are located in Areas A and B, which fall under Palestinian civil control, including for planning and building matters, as designated by the Oslo Accords.
“Israel’s security arguments to justify these demolitions sets a dangerous precedent that leaves thousands at heightened risk,” said NRC’s Palestine Country Director, Kate O’Rourke. “The commission of grave breaches of international humanitarian law must be challenged by the international community.”
An Israeli military order issued in 2011 designated a buffer zone of 100 to 300 meters on both sides of the separation barrier in Sur Baher and prohibited construction in the Wadi al-Hummus area of the neighborhood as a security measure. While the number of structures facing similar risk is difficult to estimate, local residents say that roughly 100 additional buildings could be at heightened risk of demolition in Sur Baher alone.
Sur Baher land in Area A, B, and C remain part of the West Bank, but the route of Israel’s separation barrier left them on the Israeli side, preventing the Palestinian Authority from accessing or delivering services to these areas. Nonetheless, the Palestinian Authority still issues building permits to the residents as permitted under the Oslo Accords.
Residents, represented by attorney Saher Ali and the Society of St. Yves, a Jerusalem-based human rights organization and local NRC partner, petitioned the Israeli High Court to request the cancellation of the military order prohibiting construction or, alternatively, a reprieve from demolishing the structures. On 11 June, the court dismissed their petitions.
The developments in Sur Baher come amid renewed momentum to further entrench and tighten Israeli control over key locations across East Jerusalem. Since the beginning of the year, Israeli authorities have demolished 140 Palestinian-owned structures in the city, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Together with an increase in eviction cases, these demolitions point toward an intent to accelerate forcible transfer of Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem and alter the demographic composition of the city.
“Israel’s destruction of property in Sur Baher breaches its obligations under international humanitarian law and other peremptory norms of international law, including the duty to maintain territorial integrity and the prohibition on acquisition of territory by force,” said NRC.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) presidency said it would hold a series of important meetings in the coming days in response to Israel’s mass demolitions in Sur Baher town, east of Occupied Jerusalem.
Spokesman for the presidency Nabil Abu Rudeina told the official news agency that the PA leadership would take during these meetings decisive decisions on the relations with Israel and the agreements signed with it.
In this regard, Saeb Erekat, secretary of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee, told a news conference following an emergency meeting at the PLO headquarters in Ramallah on Monday that the Palestinian leadership decided to put in place mechanisms to cancel all treaties with the Israeli occupation state.
“The government has decided at the behest of president Mahmoud Abbas to take all the necessary procedures to help the affected families in Jerusalem through providing them with housing and full compensation,” Erekat said.
The PLO official called on the International Criminal Court to launch an immediate investigation into Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians.
The Israeli occupation authority started at dawn Monday to carry out widespread demolitions of homes in Wadi Hummus neighborhood of Sur Baher town.
Related: Hezbollah: Israel’s demolition of Palestine homes amount to war crime
Spokesman for the presidency Nabil Abu Rudeina told the official news agency that the PA leadership would take during these meetings decisive decisions on the relations with Israel and the agreements signed with it.
In this regard, Saeb Erekat, secretary of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee, told a news conference following an emergency meeting at the PLO headquarters in Ramallah on Monday that the Palestinian leadership decided to put in place mechanisms to cancel all treaties with the Israeli occupation state.
“The government has decided at the behest of president Mahmoud Abbas to take all the necessary procedures to help the affected families in Jerusalem through providing them with housing and full compensation,” Erekat said.
The PLO official called on the International Criminal Court to launch an immediate investigation into Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians.
The Israeli occupation authority started at dawn Monday to carry out widespread demolitions of homes in Wadi Hummus neighborhood of Sur Baher town.
Related: Hezbollah: Israel’s demolition of Palestine homes amount to war crime
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Qatar’s foreign ministry has strongly denounced the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) for carrying out mass demolitions in Sur Baher town, east of Jerusalem, describing the measure as “an assault on the Palestinian people’s historic rights” and “a crime against humanity.”
In a statement on Monday, the foreign ministry also said that the demolitions in Sur Baher reflected Israel’s contempt for international laws and resolutions. The ministry stressed the need for urgent international intervention to protect the Palestinian people and compel Israel to stop its demolition policy. Its statement reiterated Qatar’s firm and unwavering position in support of |
the steadfastness of the Palestinian people, their national cause and their aspiration for the establishment of their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.
Video: Israeli soldiers cheer and celebrate the demolition
Video: Israeli soldiers cheer and celebrate the demolition
21 july 2019
A picture from the Palestinian village of Beit Sahur in the occupied West Bank shows Palestinian buildings, which have been issued demolition notices, in the Sur Baher neighborhood of East Jerusalem al-Quds on July 11, 2019
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has called upon the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch an investigation into the Israeli regime’s plans for mass demolitions in a neighborhood on the southeastern outskirts of the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds.
The ministry, in a statement released on Sunday, said The Hague-based tribunal should launch an official investigation into the “house demolition crimes.”
The statement also condemned the ruling of the Supreme Court of Israel against an appeal submitted by the Palestinian residents of Sur Baher, who are facing demolition of their homes and subsequent displacement.
The Israeli high court's decision “proves that the Israeli judiciary is part of the Israeli colonial mindset and has nothing to do with law, but provides cover and protection to the occupier's crimes and violations,” the ministry pointed out.
Also on Sunday, Jamie McGoldrick, Humanitarian Coordinator of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Gwyn Lewis, Director of West Bank Operations for UNRWA, and James Heenan, Head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the occupied Palestinian territory, urged Israeli authorities to halt plans for the demolition of several homes in Sur Baher.
“Seventeen Palestinians, including nine Palestine refugees, face the risk of displacement, and over 350 others risk massive property loss, due to the Israeli authorities’ intention to demolish 10 buildings, including around 70 apartments, due to their proximity to the West Bank barrier,” the officials said in a joint statement.
Demolitions and forced evictions, the UN officials said, are “some of the multiple pressures generating a risk of forcible transfer for many Palestinians in the West Bank. Residents of East Jerusalem (al-Quds) and adjacent areas have been particularly affected, with a significant rise in demolitions there in 2019.”
The statement added, “For many refugees in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem (al-Quds), displacement is both a living memory and an imminent risk. Displacement, particularly for the most vulnerable, is traumatic and has lasting consequences.”
“We join others in the international community in calling on Israel to halt plans to demolish these and other structures and to implement fair planning policies that allow Palestinian residents of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem (al-Quds), the ability to meet their housing and development needs, in line with its obligations as an occupying power,” it highlighted.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has called upon the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch an investigation into the Israeli regime’s plans for mass demolitions in a neighborhood on the southeastern outskirts of the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds.
The ministry, in a statement released on Sunday, said The Hague-based tribunal should launch an official investigation into the “house demolition crimes.”
The statement also condemned the ruling of the Supreme Court of Israel against an appeal submitted by the Palestinian residents of Sur Baher, who are facing demolition of their homes and subsequent displacement.
The Israeli high court's decision “proves that the Israeli judiciary is part of the Israeli colonial mindset and has nothing to do with law, but provides cover and protection to the occupier's crimes and violations,” the ministry pointed out.
Also on Sunday, Jamie McGoldrick, Humanitarian Coordinator of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Gwyn Lewis, Director of West Bank Operations for UNRWA, and James Heenan, Head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the occupied Palestinian territory, urged Israeli authorities to halt plans for the demolition of several homes in Sur Baher.
“Seventeen Palestinians, including nine Palestine refugees, face the risk of displacement, and over 350 others risk massive property loss, due to the Israeli authorities’ intention to demolish 10 buildings, including around 70 apartments, due to their proximity to the West Bank barrier,” the officials said in a joint statement.
Demolitions and forced evictions, the UN officials said, are “some of the multiple pressures generating a risk of forcible transfer for many Palestinians in the West Bank. Residents of East Jerusalem (al-Quds) and adjacent areas have been particularly affected, with a significant rise in demolitions there in 2019.”
The statement added, “For many refugees in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem (al-Quds), displacement is both a living memory and an imminent risk. Displacement, particularly for the most vulnerable, is traumatic and has lasting consequences.”
“We join others in the international community in calling on Israel to halt plans to demolish these and other structures and to implement fair planning policies that allow Palestinian residents of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem (al-Quds), the ability to meet their housing and development needs, in line with its obligations as an occupying power,” it highlighted.
17 july 2019
The Illegal Settlement of Gilo in East Jerusalem.
By: Madeeha Araj/ NBPRS/
The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements said in his latest weekly report , stated in the fifteen anniversary of the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice -ICJ in the Hague on July 9th, 2004 regarding the Israeli separation wall in which the Court affirmed that the Wall is not a security one, and contradicts the International Law, and called on Israel to stop building and to demolish the built parts, and to redress the damage done to citizens, institutions, and public and private administrations, including residents in and around East Jerusalem, but the opinion “fatwa” remained stuck in the absence of the international’s will to oblige the occupying state to ban building.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 85% of the route passes through the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, comprising 9.4% of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Latrun Valley. The planned length of the route is 712 km i.e double the borders of the 1967, (323 km), and more than 150 Palestinian communities are living there, and 65 of the settlements.
Within a different context, the PM Netanyahu declared at the celebration marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the so-called “Samaria Regional Council” to uproot any settlement in the “Land of Israel” under his leadership, and will not repeat the mistakes of the past referring to the Ariel Sharon’s so-called unilateral disengagement plan and the dismantling of settlements in the Gaza Strip in 2005.
At the same time, the occupation authorities continue the policy of ethnic cleansing, especially in Jerusalem, and they handed over 16 demolition orders at the Wadi-Homs Neighborhood otherwise, they will be fined, despite the fact that they located in area A. However, the Israeli occupation forces claim that the demolition is for security reasons.
The construction is prohibited for 250 meters in the vicinity of the racist annexation wall that Israel began after 2002. In 2005, the Israeli occupation authorities began to build a separation wall in the areas of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The laws of the occupation require that houses be removed 250 meters from each side of the apartheid wall. In the same context, the Israeli occupation authorities have been informed of the demolition of houses in the Wadi Qaddum neighborhood of Silwan.
On the other hand, the “pay the price” terrorists carried out 57 terrorist attacks in 2016. The number of such attacks increased to 79 in 2017 and 205 in 2018. The Israeli army said that the attacks against the Palestinians include the burning of agricultural fields and the destruction of property, and approved the construction of 216 new settlement units in the Gilo settlement south of occupied Jerusalem.
The move coincides with a marked increase in the construction of settlements in Jerusalem, which is witnessing a rise in the pace of demolition of Palestinian homes. This comes within the framework of the approval of the Municipality of the occupation to build two towers with an 18-storey high in each of the mentioned settlement, which will accommodate 40,000 population.
The decision came amid a marked increase in settlement construction in the city of East Jerusalem. At the end of last June, Israeli authorities approved tenders for the construction of 460 housing units in the Pisgat Ze’ev settlement and 345 units in the Ramot settlement, north of occupied Jerusalem.
The Israeli occupation forces have begun to develop and build a network of huge settlement roads south of occupied Jerusalem to facilitate the movement of settlers and link the settlement blocs to each other. Some. Settlers began construction of 105 graves.
By: Madeeha Araj/ NBPRS/
The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements said in his latest weekly report , stated in the fifteen anniversary of the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice -ICJ in the Hague on July 9th, 2004 regarding the Israeli separation wall in which the Court affirmed that the Wall is not a security one, and contradicts the International Law, and called on Israel to stop building and to demolish the built parts, and to redress the damage done to citizens, institutions, and public and private administrations, including residents in and around East Jerusalem, but the opinion “fatwa” remained stuck in the absence of the international’s will to oblige the occupying state to ban building.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 85% of the route passes through the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, comprising 9.4% of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Latrun Valley. The planned length of the route is 712 km i.e double the borders of the 1967, (323 km), and more than 150 Palestinian communities are living there, and 65 of the settlements.
Within a different context, the PM Netanyahu declared at the celebration marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the so-called “Samaria Regional Council” to uproot any settlement in the “Land of Israel” under his leadership, and will not repeat the mistakes of the past referring to the Ariel Sharon’s so-called unilateral disengagement plan and the dismantling of settlements in the Gaza Strip in 2005.
At the same time, the occupation authorities continue the policy of ethnic cleansing, especially in Jerusalem, and they handed over 16 demolition orders at the Wadi-Homs Neighborhood otherwise, they will be fined, despite the fact that they located in area A. However, the Israeli occupation forces claim that the demolition is for security reasons.
The construction is prohibited for 250 meters in the vicinity of the racist annexation wall that Israel began after 2002. In 2005, the Israeli occupation authorities began to build a separation wall in the areas of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The laws of the occupation require that houses be removed 250 meters from each side of the apartheid wall. In the same context, the Israeli occupation authorities have been informed of the demolition of houses in the Wadi Qaddum neighborhood of Silwan.
On the other hand, the “pay the price” terrorists carried out 57 terrorist attacks in 2016. The number of such attacks increased to 79 in 2017 and 205 in 2018. The Israeli army said that the attacks against the Palestinians include the burning of agricultural fields and the destruction of property, and approved the construction of 216 new settlement units in the Gilo settlement south of occupied Jerusalem.
The move coincides with a marked increase in the construction of settlements in Jerusalem, which is witnessing a rise in the pace of demolition of Palestinian homes. This comes within the framework of the approval of the Municipality of the occupation to build two towers with an 18-storey high in each of the mentioned settlement, which will accommodate 40,000 population.
The decision came amid a marked increase in settlement construction in the city of East Jerusalem. At the end of last June, Israeli authorities approved tenders for the construction of 460 housing units in the Pisgat Ze’ev settlement and 345 units in the Ramot settlement, north of occupied Jerusalem.
The Israeli occupation forces have begun to develop and build a network of huge settlement roads south of occupied Jerusalem to facilitate the movement of settlers and link the settlement blocs to each other. Some. Settlers began construction of 105 graves.
15 july 2019
Bassam Abu Obaid with his daughter Ibtisam
Nasser al-Buhaisi had just graduated from college.
The 22-year-old obtained a degree in religious law from Gaza’s Al-Azhar University during June. One day later, he died.
Al-Buhaisi had been paralyzed due to a road accident in 2006. He had studied hard despite being in intensive care.
His determination made me reflect on the situation facing people with disabilities in Gaza. The situation is never easy but becomes far more difficult when Israel attacks vital services – as it did a few months ago.
In the early evening of 5 May, Israel bombed the Zoroub building in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city. The General Union of Disabled Palestinians was based on one floor of the building.
Approximately 50 people were told to evacuate that floor before the bombing occurred.
Bassam Abu Obaid was the last one from the union to quit the building. “I was finishing off some woodwork and didn’t want to leave,” he said.
Soon after he left, the building was attacked by Israel, using guided bombs made by the Chicago firm Boeing. Although all the people using the services run by the General Union of Disabled Palestinians had made it out safely, three others were killed in the building.
“Killed twice”
The destruction made Abu Obaid recall last year when an Israeli sniper shot him as he took part in Gaza’s Great March of Return.
“It felt like I had been killed twice,” he said. “I had a life there [in the Zoroub building].”
Abu Obaid had one of his legs amputated from the knee down as a result of the injury inflicted on him by an Israeli sniper. A doctor told him that Israel had used an exploding bullet and “committed a war crime,” he said.
Making matters worse, Abu Obaid was denied permission to travel for treatment in Israel. As an alternative, he went to Egypt, where the amputation was carried out.
When he returned to Gaza, a friend suggested that he should join the General Union of Disabled Palestinians. Soon, Abu Obaid was an active member, giving classes in artistic woodworking.
“Being a member of the union gave me an opportunity to overcome what Israel destroyed inside me,” he said. “It helped me physically and psychologically. But unfortunately, that didn’t last long. Now, it’s all gone.”
The union provided services for more than 1,000 people with disabilities in Rafah. They included around 80 people who were injured during the Great March of Return, 24 of whom had undergone amputations.
Yasmin Abed, head of the union’s office in Rafah, gave the instructions to leave. “If we were a little bit late in evacuating the building, a real massacre was going to take place,” she said. “I heard from neighbors that the Israelis fired four rockets at the buildings – without any warning.”
The Zoroub building was bombed in an Israeli offensive against various parts of Gaza. Twenty-five Palestinians were killed during that offensive, which lasted more than 48 hours.
Israel has claimed that the offensive was aimed at armed groups. In the past, Islamic Jihad ran offices in the Zoroub building. Yet an investigation by B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, found that the offices had been vacated nine months earlier.
A probe by Human Rights Watch concluded there was no evidence of the building being used by armed groups around the time of Israel’s attack.
The fact that Israel had caused immense damage to a charity working for people with disabilities was omitted from most, if not all, reports by mainstream media on the May offensive.
“Helpless again”
The attack on the Zoroub building had profound personal consequences for Yasmin Abed. She had only been appointed the head of the union in Rafah six months earlier.
Since taking up that position, she had drafted and begun implementing plans to benefit people with disabilities through increased psychological support and by encouraging their involvement in small businesses.
Abed was so shocked after the attack that she stayed indoors for the next three days. When she felt strong enough to venture towards her old offices, she was taken aback by how much equipment was destroyed.
She estimates that the damage inflicted on the union came to $25,000.
Abed is determined to resume the union’s work in Rafah. At the moment, she is looking for an office from where she and colleagues can work.
Muntasir Mahmoud was paralyzed after falling from the roof of his home east of Rafah four years ago.
He went into a deep depression when he realized he could no longer walk. During 2016, some of his friends convinced him to join the union, where he received counseling.
“My life changed in that union,” he said. “I had even started to give psychological support to other people. I have no idea how to live now without the union. Here I am going back to bed in my dark room. I am feeling helpless again.”
Sarah Algherbawi is a freelance writer and translator from Gaza.
Nasser al-Buhaisi had just graduated from college.
The 22-year-old obtained a degree in religious law from Gaza’s Al-Azhar University during June. One day later, he died.
Al-Buhaisi had been paralyzed due to a road accident in 2006. He had studied hard despite being in intensive care.
His determination made me reflect on the situation facing people with disabilities in Gaza. The situation is never easy but becomes far more difficult when Israel attacks vital services – as it did a few months ago.
In the early evening of 5 May, Israel bombed the Zoroub building in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city. The General Union of Disabled Palestinians was based on one floor of the building.
Approximately 50 people were told to evacuate that floor before the bombing occurred.
Bassam Abu Obaid was the last one from the union to quit the building. “I was finishing off some woodwork and didn’t want to leave,” he said.
Soon after he left, the building was attacked by Israel, using guided bombs made by the Chicago firm Boeing. Although all the people using the services run by the General Union of Disabled Palestinians had made it out safely, three others were killed in the building.
“Killed twice”
The destruction made Abu Obaid recall last year when an Israeli sniper shot him as he took part in Gaza’s Great March of Return.
“It felt like I had been killed twice,” he said. “I had a life there [in the Zoroub building].”
Abu Obaid had one of his legs amputated from the knee down as a result of the injury inflicted on him by an Israeli sniper. A doctor told him that Israel had used an exploding bullet and “committed a war crime,” he said.
Making matters worse, Abu Obaid was denied permission to travel for treatment in Israel. As an alternative, he went to Egypt, where the amputation was carried out.
When he returned to Gaza, a friend suggested that he should join the General Union of Disabled Palestinians. Soon, Abu Obaid was an active member, giving classes in artistic woodworking.
“Being a member of the union gave me an opportunity to overcome what Israel destroyed inside me,” he said. “It helped me physically and psychologically. But unfortunately, that didn’t last long. Now, it’s all gone.”
The union provided services for more than 1,000 people with disabilities in Rafah. They included around 80 people who were injured during the Great March of Return, 24 of whom had undergone amputations.
Yasmin Abed, head of the union’s office in Rafah, gave the instructions to leave. “If we were a little bit late in evacuating the building, a real massacre was going to take place,” she said. “I heard from neighbors that the Israelis fired four rockets at the buildings – without any warning.”
The Zoroub building was bombed in an Israeli offensive against various parts of Gaza. Twenty-five Palestinians were killed during that offensive, which lasted more than 48 hours.
Israel has claimed that the offensive was aimed at armed groups. In the past, Islamic Jihad ran offices in the Zoroub building. Yet an investigation by B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, found that the offices had been vacated nine months earlier.
A probe by Human Rights Watch concluded there was no evidence of the building being used by armed groups around the time of Israel’s attack.
The fact that Israel had caused immense damage to a charity working for people with disabilities was omitted from most, if not all, reports by mainstream media on the May offensive.
“Helpless again”
The attack on the Zoroub building had profound personal consequences for Yasmin Abed. She had only been appointed the head of the union in Rafah six months earlier.
Since taking up that position, she had drafted and begun implementing plans to benefit people with disabilities through increased psychological support and by encouraging their involvement in small businesses.
Abed was so shocked after the attack that she stayed indoors for the next three days. When she felt strong enough to venture towards her old offices, she was taken aback by how much equipment was destroyed.
She estimates that the damage inflicted on the union came to $25,000.
Abed is determined to resume the union’s work in Rafah. At the moment, she is looking for an office from where she and colleagues can work.
Muntasir Mahmoud was paralyzed after falling from the roof of his home east of Rafah four years ago.
He went into a deep depression when he realized he could no longer walk. During 2016, some of his friends convinced him to join the union, where he received counseling.
“My life changed in that union,” he said. “I had even started to give psychological support to other people. I have no idea how to live now without the union. Here I am going back to bed in my dark room. I am feeling helpless again.”
Sarah Algherbawi is a freelance writer and translator from Gaza.
