Ramallah: the Human rights and Democracy Media Center “SHAMS” condemned the policy of racism and oppression of “Israel”, occupying Power towards Palestinians, victims of the demolition crime, by intensifying the crime and raising its level to the point of forcing the Palestinians to take part in the demolition of their facilities. Under threat of exorbitant fines on them and making them responsible for the double cost of demolition, if they did not accept by the occupation municipalities, in what is known as “self-demolition.”
“SHAMS” Centerunderlined that this crime, in particular, of demolition crimes is increasing and rising in an unprecedented, dangerous way, in this year which the center called “the year of bulldozers”. The center monitored the demolition of (35) facilities during the first half of this year, (5) facilities in July, while (24) facilities were demolished only in August, thus representing alarming rates. As well, (10) facilities have been demolished since the beginning of the month “September”, with a total of (74) demolished facilities, most of which are houses in addition to shops and warehouses, whose Palestinian residents have been forced to self-demolish.
“SHAMS” Center stressed that this crime takes the form of central targeting, as the overwhelming majority of demolitions are carried out in the city of Jerusalem, where the occupation authorities have the greatest influence and the most intense targeting is in the context of the “deal of the century” and “annexation plans”. While the pace of demolition’s implementation increases the closer the area is to The Temple Mount (the Haram esh-Sharif and the Al Aqsa Compound), confirming the colonial racist policy of Judaization.
“SHAMS” Center also expressed its full solidarity with victims, mainly in the town of Silwan who declared their rejection of this policy, so that many Jerusalemites from different areas follow them. While we are aware of how difficult it is to imagine the amount and kind of oppression that Palestinian citizens experience when they are forced to self-demolish their homes and facilities, and pressures on them, under a complex context in which the tools of the colonial system: the courts, local authorities, the occupying army, and police, persist in forcing the Palestinian victims of crimes to participate in the execution of the crime against themselves and to remove the place that harbors and makes them feel safe with their hands, in the consolidation of the feelings and actions of oppression.
“SHAMS” Center also called on the international community to assume its responsibilities and to act immediately to provide protection for Palestinian civilians in general, to people specifically threatened, and to implement the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons and to stop the policy of silence and indifference that suggests to the occupying power that it has absolute immunity in Committing crimes. This has gradually made the Palestinians lose their confidence in the international system, its legislation, and its tools.