Ramallah: The Human Rights and Democracy Media Center “SHAMS” has released its monthly monitor report covering the month of April of 2021 on processes of demolition, confiscation, forced eviction and seizure carried out by “Israel,” the occupying power in the occupied Palestinian territories and targeting Palestinian facilities, whether they are religious, touristic, industrial, commercial, formal, agricultural or particularly those pertaining to housing. The report is titled “Monthly Monitor Report on Demolition Processes and Israeli Violations against Palestinians’ Households and Facilities.” “SHAMS” Center periodically releases specialized monthly, biannual, and annual monitor reports covering these particular kinds of violations in addition to others.
This monitor report’s methodology is based on observed field data conducted by “SHAMS” Center’s staff members and researchers, who monitored and recorded Israeli violations against Palestinian facilities throughout the period 1/4/2021-30/4/2021 in all of the West Bank’s governorates for the purpose of the releasing this monitor report. They later analyzed, disassembled and finalized them in the form of tables all in accordance with a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative indicators.
According to “SHAMS” Center, the occupation authorities targeted throughout the month of April (122) facilities owned by Palestinians either in the form of demolition, confiscation, eviction, or distribution of notices that announce similar practices in the future.
The most prominent violations came in the form of demolitions, which took place in (20)facilities. Out of those, the owners of (2) facilities were forced to self-demolish their facilities on their own as they were threatened with fines and jail-time. Furthermore, the occupation forces confiscated and seized (14) facilities. For example, in the Wadi Al-Rakheem area in the village of Susya to the east of the town of Yatta, they confiscated two trailer parks owned by the citizen Ahmad Nasr Da’ajna under the pretext of their presence in areas C, which are under Israeli control (and yet populated by Palestinians). One of the trailer parks was used as a home whereas the other was a fodder storage unit. In the Silwan neighborhood in Jerusalem, a group of settlers overtook 3 buildings and a 1.5-Dunum piece of land in the Central Neighborhood on behalf of the Ateret Cohanim settler organization. They placed two ready-for-occupation rooms and a new set of stairs on the building and opened up a new entrance in one of them. Two of the buildings are for the Awwad family and each consists of 4 floors. The third building is for the citizen Mustafa Abu Thiab and consists of 4 floors and a foundation.
Regarding demolition notices, the occupation forces notified (88) facilities of future demolitions, confiscations, or forced evictions. The majority of those facilities were housing units, in addition to others that were commercial and agricultural facilities as well as cattle barns/barrack-like buildings.
The occupation forces resumed their policy of harassment against citizens in the Northern Jordan Valley in hopes of driving them out of these areas. On 22/4/2021, an occupation army force invaded the village of Khirbat Ibzaiq in the Northern Jordan Valley and distributed notices to all the families there ordering them to evict their homes for a period of 4 days to make way for military training in their area. On 29/4/2021, another force invaded the Hamsa Al-Fouqa village and distributed notices to all the families there ordering them to evict their homes on Monday (3/5/2021) to make way for military training in their area as well.
The first indicator in the report pertained to the categorization of the targeted facilities (by demolitions, confiscations, evictions, and notices of future evictions) based on their type. This month’s distribution was as follows: households and housing rooms (39), tent housing units (21), trailer park homes (1), retaining walls (2), commercial facilities (2), barns and farmhouses/cattle barracks (42), warehouses (2), agricultural rooms/tin house (2), horse stables (2), agricultural room/chamber (1), mobile trailer parks (1), tents used as a kitchen (1), agricultural canopy (1).
The second indicator pertained to the geographical distribution of the violations. The majority of the targets were in the Jerusalem Governorate where (12) facilities have been demolished. The Hebron Governorate, where (4) facilities have been demolished, came in second place, followed by the Bethlehem Governorate, were (3) facilities have been demolished. (1) facility was demolished in the Qalqilya Governorate.
Regarding notices that notify residents of demolitions, confiscations, evictions, orders to suspend construction activities and other practices that deprive Palestinians of their right to build and invest in their facilities, (88) cases have been recorded in different areas. These notices point to the future concentrated trends of the Israeli violations against Palestinians. The governorates of Tubas and Nablus were the two areas where that largest number of cases was documented.
The third indicator pertained to the targeted population since the violations against Palestinian facilities do not take place in isolation of the population. The number of targeted residents throughout April was (11), including at least (4) children and (1) woman, the suffering of whom which is amplified within the context of such violations
Surveying the pretexts employed by “Israel,” the occupying power, in an attempt to legitimize its crimes, we find that the number of facilities that were demolished under the pretext of unauthorized construction in areas (C) was (19) out of (20) facilities that were demolished overall. The (1) remaining facility was demolished under the pretext of its proximity to a highway accessed by settlers. This facility is a 80-m2 house that used to be owned by the citizen Shaker Nayef Ja’abees and was located (prior to its demolition) in the Ish Ghurab region in the city of Beit Sahour.
Regarding notices and confiscations, all the pretexts used pertained to unauthorized construction in areas (C). (2) Facilities were seized/confiscated under the pretext of lack of authorization, and (12) other facilities were confiscated under the pretext of their ownership by the Ateret Cohanim settler organization.
The last indicator focused on “self-demolition,” which represents a particular type of systemic and concentrated subjugation in which Palestinians are forced to demolish their own homes and facilities under the threat of hefty fines. Throughout April, the number of facilities whose owners were forced to self-demolish was (2) out of (20) that were demolished overall. Both facilities were houses located in the Jabal Al-Mukaber neighborhood in the city of Jerusalem. The first house was owned by the citizen Amjad Muslim Ja’abees and was still under construction. The second was a 90-m2 house owned by the citizen Amer Salim Shqeirat, who lived there with his wife and four children. Both citizens had been notified that they would have to pay extremely hefty fines if the demolition process were to be carried out by the occupation forces themselves.