Ramallah: Human Rights and Democracy Center “SHAMS” has issued its monthly observatory report on demolitions, notifications of demolitions, confiscations, and other violations that took place in October 2021 against Palestinian facilities, whether religious, tourist, commercial, educational, official, agricultural or others, focusing on residential facilities. Its worth mentioning that the center periodically issues related monitoring reports on monthly, semi-annual, and annual basis, to document different kinds of violations. The reports were based on field monitoring and observations held by the center’s staff, who observed the violations against Palestinian facilities during the period 1/10/2021-31/10/2021, observations took place in all the governorates of the West-Bank, after data was collected, it was compared, and analyzed to come out as tables and diagrams, in accordance with indicators quantitative and qualitative map. The Israeli Occupation had targeted (186) facilities during October 2021, whether by demolition, or by notifications of future demolition.
Most prominent violations were demolitions with a number of (58) demolitions in October only, (7) of which their owners were forced to self-demolish them, under threats of fines or imprisonment, while on the other hand, the Israeli Occupation Forces had confiscated (13) facilities, (5) residential tents , and (2) tents used as kitchens and a livestock tent, and (2) bathrooms, in the Bedouin community to the east of Al-Mughayyer villages in Ramallah, They are owned by citizens Ahmed Muhammad Habshan al-Kaabneh, Suleiman Ahmad Muhammad al-Kaabneh, Ammar Ahmad Muhammad al-Kaabneh, Omar Ahmad Muhammad al-Kaabneh, Suleiman Ibrahim Habshan Abu Rashid al-Kaabneh, Ali Ibrahim Habshan Abu Rashid al-Kaabneh, and Muhammad Yassin Abu Kharbish, and confiscated a residential apartment in Wadi al-Rababa neighborhood in Silwan in In Jerusalem, an apartment owned by Nidal Farroukh was confiscated in the Ghaziwa area, near the “Susiya” settlement, which is built east of Yatta, and a mobile agricultural house (a caravan) owned by Ahmed Issa Rabei Al-Yateem.
As for the notifications, the occupation forces have notified (115) structures of demolition or halting work, most of which are residential, in addition to animal barns and agricultural rooms.
As for Notification of demolition, there were (115) notifications of demolitions or halting works, most of were residential buildings. The first indicator of the distribution of the facilities focuses on categorizing the facilities based on their type or usage: residential houses (98), Residential tents (6), residential barracks (6), residential caravans (1), residential rooms (2), Agricultural Rooms (13), Wells and ponds (3) , commercial facilities (33) , Barns and Livestock Barracks (5), tents used as kitchens (2), retaining walls (2) , Mobile Caravans (1) , Agricultural Caravans (1), Sewage Rooms (4), Agricultural Barracks (1), Gas stations, (1), Medical facility (1), Cemetery (2), Car wash(2), A woman’s Center, Class Room, and a solidarity tent.
While for the second indicator, it focusses on the geographical location of the targeted facilities, most violations took place in Jerusalem (45) violations, with Hebron and Bethlehem coming next with (4) violations each.
Reviewing notifications whether by demolition, confiscation, or halting works, or any other violations, that prevent the Palestinians from practicing their rights of building or investing their facilities, the number of notifications issued in October has reached (115) notification in different locations, the indicators suggest the orientations of the upcoming targeting of the Israeli Occupations, and it gives a clear indictor of the future policies of the violations.
The third indicator focused on the targeted populations, since their violations are targeting Palestinian owned-facilities, they are not carried out in an isolated area, hence, many Palestinian population and communities are harmed and affected by these violations and practices, the number of the affected population has reached (53) children, and (6) women, based on the available information. 95) people, inducing
As for the pretexts used by the Israeli Occupation in its attempt to legitimize the crime – in the month of October, the facilities that were demolished by the occupying forces under the pretext of building without a permit in areas (C) were (56) out of (58), and (2) Established under the pretext of building a settlement project, the occupation forces razed graves in the Yusufiya cemetery located near Bab Al-Asbat (one of the doors leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque) in the Old City of Jerusalem, in preparation for turning it into a biblical garden. Then, the Israeli occupation municipality bulldozers continued with the natural and parks authority, bulldozing and excavation work in the cemetery in the following week and proceeded to erect an iron wall around it, and placed soil in large quantities inside it to hide its features, according to what the Israeli court allowed them, in its previous decision.
As for the notifications, all of the (115) notifications were under the pretext that they were not licensed and were located in areas (c). And all the (13) establishments that were seized and confiscated under the pretext of non-licensing.
Self-demolition represents a particular type of systemic and concentrated subjugation. Palestinian residents of Jerusalem are often forced to demolish their own homes and facilities under the threat of hefty fines. If they refuse to do so, they are over-charged with the costs of the demolition of their own facilities. This practice noticeably displays the alignment of all the components of the racist Israeli establishment: courts, local bodies, the police and army forces. It also is a crime the victims of which are forced into committing against themselves.
During the month of October, the number of facilities that the occupation authorities forced their owners to self-demolish reached (7) out of (58) facilities, all of them in the Jerusalem governorate. Wadi al-Joz, a house in the town of Beit Hanina, a house in al-Tur neighborhood, and a house in Sur Baher were all demolished on the pretext of lack of building permit.
The occupation authorities in Al-Thawri neighborhood in Jerusalem forced the citizen, Muhammad Yaqoub Ismail Yaghmour, to demolish part of his house, which is a 50 sqm living room, after notifying him earlier, in order to avoid paying heavy fines in the event of the demolition by the occupation authorities. Under the pretext of non-licensing.
The occupation authorities in the village of Sur Baher forced the citizen, Muhammad Ahmed Al-Khatib, to personally demolish his 80 sqm (under construction), after notifying him earlier, in order to avoid paying heavy fines in the event that the occupation authorities carry out the demolition, on the pretext of not having a license.
The occupation authorities in the Al-Tur neighborhood in Jerusalem forced the citizen Salman Abu Sbeitan to personally demolish his house, after notifying him earlier, in order to avoid paying heavy fines in the event that the occupation authorities carried out the demolition, on the pretext of not having a permit, and he was supposed to live in it with his wife and child.
The occupation authorities in Wadi al-Joz neighborhood in Jerusalem forced the two brothers, Hamza and Muhammad Bazbet, to demolish an additional 60 sqm living room in their house, after notifying them earlier, in order to avoid paying heavy fines in the event of the demolition. It forced the citizen, Nader Jaber, to demolish his 40-year-old home, after notifying him of its demolition and forcing him to pay a heavy fine if he did not demolish it himself. They forced the citizen, Ismail Aramin, to personally demolish his house, after notifying him earlier, in order to avoid paying heavy fines in the event that the occupation authorities carried out the demolition, in the pretext of unlicensed building.