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 December 2021 against Palestinian facilities, whether religious, tourist, commercial, educational, official, agricultural or others, focusing on residential facilities. It’s worth mentioning that the center periodically issues related monitoring reports on a 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 1/12/2021-31/12/2021, 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 (135) facilities during October 2021, whether by demolition or by notifications of future demolition.
The most prominent violations are the demolitions of (104) facilities, (8) of which the owners were forced to self-demolish, under threat of fines and imprisonment. While the occupation forces confiscated (4) facilities, the occupation forces confiscated 3 tents owned by Arafat Mahmoud Ahmed Nasasra in the Al-Sawwana area of Beit Furik town in Nablus and forced him to leave the area, and the occupation forces confiscated a “caravan” in the northeastern area of Bruqin town West of Salfit, owned by Ahmed Assi from the town of Qarawat Bani Hassan.
In terms of notifications, the occupation forces have notified (27) facilities of demolition, suspension of work, or eviction, most of which are residential, in addition to animal pens and agricultural facilities, a mosque dome, and a cow farm.
The first indicator focused on the distribution of facilities that were targeted for demolition, confiscation, or notifications according to their type, which included this month: houses (41) facilities, dwelling rooms (4), tent dwellings (6) facilities, barracks dwellings (11) facilities, Agricultural rooms (16) facilities, wells, ponds, and water lines (3) facilities, commercial facilities (11) facilities, barns, and livestock sheds (5) facilities, retaining walls and fences (2), mobile caravans (1), cow farm (1), Agricultural parks (30), a gas station (1), a religious facility (1), a sports club (1), gardens and parks (1).
While the second indicator focused on the distribution of the demolished facilities according to the region of the targeting, the peak of the targeting was in the Tubas governorate (44) facilities, followed by the Jerusalem governorate (31) facilities, and then the Hebron governorate (12) facilities.
Reviewing notifications, the number of notifications reached (27) notifications in different regions. Notifications indicate trends in reviews centered around enthusiastic targeting at the top.
The third indicator focused on the target population since these operations targeting Palestinian facilities do not take place in isolated areas. The number of affected populations during December reached (168) people at least, including (32) children, and (7) women, according to the information available.
As for the arguments used by the Israeli Occupation, in its attempt to legitimize the crime – in December, all the facilities that were demolished by the occupying forces were under the pretext of building without a permit in Area C, a total of (104).
19 out of (27) establishments were notified, under the pretext of non-licensing and being located in areas (c). and (2) houses under the pretext of establishing schools on them. The occupation authorities in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem handed a decision to evict two of the houses owned by Mahmoud Salhia and to seize the 6-donum plot of land on which the two houses were built, and gave him a deadline until the 25th. 01. 2022, on the pretext of establishing schools on it, and (1) house under the pretext of its ownership by settlement associations. The Deputy Mayor of the occupation in Jerusalem, Arieh King, accompanied by several settlers, handed the citizen Fatima Salem a decision from the Israeli Procedures Department, to vacate her existing house in the western part From the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, north of the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem, on the pretext that it is owned by the settlement associations. She lives in the house with her three sons and their families totaling 10 people, as well as (5) other houses as a collective punishment, the home of Ahmed Muhammad Yassin Jaradat, the father of the two prisoners, Ghaith and Omar, whom the occupation accuses of shooting at a settler on Jenin Street, Nablus, and the house of their uncle, the captive Muhammad Youssef Jaradat, and the home of the prisoner Ibrahim Musa Tahaineh, and the prisoner Mahmoud Ghaleb Jaradat. The homes threatened with demolition shelter more than 30 civilians. And the occupation forces informed the family of the martyr Fadi Abu Shkhaydam, from the Shuafat refugee camp in Jerusalem, that their house will be demolished. On November 21, Abu Shekhadem carried out a shooting attack in the Old City, killing a settler and wounding others. While confiscated facilities reached (4), under the pretext of unlicensed building.
The last indicator reviewed the “self-demolition” operations and continued oppression by forcing the Palestinians themselves to demolish their facilities, especially their homes, under the threat of heavy fines. During December, the number of facilities that the occupation authorities forced their owners to self-demolish was (8) facilities out of (104) facilities, all of them are houses in the Jerusalem governorate, including 4 houses in Silwan, two houses in Jabal Mukaber, a house in Beit Hanina, and a house in Sur Baher, all of which were demolished on the pretext of not having a permit.
The occupation authorities in the Jabal Mukaber neighborhood in Jerusalem forced the citizen Ammar Abu Hussein to personally demolish part of his house (a room and its utilities attached to the house), after notifying him earlier, to avoid paying heavy fines in the event of the demolition. The occupation authorities in the neighborhood of Jabal Mukaber in Jerusalem, the citizen Muhammad Jaabis, to personally demolish his 60-square-meter house, to avoid paying heavy fines if the occupation authorities demolish the house, where his father lived, and then moved to it 10 years ago, to live in it with his wife and four children. The occupation authorities in the Wadi Hummus area in the village of Sur Baher forced the citizen Muhammad Amira to personally demolish his 165-square-meter house, after notifying him earlier, to avoid paying heavy fines if the occupation authorities carry out the demolition. Silwan neighborhood in Jerusalem, the citizen Baha Zaitoun, himself, demolished the second floor of his family’s house, after I notified him earlier, to avoid paying heavy fines in case the occupation authorities carry out the demolition process, and he lives there with his wife and four children, and the occupation forces forced Nassar’s family They demolished 3 houses in Wadi Qaddoum neighborhood in Silwan town, south of the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem, owned by Munther Nassar, his son Muhammad and his brother Jawad. He lives in his house with his wife, elderly mother, and six children, his son Muhammad lives with his wife and three children, and his brother Jawad lives with his wife and four children. The occupation authorities in the town of Beit Hanina forced Moaz Al-Rajabi to personally demolish his 55-square-meter house, housing 7 people, including five children, after notifying him earlier, to avoid paying heavy fines if the occupation authorities carry out the demolition process, on the pretext of unlicensed building.
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