Ramallah: Human Rights and Democracy Center- SHAMS, issued its monthly documentation report for March 2023 about targeting the Palestinian establishments through demolishing, closure, confiscation, or notification of demolishing, by the Israeli occupation’s authorities. The Israeli authorities target all the types of the Palestinian establishments including religious, commercial, industrial, tourism, educational, agricultural, or official establishments. However, the focus is on the residential establishments within the policy of depriving Palestinians from utilizing their own resources and assets. In this regard, SHAMS Center issues periodical (monthly, annually, and semiannually) documentation reports about the Israeli various forms of violations against Palestinians.
The report is based on the methodology of field documentation through the field workers and team of SHAMS Center in the various governorates of the West Bank. The current report covers the period 1- 31/3/2023. The collected data is processed and analyzed to be presented in the form of tables and graphs that are easily read, against a group of qualitative and quantitative indicators. During this month (March, 2023), the Israeli authorities targeted 102 Palestinian establishments through demolishing, confiscation, or notification with demolishing orders in the nearby future.
The majority of the violations was in the form of demolishing where 29 establishments (including an establishment owned by a woman) were demolished during March. In Um Touba- Sour Baher Village- Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities demolished two residential apartments where one of them is owned by a woman, from Abu Teir Family, under the justification of unlicensed building.
As for the notifications, the Israeli authorities notified the owners of 70 establishments with orders of demolishing or stop construction. These establishments include residential units, residential rooms, agricultural rooms, residential barracks, livestock barracks/ Sheds, a mosque, tombs, and a public garden. One of the notified establishments is owned by a woman where the Jerusalemite Palestinian Ms. Fatima Salim, was notified with a demolishing order of a room in her house in Sheikh Jarrah, which is the area threatened to be confiscated and the given justification is once again unlicensed building.
On a related level, in the Matar area to the East of Jericho, the Israeli authorities confiscated three wooden mobile residential caravans, owned by a Palestinian Jerusalemite.
The first indicator, within the report, addressed the distribution of the targeted establishments based on type where they included: residential units (12), residential rooms (2), residential barracks (4), agricultural rooms (6), commercial establishments (3), livestock barracks/ sheds (1), and official institution (1).
As for the notified establishments, they included: residential units (15), residential tents (5), residential rooms (1), residential barracks (16), agricultural rooms (11) commercial establishments (5), livestock barracks/ sheds (5), agricultural barracks (2), tombs (7), religious establishments (1), public gardens (1), and schools (1).
Regarding the confiscated establishments, they included three mobile wooden residential caravans.
The second indicator addresses the geographical distribution of the targeted establishments where the majority was in Jerusalem and in Bethlehem (8 establishments in each).
As for the notifications, whether for demolishing, confiscation, stop construction, or others, the majority was in Salfeet (26) and then Jercho/ Jordan Valley Governorate ranked in the second position (15 establishments). The notifications indicate the future targeting of the Palestinian establishments; the policy on which Israel (Occupation Power) applies to deprive Palestinians from utilizing their own establishments and assets to lead a normal life.
The confiscated establishments were in Jericho Governorate.
The third indicator is dedicated to report about the targeted population as all the establishments are owned by Palestinians. During March, 91 Palestinians were affected by the Israeli violations including at least 36 children and 14 women.
Concerning the justifications given for targeting the Palestinian by Israel to legalize the crimes against Palestinians, all the targeted establishments with demolishing (29), were justified with unlicensed building in areas classified as (c) areas in the West Bank. Regarding the notified establishments, the Israeli authorities notified the owners of 64 establishments during March, under the justification of unlicensed building in areas classified as (c) while 5 establishments were targeted under the justification of building on an archeological site. One of the notified establishments (residential unit) was within the policy of collective punishment policy applied against Palestinians involved in resisting the Israeli occupation.
The three confiscated establishments were under the justification of unlicensed building in an area classified as (c) Within the policy of demolishing Palestinians houses as part of the collective punishment against Palestinians involved in resisting the occupation to deter others from being involved in the national resistance, the Israeli occupation authorities notified the owners of a house in Nablus with a demolishing order.