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by IMEMC News
Dec 31, 2022

On Saturday, the illegal Israeli occupation authorities forced a Palestinian family to demolish its home in the Wadi Al-Jouz area in the occupied capital, Jerusalem, in the West Bank.

Mustafa Aramin said that, about a year earlier, he and his brother received a demolition order for their two-story home for being built without a permit.

He added that the family filed appeals with Israeli courts to save their property, but their applications were denied.

“Last week, the authorities informed us that we either demolish our property by this coming Sunday or face fines that exceed 90.000 shekels,” Mustafa stated, “We had no other option but to demolish our property to avoid the extra fines and fees we would face, and now nine family members are homeless.”

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said that, in the year 2022, the Israeli occupation demolished 1058 buildings, including 353 homes and 705 various types of structures, including 93 incidents where the Palestinians were forced to demolish their homes, including 88 in Jerusalem.

It added that %29 of the demolition was in Jerusalem, including 128 homes and 176 various types of structures.

The Israeli home demolition policy is a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 for the Protection of civilian persons in times of war and article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, issued in 1948.

Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states, “No protected person may be punished for an offense they have not personally committed. Collective penalties and, likewise, all measures of intimidation or terrorism are prohibited. Pillage is prohibited. Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited.”

This happens while Israel continues to build and expand its illegal, segregated colonies in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, in direct violation of International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention, and various United Nations and Security Council resolutions.

Israel’s colonies in the occupied West Bank, including those in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention, and various United Nations and Security Council resolutions. They also constitute war crimes under International Law.

Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” It also prohibits the “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory.”

On its webpage, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) stated that in 2021, ICAHD analysis revealed that 937 structures were demolished and 1,119 people displaced in the OPT, with a further 12,658 people directly affected. In addition, 3004 structures were demolished in the Negev/Naqab – 431 homes and 2553 agriculture and livelihood structures.

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