Description

from UN_DWG oPT

During the early morning hours of Tuesday, 5 February, Israeli authorities demolished two Palestinian-owned buildings in Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem, forcibly displacing 33 Palestinians, including 17 children of different ages. This included:
The demolition of a two-storey apartment building, containing 4 apartments (around 220m2 each), belonging to an extended Palestinian family of 27 people, including 13 children. All of the residents were forcibly displaced. In addition, much of their furniture and personal belongings were destroyed, as the families report having been given only a few minutes to leave the building. According to initial information, the building was built in 2004 on privately owned land, in an area that is zoned for residential construction. The family received a demolition order in 2004 and has since been engaged in legal proceedings to protect the building and obtain the necessary permits, but without success. The demolition had a particularly serious impact on the children and some of the elderly residents.
The demolition of a two-storey house (around 170m2) in the Al Ashqariya area of Beit Hanina, belonging to a Palestinian family of 6 people, including 4 children. The family, all of which are registered refugees, have thus been displaced again as a result. In addition, as was the case during the other demolition, the family was only given a few minutes to leave the house and much of their personal belongings were destroyed as a result. The house was reportedly built in 2010 on privately owned land. The family reports having received a stop-work order in October 2010 and have since been engaged in legal proceedings to protect their home from demolition. According to their lawyer, the demolition took place despite a court injunction being in place until 9 February.
As you may have noted, we have seen an increase in demolitions and displacement in East Jerusalem, carried out either by the Jerusalem Municipality or the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority, in recent weeks. In January, Israeli authorities demolished 18 Palestinian structures in East Jerusalem, including 5 residential structures (1 inhabited, displacing a family of 8 people). This is in addition to the 64 structures demolished in 2012 (displacing 71 people, including 27 children), the 42 structures demolished in 2011 (displacing 88 people), the 82 structures demolished in 2010 (displacing 128), and the 84 structures demolished in 2009 (displacing 324 people).

Information from various sources indicates that Israeli authorities may be planning to step up demolitions in and around East Jerusalem in the coming weeks and days.