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Photos:
Four Scenes. Published by Maan News

A home being demolished in East Jerusalem, May 4, 2017. Published by 972Mag

The separation wall being built in al-Walaja, December 7, 2010. Once completed, the wall will completely surround the village. (Photo by Anne Paq/Activestills.org) Published by 972Mag
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BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces demolished three buildings in the southern occupied West Bank village of al-Walaja on Thursday, local sources said, days before a court hearing in which the homeowners hoped to appeal the decision.

Village council head Khader al-Araj told official Palestinian news agency Wafa that Israeli forces had raided a district in northern al-Walaja and demolished a 200-square-meter two-story house belonging to Ibrahim Neiroukh.

Israeli forces also demolished two 150-square-meter houses which were under construction, al-Araj said, adding that the two buildings belonged to Hamed and Raed Abu Sneineh.

Al-Araj said that Israeli authorities had previously notified the three owners that their houses would be demolished for lacking hard-to-obtain Israeli construction permits, but had given them an opportunity to appeal the decision in front of an Israeli court on May 7.

However, the demolitions came three days before the hearing.
A spokesperson for the Israeli Ministry of Finance, under whose jurisdiction the demolitions reportedly fell, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ninety-seven percent of the land in al-Walaja, whose population counted some 2,000 residents in 2007, is located in Area C -- the 60 percent of the West Bank under full Israeli military control -- according to the Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ).

Nearly all Palestinian applications for building permits in Area C are denied by the Israeli authorities, forcing communities to build illegally, and placing them under the constant risk of demolition.

The estimated 550,000 Jewish Israeli settlers in the occupied Palestinian territory are however more easily given building permits and allowed to expand their homes and properties.

Meanwhile, Wafa reported on Sunday that Israeli authorities had resumed construction of the illegal separation wall -- also known as the annexation or apartheid wall -- near al-Walaja after a three-year hiatus.

Israel began building the wall with concrete slabs, fences, and barbed-wire inside the occupied West Bank in 2002 at the height of the Second Intifada, claiming that it was crucial for security.

Israel’s separation wall encircles al-Walaja, the hometown of slain Palestinian activist Basel al-Araj, and swathes of land have been reappropriated by the Israeli government for the construction and expansion of the illegal Israeli settlements of Gilo, Har Gilo, and Givat Yael. The Israeli government has also planned to confiscate hundreds of acres from al-Walaja for the establishment of a national park.

Critics have slammed the wall as a violation of international law, separating Palestinians from their lands, enabling the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, and encroaching far beyond the 1967 Green Line, which supporters of the two-state solution believe should mark the border between Israel and an independent Palestinian state, further fragmenting the occupied Palestinian territory.
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East Jerusalem hit by wave of home demolitions

Nine families are made homeless in a series of demolitions in East Jerusalem. The pace of demolitions so far in 2017 outstrips that in 2016, currently the worst year on record.

By Aviv Tatarsky, published by 972Mag

Israeli forces conducted a wave of demolitions in East Jerusalem on Thursday, destroying four homes in al-Walaja, one house and four apartments in a-Tur, one apartment in Sur Baher and three garages in Issawiya. Nine families lost their homes as a result.

It was an especially difficult day, but one in keeping with an ongoing phenomenon over the past two years. Israel has significantly stepped up its demolition of homes in the occupied territories, destroying 123 housing units in Jerusalem in 2016 — a record, and more than double its prior yearly average. Israel demolished 66 housing units in East Jerusalem during the first four months of 2017, a pace which, if maintained, would make 2017 a far worse year than the one before.

Last year was also the first in which Israel destroyed homes in East Jerusalem neighborhoods cut off by the separation wall, which brings us back to al-Walaja — where, a week ago, construction of the barrier resumed.

The demolitions were carried out in the part of al-Walaja that has been annexed to Jerusalem. Despite its annexation, the municipality and the state have never provided even a semblance of services to the village. Yet Israel insists on demolishing buildings constructed without a permit — which itself is a result of the government not approving a master plan for the village.

The separation wall has caused considerable damage to the groves that al-Walaja’s residents use to support themselves, and has taken away 1,000 dunams (247 acres) of land that remained on the Israeli side of the fence. The area will now become a national park for the enjoyment of Israelis.

The separation fence will also physically cut al-Walaja off from Jerusalem, another step in the ongoing disregard of its residents’ existence. But in spite of the physical separation, Israel is determined to “maintain the connection” by way of demolishing homes in the village. Dozens of families in al-Walaja are living in homes under threat of destruction.

While exact details of the affected families are still unclear, the nature of the threat is stark, and the maliciousness of the demolition policy in al-Walaja, East Jerusalem and Area C is unmistakable. Thousands have been made homeless by demolitions in the last two years, with the underlying goal of expelling the Palestinian population to the Area A and B enclaves throughout the West Bank.

Also evident is the despair — and apathy — of al-Walaja’s residents, who no longer have the strength to tackle the violence against them, and who have no hope that positive change is on the horizon. The building of the wall, demolitions, land theft — all are surrendered to, with no attempt at opposition and no community organization that can put a stop to the blows raining down on the village.

The hardening of Israeli hearts is clear as well. The only thing that rivals this impenetrability is the smugness of being “the most moral people and the only democracy…” We don’t want to know, and even if we are forced to address these crimes, most of us set out to blame the victims.

Al-Walaja can be seen from numerous Jerusalem neighborhoods: Gilo, Malha, Ir Ganim, Katamonim, Aminadav, Talbiya. Thousands of Jerusalemites went out from their homes on Thursday morning, as the demolitions were in progress. They looked over toward al-Walaja, and they didn’t see a thing.

Aviv Tatarsky is an activist with Engaged Dharma Israel.