On Tuesday and Monday, Israeli soldiers invaded Toura village in the Ya’bad area, southwest of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and handed demolition orders targeting two under-construction homes.
Taeq Kabaha, the head of Toura Village Council, said the soldiers handed, Tuesday, Aziz Saleh Zeid an order to demolish his 120 square meters, under-construction home in the village.
Kabaha added that, on Monday, the soldiers handed a similar order to Ahmad Mohammad Kabaha targeting his two-story home.
The Palestinians were given 96 hours to file appeals, an issue that doesn’t grant them enough time to seek legal help and begin the appeals process.
Israeli courts rarely overturn demolition orders by the Israeli occupation army, and in several previous cases, the army demolished homes while the appeals were pending or being argued in court.
On Monday, Israeli soldiers invaded the Ma’in community in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, and demolished a Palestinian home and a tent.
The soldiers also demolished an under-construction home in Um Safa village, northwest of Ramallah, in the central part of the occupied West Bank.
Israel’s illegal home demolition policy is internationally prohibited; according to Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, “No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has 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.”
While Israel continues to build and expand its illegal colonies, Palestinian communities and towns in occupied Jerusalem and various areas in the occupied West Bank continue to be denied the right to build homes and property under various allegations meant to prevent the expansion of Palestinian towns and neighborhoods.
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.”
