Israeli occupation authorities forced the Jerusalemite resident Jamal Gheith on Monday to demolish his own home in Silwan town, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque, under the pretext of building without a permit — a pretext systematically used to deny Palestinians the right to housing and push them toward forced displacement.
Gheith carried out the demolition himself to avoid the heavy fines imposed when the municipality carries out the demolition, a policy designed to make Palestinians bear the financial and psychological cost of destroying their own homes.
Palestinians who refugee to demolish their homes also face imprisonment, numerous court hearings, and compounded fines.
In a related development, the occupation authorities delivered a demolition order targeting two homes he owns in the al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan, as part of an ongoing campaign aimed at erasing Palestinian presence in the city in favor of colonial expansion led by Israeli colonialist organizations.
These measures form part of a broader policy to displace Jerusalem’s Palestinian residents through demolition orders, financial penalties, and daily restrictions, in an effort to impose a forced demographic change in the occupied city.
Earlier this morning, Israeli forces demolished Palestinian structures in the al-Matar area near Qalandia refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem, in a continuation of the escalating demolition operations across the city and its surroundings.
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.
All of 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, in addition to various United Nations and Security Council resolutions. They also constitute war crimes under International Law.
Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits collective punishment and acts of terror against civilian populations.
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”.
Articles 53 and 147, prohibit the destruction of civilian property and classify pillage as a war crime.
