On Monday, Israeli soldiers invaded Hizma town, north of the occupied capital, Jerusalem, in the West Bank, and demolished a gas station.
Media sources said several military vehicles, and bulldozers invaded the town, and headed to the gas station, leading to protests.
They added that the soldiers surrounded the Salam Gas Station, owned by Palestinians from the Khatib family in the town, before demolishing it.
The Israeli army claimed the gas station was built without a permit from the City Council in occupied Jerusalem.
During the invasion, the demolition, and the resulting ensuing protests, the soldiers fired rubber-coated steel bullets, gas bombs, and concussion grenades; there have been no reports of injuries.
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 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.”
