On Wednesday, Israeli bulldozers demolished five Palestinian homes, a gas station, and a carwash facility in the At-Tour town, located to the east of occupied Jerusalem, in the West Bank.
Eyewitnesses said that among the destroyed structures was a residence owned by Maher Nasser, as well as a facility that included a laundry and gas station belonging to the Al-Kiswani family.
They added that the army also razed barns and sheep pens owned by the Al-Saeedi family, along with two houses belonging to the Dirbas family, and houses owned by the Al-Damiri family.
The army also demolished a home, owned by the Abu Sbeitan family, and land with a horse stable owned by the Abu Ghannam family.
In addition, the soldiers cut off electricity to the homes and businesses in the area affected by the demolitions.
The demolitions of the Palestinian homes and structures were carried out to facilitate the construction of a segregated colonial road in the area.
In July, the total number of demolitions in the Jerusalem Governorate reached 76, which included 10 forced self-demolitions and 62 demolitions executed by occupation machinery, in addition to four bulldozing incidents targeting Palestinian lands.
The Israeli police also issued over 13 demolition notices targeting structures in various villages and towns within the Jerusalem Governorate, particularly in the Bab al-Amoud area, Jabal al-Mukabbir, Anata, Shu’fat refugee camp, the al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan, Wadi al-Jouz, Kafr Aqab, Hizma, the al-Khunideq area, and Ras an-Nader in Beit Anan, northwest of occupied Jerusalem.
Furthermore, the Israeli authorities announced plans to demolish the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan (Silwanic) building within a year and imposed a fine of 20,000 shekels on its director, Jawad Siyam.
In related news, the soldiers assaulted, injured, and abducted a young man, Mohammad Husam Oweisat, in his home in Jabal Al- Al-Mukabbir, after storming and ransacking his family’s home.
The soldiers also invaded the Al-Abbasiyya neighborhood in Silwan, closed several streets and conducted searches.
The demolitions were carried out as part of an older plan to establish a colonialist road linking colonies in the West Bank with Jerusalem, including the illegal Har Homa (Jabal Abu Ghneim) colony, and other colonies around Jerusalem, known as the Jerusalem beltway or Jerusalem ring, to encircle the occupied city with colonies.
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.”
