Israeli occupation forces issued demolition orders, Wednesday, targeting nine Palestinian homes—some inhabited, others under construction—in the village of Artas, south of Bethlehem.
According to Samir Abu Swai, a member of the village council, Israeli soldiers stormed the Abu Zeid Mountain area and affixed demolition notices to the facades of the homes.
The orders demand that residents dismantle any structures built on their land within 30 days or face demolition at their own expense.
The notices also require residents to submit ownership documents for the land, although the deeds predate Israel and its illegal occupation.
Four of the targeted homes are inhabited and belong to brothers Mohammad and Ali Ibrahim Shahin, Fadi Imad Asaad, and one unidentified owner.
The remaining homes are either being finished or still under construction, and are owned by Hussein Mohammad Ismael, Husam Khaled Ismael, Walid Ismail Ahmad Ismael, Khaled Ismail Ahmad Ismael, and Suleiman Mohammad Sa’ad.
In a separate violation, Israeli forces demolished an agricultural room in the village of Wadi Fukin, west of Bethlehem.
Ibrahim Al-Hroub, head of the village council, reported that the structure—located in the northern part of the village and owned by Mohammad Mousa Manasra—was destroyed under the pretext of lacking a permit.
Early Wednesday morning, Israeli occupation forces launched a new round of demolitions targeting Bedouin communities in the town of Anata, east of occupied Jerusalem in the West Bank.
On Tuesday, Israeli occupation authorities forced two Palestinian families in occupied Jerusalem to carry out self-demolitions—one of a family home in Silwan, the other of a livestock shelter in al-‘Isawiya.
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.
