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.
Local sources said that Mousa Badran, a resident of the al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan, just south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, was compelled to tear down his 75-square-meter home to avoid steep fines imposed by the Israeli municipality.
The house had sheltered Badran, his wife, and their young child, who are now left without a roof over their heads.
In a separate incident, the Dirbas family in al-‘Isawiya was also forced to demolish a structure used for raising animals—a vital source of livelihood.
These demolitions are part of a wider Israeli policy that systematically denies Palestinians in Jerusalem building permits, then penalizes them for “unauthorized construction.”
Families are routinely faced with an impossible choice: to destroy their own property or face financial punishment.
Under international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, the destruction of private property by an occupying power is strictly prohibited unless absolutely required for military necessity.
Coercing families into self-demolition under threat of fines violates this principle and amounts to collective punishment—explicitly banned under Article 33 of the Convention.
These actions also breach international human rights law, including the right to adequate housing and protection from arbitrary interference, as guaranteed by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), to which Israel is a signatory.
On Monday morning, Israeli occupation authorities compelled a Palestinian to demolish his home in Isawiya town, northeast of Jerusalem.
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.
