On Sunday, Israeli soldiers demolished a Palestinian home and shot a young man, in Jabal Al-Mokabber, in occupied Jerusalem, in the West Bank.
Media sources said the soldiers forced the families out of the two-story home and assaulted them before shooting a family member with a rubber-coated steel bullet in the arm.
The army then demolished the two-story home inhabited by Rateb Matar, his brother Husam, and their families, including several children.
The army refused to allow the families to remove their furniture and belongings from the properties before demolishing them.
The family built its home on its privately owned land 15 years ago and has since been paying fines and frees that exceeded 700.000 Shekels after the City Council insisted on demolishing the property instead of allowing the families to shelter themselves on their land.
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.
Israel’s illegal home demolition policy falls within the collective punishment policy against Palestinian civilians, protected by the Israeli judicial system.
This policy is internationally prohibited; according to Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states: “No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and, likewise, all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited. Pillage is prohibited. Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited.”
