On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers demolished two under-construction homes in the Simian area in Samu’s town, south of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank’s southern part.
Rateb Jabour, the coordinator of the Popular and National Committees against the Annexation Wall and Colonies, said the soldiers invaded the Khallet Al-Muftah area in the town, before demolishing two under-construction homes.
Jabour added that the two homes, about 150 square meters each, were built by Amal Hamad Abu Awad and Khalaf Abdul-Aziz Al-Mahareeq on their privately owned lands.
The Israeli army claimed the properties were built with permits from the so-called “Civil Administration Office,” the administrative branch of the illegal occupation of Palestine.
Israel’s illegal home demolition policy is internationally prohibited; according to Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, “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 terrorism are prohibited. Pillage is prohibited. Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited.”
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 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.”
