On Friday, Israeli occupation authorities compelled a Palestinian resident to carry out the demolition of his own home in the town of Sur Baher, located south of occupied East Jerusalem, in the West Bank.
Local sources reported that Hamza Ibrahim Amira was forced to tear down his residence under duress, resulting in the displacement of 16 family members.
This coercive practice is part of a broader policy in occupied Jerusalem, where Palestinian homeowners are routinely ordered to demolish their homes themselves under the pretext of lacking building permits.
Those who refuse face punitive demolitions by Israeli bulldozers and are burdened with exorbitant fines.
The Israeli municipality in Jerusalem systematically denies Palestinians access to building permits, while enforcing home demolitions that violate international law and fundamental human rights, including the right to adequate housing.
These actions form part of a deliberate strategy to forcibly displace Palestinians from the city and expand illegal settlements in and around 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 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”.
