Israeli occupation authorities on Sunday forced two Palestinian families to carry out the self‑demolition of their homes in Jabal al‑Mukabber, southeast of occupied Jerusalem, and in Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the city.
The Jerusalem Governorate said the authorities compelled Yasser Maher Da’na, a Jerusalemite resident, to demolish his family’s home in the al‑Sal’a neighborhood in Jabal al‑Mukabber under the pretext of building without a permit.
The house sheltered four family members and covered an area of about 100 square meters.
In addition, Israel forced another family in Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, to demolish its home.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center In Silwan (Silwanic) said Mohammad Atiya Razem was forced to demolish his mother’s home in Wadi Qaddum neighborhood.
Silwanic stated that the home, owned by Mohammad’s 96-year-old mother, was a 160 square-meter property and was built 26 years ago.
Also in Silwan, the Israeli authorities issued an order to demolish a residential room belonging to the Al‑Tawil family.
Local sources said the occupation municipality delivered the notice and gave the family a ten‑day deadline to carry out the demolition.
The move follows a similar action three days earlier, when occupation forces informed two brothers in the Wadi Qaddum that their homes were also slated for demolition.
Israeli authorities routinely force Palestinians, particularly in occupied Jerusalem, to demolish their own homes on the grounds of lacking permits.
Families who refuse face demolition by Israeli bulldozers and are then billed exorbitant fees for the operation, and many face imprisonment and more fines.
The Jerusalem municipality systematically denies Palestinians building permits and either demolishes their homes or forces them to do so, in violation of international law and basic human rights that guarantee the right to housing.
These measures form part of a deliberate policy aimed at the forced displacement of Palestinians from the city in favor of expanding Israeli colonies in Jerusalem and its surroundings.
On Saturday, a Palestinian citizen was forced to demolish his family’s home in the town of Silwan, in Jerusalem, while another citizen demolished his marble factory in the town of Kafr Thulth, southeast of Qalqilia, in the northwestern part of the occupied West Bank.
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.
In November of last year, the Israeli authorities have issued two new tenders for the construction of a colonial neighborhood in the illegal colony of Adam (Givat Binyamin), built on stolen Palestinian land northeast of occupied Jerusalem.
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.
