Another House Destroyed In Occupied East Jerusalem As Israel Orders Another 150 To Be Demolished
Written on October 14, 2009 – 10:06 am | by palestine
The family received notification of the demolition a year earlier after the Israeli run Jerusalem Municipality declared the house had been built without a permit. 61 homes have already been levelled this year with a further 18 demolished by the owners themselves. The Municipality charges demolition costs to the residents of the home and so often people raze their houses themselves to avoid the huge fines demolition incurs.
The Israeli Committee against House Demolitions (ICAHD) estimates that over 24,000 Palestinian homes have been destroyed since 1697. ICAHD says the majority of demolitions are “conducted for ‘Administrative’ reasons and are generally because the house was built without a permit. However permits are almost impossible to obtain by Palestinians living under Occupation.”
The demolition comes on the same day that reports surfaced of a further 150 homes to be torn down in the Arabic neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights (JCSER) claims the houses to be destroyed are currently home to 1000 Palestinians and were mostly built within the last three years.
House demolitions are illegal under international law. The ICAHD goes onto say “Under the Fourth Geneva Convention Occupying Powers are prohibited from destroying Palestinian property or employing collective punishment. Article 53 reads: “Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons…is prohibited.” Under this provision the practice of demolishing Palestinian houses is banned, as is the wholesale destruction of the Palestinian infrastructure.”
Tags: Israeli occupation, News, occupation, Palestine
