Land Research Center

On the morning of February 1, 2022, the occupation forces, represented by the Civil Administration, and by orders from the Israeli Supreme Court of Justice, demolished the apartment of Mrs. Suad Abu Shkheidam, the wife of the martyr Fadi Abu Shkheidam, in the Shuafat refugee camp, northeast of Jerusalem, using hand tools, dynamite, and detonation of air, following an operation the martyr carried out it in Jerusalem, and as a punishment for him and his family, his house was demolished.

The brother of the martyr stated that the army did not give the family any opportunity to empty the apartment on the fourth floor, with an area of 160 square meters. The civil administration staff surprised the place, in contrast to what was agreed upon to file an appeal with the court, which authorizes the family to postpone or annul the ruling. However, the occupation forces started preparations for the demolition, and the storming and demolition process included acts of violence and attacks on the entire family. They were all taken to a small room in one of the apartments of the building, and the doors were closed on them. In addition, the army attacked the martyr's brothers and prevented them from moving, including women and children.

After the army demolished the apartment, which consisted of 3 rooms, a salon, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a hall, and two balconies, at a cost of 400,000 shekels, equivalent to 130,000 US dollars, they closed it and confiscated it for an unknown time, as no one has the right to use it, maintain it, or live in it. The demolition process was accompanied by vandalism, cracks and cracks in the apartments above and below. The family suffered from a large water leakage during the current winter, and the family is trying to maintain this damage to protect the five-storey buildings from weakness or collapse. The family cost about 2,200 thousand shekels, equivalent to 80 thousand American dollars.

As for the family of the martyr and Mrs. Souad Abu Shkhaydam, it is made up of the mother, three females and two sons, in addition to being subjected to arrests and investigations, they are experiencing a real shock after the demolition of their house, and they have been dispersed. They live in the martyr's mother's house in the same building, and suffer from difficulties such as the intelligence monitoring of them and their phones and preventing them from giving any statements or information about the details of their lives. These procedures include all members of the Abu Shkhaydam family.

Shuafat camp, sometimes called Anata camp, is located between the villages of Anata and Shuafat within the borders of Jerusalem, and the movement of displacement to it began from 1965 until after the June war, and according to the International Relief Agency, it is the only camp whose residents hold an Israeli identity (without citizenship) contrary to the identity of the Palestinians of 1948, and according to (the International Relief Agency), this camp was set up as an alternative camp to the camp that was in the Old City, next to the Al-Buraq Wall or the western side of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Among the problems that the camp suffers from is the racist wall (the separation wall), which has disrupted or impeded the work of many workers who work in the settlements near it, and closed the road out to the residents of Shuafat camp through Ras Khamis, which suffers from the threat of demolishing a number of homes there. The daily concerns of the camp’s checkpoint, which obstructs the interests of the camp residents of all kinds.

Self Demolition information:

It should be marked that the order was issued in reference to the British Emergency Law for the year 1945, taking into consideration that this law was abolished. “Confiscation and demolition” according to article 119 of the law indicates that it is not allowed to re-construct in the demolition location. The body of the article is as follows:

It should be marked that the order was issued in reference to the British Emergency Law of year 1945, taking into consideration that this law was abolished.

According to article 119 of that law, “Confiscation” of property means that the owner can not re-build structures in case of demolition. Land Research Center sees Israeli practices and measures as a collective punishment against the families of martyrs and prisoners.  The occupation seeks to traumatize and humiliate Palestinian families through such practices.

The Israeli government claims such orders to be deterrent for Palestinians who carry out stabbing attacks. Such attacks come in response for colonists’ attacks on Palestinians, the latest of which was represented in torching a family alive, not mentioning running over kids and women,  attacks on trees (torching , cutting down, robbing) and lands confiscation