Land Research Center

• Violation: demolition of a house under construction on the pretext of building without a license.  
• Location: Al-Sateeh area, southwest of Jericho.
• Date: 16/05/2022.
• Perpetrator: the so-called building inspector at the Israeli Civil Administration.
• Victims: citizen Khalil Ziyad Ahmed Afana.

Description:

On Monday afternoon, May 16^th  2022, the Israeli occupation army stormed the Al-Sateeh suburb of “Al-Diouk Al-Tahta” to the southwest of Jericho, and demolished an under-construction house with an area of 200 meters² owned by the Jerusalemite Khalil Ziyad Ahmed Afana, a citizen of the Sur Baher area inside the holy city of Jerusalem. The affected citizen is the breadwinner of a family consisting of 6 members, including 3 females and 2 children.

It is noteworthy that the targeted house, which is located to the west of the aforementioned neighborhood, was still under construction when the demolition took place. It was built of brick walls but no roof yet.  The occupation claims that the house location was in area “C” and had been built without a license. 

Al-Sateeh suburb in brief:

Al-Sateeh is considered one of the suburbs that have been newly annexed to the Jericho municipality. It is located on the western side of the city. Its population is approximately 940 people, according to the data of the Jericho Municipality. One third of them come from the areas of Jerusalem and Hebron, and the remaining residents belong to three families: Samrat, Vhaidat and Jaman who are the original inhabitants of the area.

Al-Sateeh area occupies 2,300 dunums from the total area of Jericho governorate.

It is noteworthy that the Al-Sateeh area is famous for the abundance of religious and historical monuments, as it is described as an archaeological area of a special nature due to the abundance of antiquities in it.

It is noteworthy that the Al-Sateeh area is one of the areas classified as C of the Oslo Accord, and there are at least 100 homes and facilities whose owners have been notified of demolition on the pretext of non-licensing. During the past year, at least 9 houses were demolished in the area on the pretext of non-licensing. For more information of the Al-Sateeh area, see the following reports issued by the Land Research Center:

• On January 27, 2022, the occupation demolished a house under construction for the Zalam family in Al-Sateeh area / Jericho governorate, click here.

• On February 15, the occupation notified to stop work on a number of houses in the Al-Sateeh area, click here.

Legal Commentary:

The demolition of Palestinian homes and installations by the occupation authorities is part of their violations of international and humanitarian law, and the violation of the right to adequate housing for Palestinian citizens guaranteed by international law and international treaties presented by the following articles:

• Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states that “Destruction and usurpation of property in a manner not justified by military necessity and on a large scale in an unlawful and arbitrary manner is a grave breaches of the convention.

• Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1948 prohibits the destruction of property, as this article states the following: “The occupying power is prohibited from destroying any private, fixed or movable property related to individuals or groups, the state or public authorities, or social or cooperative organizations, unless the war operations inevitably require this destruction.

• Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed.

• Paragraph 'g' of Article 23 of the Hague Convention of 1907 AD also warned against destroying or seizing the enemy's property, unless the necessities of war necessarily require such destruction or seizure.

• Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, dated December 10, 1948 states that “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property”.