2018-03-12
Violation: Serving halt of construction order.
Location: Beit Sakariya/ Bethlehem governorate.
Date: March 12 -2018.
Perpetrator: The Israeli occupation civil administration.
Victim: Family of “Atallah Sa’ad”
Description:
On March 12, 2018, The Israeli Occupation Army issued an order “halt of construction”, to Atallah Sa’ad family house, served under the pretext of being built without proper licensing documents due to its location in area 'C' where Israel has complete control. The Israeli order comes as part of an Israeli active campaign in the West Bank, where hundreds of similar and relevant orders (threat of demolishing) were issued. The order gives the owner 7 days to prepare the necessary documents for the permission, which is the date of the subcommittee session to decide the fate of the house.
The following table provides information about the affected family:
owner | Number of family members | children | Area of the building | Status of the building |
Atallah Sa’ad | 11 | 8 | 180 | Under construction |
The halt of construction order
Beit Sakariya Hamlet: (location & population)[1]
Khallet Beit Sakariya (Beit Sakariya hamlet) is located some 5 km east of the 1949 Armistice Line (Green line) and about 8.5 km to the southwest of Bethlehem city. It is considered part of Nahhalin village cluster along with Khallet al Balluta (Al Balluta Hamlet), all comprise a total area of 17249 Dunums. Khallet Beit Sakariya is a home to 142 inhabitants, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of statistics – 2017 and sets on a total built of 49.5 dunums.
The Israeli settlements that surround Beit Sakariya:
Settlement | Establishing year | Area of the settlement in dunums | Number of settlers |
Rosh Tzurim | 1969 | 855 | 263 |
Alon Shevut | 1971 | 934 | 3146 |
Eliazer | 1975 | 492 | 882 |
Kfar Etzion | 1967 | 923 | 404 |
For the Israeli settlers, the location of the hamlet is quite strategically annoying as it sets in the heart of Israeli settlements cluster , part of the settlements that comprise the Gush Etzion settlements bloc, which explains why villagers of Beit Sakariya often suffered the continuous and endless provocative actions of Jewish settlers who attempted to seize their lands for expansionist purposes and drive them out of the area by destroying their agricultural lands, uprooting trees and incorporation with the Israeli Army destroy their residential houses and other means for their livelihood.
[1] GID-LRC