Israeli violations under Corona:

Violation: Notices to demolish two homes.

Location: Khirbet Yarza in the northern Jordan Valley.

Violation Date: 21/09/2020.

Perpetrator: the so-called Israeli Civil Administration.

Affected persons:  the citizens Rami and Hafez Masaid.

Violation details:

On Monday morning, September 21, 2020, the Israeli occupation army stormed Khirbet Yarza in the northern Jordan Valley, targeting the house of Rami Naim Ahmed Hafez Masaid, in addition to the house of his brother Hafez, and handed them two demolish and  to remove the houses  within a period not exceeding 96 hours from the date of the military notice, according to the military order 1797 allowing the demolition of unlicensed structures in Area C deemed as “new” within 96 hours of a removal notice being issued.

According to the military order, “new structures” are those identified by an Israeli " Civil" Administration's (ICA) inspector as having been built within the previous six months, or inhabited for less than 30 days prior to the removal notice. The only way to prevent the demolition is to produce a valid building permit or provide evidence that the targeted structure is not “new” within the meaning of the order.

It is noteworthy that Mr. Rami Masaid was notified on 9/9/2020 to demolish and  remove his house under the pretext of building in an archaeological site and this time he has notified of the removal of his house under the pretext of un-licensing, in an indication of the joint work of Israeli institutions in the face of the Palestinian right to adequate housing .

The following table gives details about the aforementioned violation according to information gathered by LRC field researcher:

Khirbet Yarza in brief:

Khirbet Yarza, located 10 km east of Tubas Governorate, specifically in the Baqi’a Plain region, is inhabited by about 12 families - totaling 100 citizens- who are remnants of the original inhabitants who were living there in large  before the occupation of 1967, taking care of their ancestral lands of 25 thousand dunums. It is noteworthy that 75% of Yarza lands are entitled as Jordanian Taboo  as in the names of the Palestinian citizens. However, the occupation’s injustice andracist practices have pushed many of the people of this village  to leave towards the city of Tubas and neighboring villages.  The origins of the people of Khirbet Yarza derive from to the city of Tubas, consisting of three main families: Einbousi, Masaid and Sherida.

Khirbet Yarza is one of the closed military areas announced by the Israeli occupation forces after the occupation of 1967. Ever since, the area has been used as a military training and firing zones for the Israeli army due to its mountainous topography. Cobra is the biggest military training camp that was set up there. For safety reasons, many Palestinian families, inevitably, were forced to flee the area and chose  to live  in other locations.

This document was prepared with EU funding

The Contents of this document are LRC responsibility and do not reflect EU positions