Violation: Demolition of a citizen’s house.

Date: October 3^rd 2022.

Location: Khallet ‘Eideh – South Hebron city.

Perpetrators: The Israel Civil Administration.

Victims: Citizen ‘Arafat Ar-Rajabi.

Description:

Monday , October 3^rd 2022 , the Israeli Occupation demolished a house belongs to citizen ‘Arafat Ar-Rajabi , on the pretext of building without a license in Khallet Al-‘Eideh south Hebron city.

About 3:00 pm , a massive army force , border guards , employees from the building and organization department accompanied by a Hyundai Excavator and a Volvo bulldozer raided the area, and arrived at Ar-Rajabi house , and forced its residents to get out , the accompanying workers emptied the houses , threw the furniture out , and threw gas pump sin the house , then preceded with the demolition operation that targeted both the house and the cistern.

The targeted house has a total area of (180 m²) built since 2020 , inhabited by the owner , his wife and 8 children (4 females and 4 males).

The Occupation’s bulldozers also demolished a cistern built of concrete , and covered it with earth mounds. Other than Covering the needs of the family,  the targeted cistern has a storage capacity of (200 m³) , that used to provide water for a plot with a total area of 4 dunums , planted with grapes and vegetables.

 The demolition remains

Ar-Rajabi said that the occupation authorities served a halt of work notice previously on the pretext of building without a license . He prepared a legal file to submit it to the Israeli authorities , but they responded with occupation authorities came back and issued a demolition order to the house. The family hired a lawyer to objec on the demolition notice , and tried to freeze the order but obviously in vain.

The owner of the demolished house said that the construction costs amounted to 70 thousand dollars , and the displaced family now lives with relatives.

Ar-Rajabi’s house is the third house to be demolished in Hebron at that day , after demolishing a house belongs to ‘Amour family , and another house belongs to ‘Eideh Family.

Noteworthy, the occupation authorities never approves licenses for Palestinians in area C , and refuses every application under unrealistic pretexts. And if a structure is built without a license , the occupation forces viciously demolishes it.

Legal Feedback:

The demolition of Palestinian homes and structures 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:

Geneva fourth convention of 1948:

Article 33, Individual responsibility, collective penalties, pillage and reprisals. "No protected person may be punished for any offense he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited. Pillage is prohibited.

Article 53 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 147, taking of hostages and extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.

Article 17, dated December 10, 1948 states that “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property”.