2025-01-29
The Israeli Occupation Demolishes an Agriculture Structure and a Water Harvesting Cistern in the Village of Shuqba, North of Ramallah
Violation: Demolition an Agriculture structure and Water Harvesting Cistern on the pretext of building without a license
Location: Shuqba Village , North of Ramallah
Date of Violation : Jan, 29 2025.
Perpetrator: Israeli Civil Administration
Affected party : The Farmer Wael Abd Al Ghani Mohammad Thabet
Detail of Violations :
On Wednesday , January ,29th 2025 the Israeli Occupation authorities began to carry out a new demolition operation targeting an agriculture structure and a rainwater harvesting system in Shuqba village north of Ramallah.
It was reported that the construction officer of The Israeli Civil Administration, with a group of Israeli occupation soldiers, targeted an agricultural structure made of concrete and bricks and covers about 60 meter, the occupation forces demolished the building and destroyed all the furniture inside Additionally, the water harvesting cistern, which had a capacity of 100 square meter was also demolished, it belonged to farmer Wael Abd Al Ghani Mohammad Thabet . who supports a family that consists of 9 members , 4 of them are females, and 7 of them are children. A bulldozer accompanied by a group of the occupation soldiers completely destroyed two Facilities on the pretext of building without a license, even though the facility received a notice to halt construction work in Summer 2024.
The Above picture show the rubble of the demolition operation that was carried out by occupation – Shuqba Village
The affected farmer said that :
“ In the morning hours, specifically at 9 o’clock, the occupation forces raided the “southern area “ of the village with a bulldozer, they prohibited anyone to reaching the site due to the huge military presence, and without any previous warning, they completely demolished an agriculture building , they do not allow us to even took anything from it, then the occupation forces removed to a Water harvesting cistern, with capacity of 100m3, located 20 meters away from the building, and demolished it completely, leaving us with nothing.
The well was used to provide irrigation water for about 35 dunams that planted with olive trees, the value of losses is nearly about 70 thousands shekels, so I had opened a legal file through a lawyer to defend to my land and my facility.”
Shuqba village, located 24 kilometers north of Ramallah, continues to suffer from daily pressures due to the Israeli occupation. The village faces a shortage of land allocated for construction, as the structural plan covers only 1,320 dunams out of the total 51,000 dunams of the village's area. This is insufficient to accommodate the natural population growth, with approximately 4,260 residents according to the 2017 census data. As a result, residents are forced to build in "Area C" as per the Oslo Accords, which exposes them to harassment by the occupation. Over the past five years, at least 60 agricultural and residential structures in the village have been issued stop-work or demolition orders.
Shuqba Village:
Shuqba village is located 34 kilometers northwest of Ramallah. It is bordered to the north by 'Abud, to the west by Qubeiba and the Green Line, to the east by Deir Abu Mash'al, and to the south by Shabtin. The village's population was 5,459 residents as of 2017.
The total area of the village is 13,495 dunams, of which 979 dunams are designated as the built-up area for the village of Jalama.
The Israeli occupation has confiscated 613 dunams of the village's land for the following purposes: (
Bypass roads: 335 dunams were seized for the construction of Route 446.
Apartheid Wall: The route of the apartheid wall has seized 278 dunams and isolated 1,390 dunams. The wall's length in the area is 2,780 meters.
Land Classification According to the Oslo Accords for the Village:
- Area B: 1,208 dunams.
- Area C: 12,287 dunams.
Legal Commentary:
The actions carried out by the Israeli occupation authorities in demolishing Palestinian homes and structures constitute violations of international and humanitarian law, as well as a breach of the right to adequate housing, a right guaranteed by international law and treaties. This is evident in the following articles:
Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: "Extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly is considered a grave breach of the Convention."
Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1948 prohibits the destruction of property, stating: "The occupying power may not destroy private property, whether movable or immovable, belonging to individuals or groups, or to the State or public authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations, unless such destruction is imperatively demanded by military operations."
Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention stipulates: "No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed."
Paragraph 'j' of Article 23 of the Hague Convention of 1907 warns against the destruction of "enemy property or its sequestration, unless such destruction or sequestration is imperatively demanded by the necessities of war."
Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, dated December 10, 1948, states: "No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property."
These legal provisions highlight the illegality of such actions and reinforce the protection of Palestinian rights to property and housing under international law.
[1] Source: LRC – GIS.
مشروع: حماية الحقوق البيئية الفلسطينية في مناطق "ج" SPERAC IV - GFFO
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of Land Research Center and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the project donor; the Norwegian Refugee Council.
إخلاء المسؤولية: الآراء ووجهات النظر الواردة في هذا التقرير هي آراء ووجهات نظر مركز أبحاث الأراضي ولا تعكس بالضرورة وجهات نظر أو مواقف الجهة المانحة للمشروع؛ المجلس النرويجي. للاجئين
