Violation: Stop-work orders for construction projects of residences

Location: Nahhalin – Bethlehem Governorate

Date: 13/03/2018

Perpetrators:  the Israeli Occupation Civil Administration

Victim(s): Four Palestinian families from Nahhalin  

Details:

On Tuesday, March 13, 2018,  a large force of the Israeli army with Civil Administration staff broke into Nahhalin and served stop-work orders on four under construction residences in the area of Tour al-Batia under the pretext of unlicensed construction. The orders stated that as the Inspection Sub-Committee session, scheduled to take place on March 19,2018, would discuss the status of the notified structures  (whether the structures should be demolished or retrieved to their previous state).   

One of the affected Palestinians, Hisham Najajra, stated the following to the LRC field researcher :

"Although I was notified of the suspension of work and construction order, I continued building while preparing the documents required for me to stand before the Israeli courts and object to the decision to stop building. This is my land; my property, which is my right and my family's right to live in adequate housing ... This is guaranteed by all international conventions and laws. "

It is worth mentioning that the houses are located in the center of the town, far from the Israeli settlements. The latter extend over confiscated lands from the village. However, that does not stop the Israeli occupation from seeking to impose its control over the whole area and prevent Palestinians from expanding their lands in order to make sure they grab more land for colonial purposes.

It should be noted that it is natural that, given the increase of population, there is a need for urban expansion, but the occupation impedes the expansion and halts any progress. Besides, the racism of the occupation is manifested through its practices: It seeks to cater the needs of settlers while ignoring the needs of Palestinians. The latter file cases to Israeli courts to obtain a license or a building permit but the Israeli authorities reject most of the cases. Getting a license for Palestinians is almost impossible while the Israeli government plans to expand the Israeli settlements at the expense of the Palestinians and their lands.

The following tables shows information about the affected citizens:

Source: Field Research- Monitoring Israeli Violations Team- Land Research Centre (LRC), March 2018.

The residences that received stop-work orders/ Nahhalin town

Residents of Nahhalin told the Land Research Center researcher:

"The town of Nahalin is a subject of continuous attacks by the Israeli occupation. It is surrounded by Israeli settlements and military checkpoints. Israeli authorities continue to take over the land of the town to expand the settlement of Beitar Illit. The Israeli occupation forces close the town at any time and they have wielded iron gates  on agricultural roads and some main roads to restrict citizens, especially farmers, from having access to their lands. Moreover, there have been attacks by settlers on agricultural land  that range from burning and cutting of trees to pumping wastewater on the agricultural land in the village. The agricultural sector in the town, which is considered a major source of livelihood for many Nahhalin inhabitants, is under severe attack."

Nahhalin:

The village is located 10km to the south west of Bethlehem and 3.5 km to the east of the armistice line of 1949.

The village's total area is 18,858 dunums including 890 dunums of built-up area, inhabited by8805 people according to the PBS statistics of 2014.

Israel has confiscated 4,283 dunums from the village lands 3,583 dunums of which  for colonial expansion purposes and 700 dunums for the favor of bypass roads. There are 8 colonies founded  on the village land, namely (Beit Ein, Tsoref, Majdal Oz, Jabot, Kfar Etzion, Efrat, Illit, Rosen Tsurem and Allon Shevut).

This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union.

The contents of this document is the sole responsibility of LRC and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.