Thursday, 18^th July 2019, the occupation’s bulldozers demolished five shops in Silwan, on the pretext of building without licenses. The targeted structures are as the following:

• Two carpet shops , owned by Ta’ama family.
• Two shops selling doors and kitchens, owned by Mohammad Al-‘Abasi.
• A restaurant owned by Mohammad Al-‘Abasi.

The structures together have an area of 250 m², and provide several jobs.

Owner Mohammad Al-‘Abasi told LRC reporter:

“The shops were built in 2014, after the construction , the Israeli occupation court in Jerusalem issued a demolition order on the structures, we tried everything to stop the demolition but it did not work.Noteworthy, The occupation refuses to license any Palestinian structures in Silwan.

In the early morning house of Thursday , the occupation forces closed the area, and the bulldozers demolished the five shops, leaving great damages.”

The policy of the occupation authorities seek to harass Jerusalemites and push them to leave their area to become available for colonial plans; they never grant building permits and licenses for any Palestinian in the area and this how indirect displacement policy is done. Financial costs of permits is almost impossible to be covered. Thus, hundreds of families remain incapable to build or license their existing buildings, facing the eventual fate of demolition.

About Silwan:

1 Km south Jerusalem, Silwan is surrounded by Jerusalem (north & east), the green line (west) , Ath-Thori and Jabal Al-Mukabir (south).

Silwan has an area of 1,400 dunums, 855 of them are the town’s built up area

Land Research Center LRC sees that demolitions contradict with all of the International conventions and Humanitarian laws including:

Article 147 of Geneva fourth convention  : extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly. ( it is considered a serious violation of the convention)

Article 53 of Geneva fourth convention that forbids destroying properties : Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or co-operative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.

Article 33 of Geneva fourth convention: No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed.

Article 32 of Hague convention 1907 part g: To destroy or seize the enemy's property, unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war.

Article 17 of Universal declaration of human rights 10 –Dec- 1948:  No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.