Violation: demolition of a residence and a barracks.

Location: Bir ‘Una – Beit Jala city / Bethlehem governorate.

Date: 13/02/2019.

Perpetrator: The Israeli occupation forces.

Victims: Mohammad Zraina.

Description:

Wednesday, 13 February 2019,  The Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished a residence and a barracks belong to Mohammad Zrina on the pretext of building without licenses.

The structures are located in a plot isolated by the apartheid wall , Zraina used to reach the plot through a gate in the apartheid wall, which he can only pass with a permit from Israeli authorities!

Zraina sees the plot that he inherited from his ancestors, it is very close, only behind the wall but he cannot reach it without a permit from the occupation. The plot is cultivated with olive trees that need to be taken care of, which is something Zraina cannot do properly right now due to the occupation’s arbitrary measurements.

Noteworthy, Bir ‘Una area is a hot spot for Israeli violations of demolition , ravaging and confiscation of properties. Bir ‘Una is  a part of Bethlehem municipality , but the occupation annexed it to Jerusalem’s municipality (managed by the Israeli government), without giving any facilitation or services to its residents . Licensing structures in Bir ‘Una requires a new organizational plan , which won’t be allowed by the occupation.

Zraina family have been living in Bir ‘Una since they left their village inside the green line in 1948, part of Bir ‘Una family have A Blue ID (known as Al-Quds ID, given to Jerusalemites by the Israeli authorities), while the rest have a Palestinian ID (holders of a Palestinian ID cannot enter Jerusalem or the occupied territories without a permission).

Zraina told LRC reporter:

“The occupation handed me a removal order on the barracks that I use for horses, and a residence , the threatens were turned into reality, and they demolished the structures.”

The photo shows the demolished structures and the apartheid wall

About Bir ‘Una area:

Bir ‘Una is a hot spot for Israeli human rights violations, citizens are not allowed to build any new building or use their plots. The occupation’s intention is to connect “Gush Etzion” settlement cluster to Jerusalem. Bir ‘Una is located in the middle between Gush Etzion cluster and Jerusalem , which made its residents exposed to Israeli depopulation schemes and measurements for the favor of achieving the project of “The greater Jerusalem”.

Bir ‘Una has a population of 1413 people according to 2017 census, the population lives in constant tension and fear of what the future holds , especially that now the occupation is refusing to license any structures.

The occupation devoured wide area of Beit Jala and Bir Ouneh areas for the construction of these settlements:

“Gilo” settlement was established in 1971 on confiscated lands from Beit Jala, “Gilo” settlement ate up about 2738 dunums of which 1117 dunums were confiscated from Beit Jala, Gilo is populated 31500 illegal settlers.

“Har Gilo” settlement was established in 1972 on lands confiscated from Beit Jala, Har Gilo ate up 420 dunums, of which 314 dunums were confiscated from Beit Jala. Har Gilo is populated 414 illegal settlers.

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