The dozers of Israel Municipality in Jerusalem demolished on May 04, 2017 a residence owned by Ashraf Fawaqa in the village of Sur Baher south of Jerusalem under the pretext of building without a permit.

Fawaqa explained that the municipality demolished his house which was established 6 years ago on a 100m² parcel. The residence is home for six members including four children.

Fawaqa added that the District and Magistrate courts as well as the municipality’s court ratified the demolition order knowing that the municipality’s court decided at the beginning of last February to demolish the house with any further extensions. Fawaqa filed in an appeal through his lawyer and the demolition was postponed until March and he was forced to pay 30 thousand NIS to postpone the demolition in addition to the court fees. After the District court’s judge rejected the appeal, he decided to consider the 30 thousand NIS as demolition costs paid to the municipality; he also paid a building violation fine of 60-thousand NIS.

Fawaqa concluded the following:

"On May 04,2017 a massive force from Israel Police and a dozer arrived in the location, closed the area from all directions and brought the residence down without allowing us to save any of the interior"

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

Article 17 of the (1948) Universal Declaration of Human Rights stating: “Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.”

Section ‹G› of article 23 of the (1907) The Hague Conventions asserting: “In addition to the prohibitions provided by special Conventions, it is especially forbidden to destroy or seize the enemy's property, unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war.”

Article 53 of the Geneva Fourth Convention (1948) declaring: “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 cooperative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.”

Section 1, Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966): “The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international co-operation based on free consent."

This case study is part of Kan'aan Project