Violation: Demolishing a house belongs to a Palestinian citizen.

Date: November 30^th 2021.

Location: Be’er Ayoub – Silwan town / Occupied Jerusalem.

Perpetrators: The Occupation Municipality in Jerusalem.

Victims: Citizen Mohammed Zaitoun.

Description:

November 30^th 2021 , the occupation municipality in the occupied Jerusalem demolished a house belongs to citizen Mohammed Zaitoun, on the pretext of building without a license.

An army force , the occupation’s police, and municipality staffs raided Be’er Ayoub in Silwan east Jerusalem , and demolished a house belongs to a Jerusalemite citizen , the house is a home for a family that composes of 6 member (4 children) , the oldest is 8 years old and the youngest is two.

Zaitoun built this floor above his parents house about three years ago , the floor is build of woods and bricks, with a total area of (60 m²) , and composes of a main bedroom , a kitchen and a bathroom.

The Occupation municipality in Jerusalem targeted a house with an administrative demolition order one year ago , the owner hired a lawyer to object on the demolition. The lawyer however could delay the demolition , but never succeeded to get a license. Eventually, the municipality leveled the house.

Be’er Ayoub – Silwan town:

Located to the south of Al-Aqsa mosque , it is a part of Silwan village , and its citizens live a daily struggle with the occupation, and mane of the families received demolition notices for their houses.

 About Silwan: [1]

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.

Legal Commentary:

The demolition of Palestinian homes and structures by the occupation authorities is part of their violations of international and humanitarian law, and the violation of the right to adequate housing for Palestinian citizens guaranteed by international law and international treaties presented by the following articles:

• The Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 147, stipulates that “extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly” is a “grave breach” of the Convention.

• Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1948 prohibits the destruction of property, as this article states the following: “The occupying power is prohibited from destroying any private, fixed or movable property related to individuals or groups, the state or public authorities, or social or cooperative organizations, unless the war operations inevitably require this destruction.

• Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed.

• Paragraph ‘g’ of Article 23 of the Hague Convention of 1907 AD also warned against destroying or seizing the enemy’s property, unless the necessities of war necessarily require such destruction or seizure.