2023-05-10

The Occupation Authorities Demolish two houses for Shqairat Family in Jerusalem

Violation: Demolition of a residential building (two apartment).

Date: May 10th 2023.

Location: Khallet ‘Abed / Jabal Al-Mukaber in Occupied Jerusalem.

Victims: Brothers Firas and ‘Ali Shqairat.

Description:

In May 10th 2023 , The Occupation’s Jerusalem municipality workers , accompanied by forces and two bulldozers raided Al-Mukaber village , and surrounded a house belongs to Firas and ‘Ali Zakariya Shqairat , and forcedly expelled them and their families, then carried on a demolition operation that targeted the two floors structure, on the pretext of building without a license.

The affected citizen Firas Shqairat said: “the occupation forced forced us to evict the house, and leveled it to the ground, they did not allow us to take our properties . Noteworthy, we already have a legal file at the Israeli court , and we have been paying fines 180 thousand shekels since 2019, we had a court session last march , that ended up with a delay of the demolition order to September 15th 2023 , only in condition to commit to paying 30 thousand shekels .  we were shocked when a lawyer called a week ago saying that the agreement is cancelled and now they have to demolish the houses.”.

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The demolition operation that targeted Shqairat family

Firas asserted: “The Occupation never commits to the international law and treaties, and demolishes Palestinian houses and properties , their demolition operations always take place in night time , while people of the neighborhood are asleep, this only shows how much they fear the Palestinian people knowing that they violate their rights and humiliate them every day .”

Shqairat family home was built since 2016 of concrete and stones , and provides a roof for two families , Firas apartment has an area of 110 m2 , and provides a home for a family of 5 among them 3 children , while his brother ‘Ali Shqairat apartment is 110 m2 , and provides a home for a family of 4 among them 2 children.

Legal Commentary:

The demolition of Palestinian homes and installations 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:

Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, dated December 10, 1948 states that “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property”.

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.



This report was published as part of Project activities:

“Supporting Marginalized Communities in Jerusalem through Legal Aid and advocacy"

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of Land Research Center and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the project donor; the EU

إخلاء المسؤولية: الآراء ووجهات النظر الواردة في هذا التقرير هي آراء ووجهات نظر مركز أبحاث الأراضي ولا تعكس بالضرورة وجهات نظر أو مواقف الجهة المانحة للمشروع؛ الاتحاد الاوروبي

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