• Violation: Demolition of residence and agricultural structures.
• Date of Violation: July 30, 2024
• Location: Beit Awwa – Dura Town / Hebron Governorate.
• Perpetrator: The so-called Israeli Civil Administration.
• Affected Parties: Citizens Jihad and Azmi Al-Swayti.

Details: On Tuesday, July 30, 2024, Israeli occupation authorities demolished a residence and agricultural structures, claiming they were built without a permit, in Beit Awwa town, west of Hebron.

A force from the occupation army, accompanied by personnel from the Building and Planning Department of the "Civil Administration" and equipped with a Hyundai excavator and a bulldozer from an Israeli civilian company, carried out the demolition operation, which included the following:

1. Agricultural Residence:
   • Workers accompanying the occupation authorities removed some belongings from the agricultural residence owned by Jihad Rasem Al-Swayti before the machinery demolished it. The residence, constructed from insulated tin in 2015, had an area of 100 square meters. The citizen used it for accommodation while working on his land. He also owned a greenhouse planted with vegetables and a plot of 3 dunams surrounding it for additional farming.
   • The occupation authorities also bulldozed a concrete yard, approximately 80 square meters, surrounding the agricultural residence.

 View of the agricultural residence before demolition

2. Water Well:
   • The occupation authorities demolished a reinforced concrete water well owned by Al-Swayti, with a capacity of 160 cubic meters, used for agricultural purposes. The machinery bulldozed the agricultural residence and dumped the debris into the well to bury it.

View of the well before demolition

 Rubble from the demolition of the residence and the well

It is noteworthy that the Israeli occupation had previously threatened the Al-Swayti family with a notice granting an "additional opportunity to object to the demolition order" on July 9, 2024 (refer to the previous report for more details).

3. Additional Agricultural Structure:
   • The occupation authorities also demolished an agricultural structure (a sheep pen) made of tin sheets, with an area of 50 square meters, owned by Azmi Ahmad Al-Swayti. This structure was used for livestock. The occupation authorities had previously notified him of the demolition, but he was unable to file an objection.

 Rubble of Azmi Al-Swayti's structure

Beit Awwa Town: Located 17 km west of Hebron city, Beit Awwa is bordered to the north by the village of Deir Samit, to the west by the territories occupied in 1948, to the east by Dura town, and to the south by the villages of Tawas and Sikka. The population was 10,436 as of 2017. The total area of the town is 22,428 dunams, of which 1,048 dunams are built-up.

Israeli settlements have seized 152 dunams of the town's land. The "Nigheot" settlement, established in 1982, has confiscated 112 dunams, and the "Mershalim" settlement has seized 40 dunams. The length of the apartheid wall in the area is 4,061 meters, destroying 406 dunams of land and isolating 380 dunams.

The land in the area is classified according to the areas taken based on the boundaries of the former Al-Yasariya Municipality, of which Beit Awwa was a part. According to the Oslo Accords, the land is classified into Areas B and C, where Area B constitutes 53% and Area C, which is under full Israeli control, constitutes 47%. The total areas for Al-Yasariya Village are as follows:

• Area B: 11,846 dunams
• Area C: 10,582 dunams

Demolition of Residences and Structures Under International Law:
  The demolition of Palestinian property violates various international laws and treaties, including:

• Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – 1948: "Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property."
• Article 23 of The Lahay Convention – 1907: "The destruction of enemy property, or its seizure, is prohibited, except where such destruction or seizure is imperatively demanded by the necessities of war."
• Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention – 1949: "The Occupying Power shall not destroy or seize private property, unless such destruction or seizure is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations."
• مشروع: حماية الحقوق البيئية الفلسطينية في مناطق "ج" SPERAC IV - GFFO

  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 Norwegian Refugee Council.

  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؛ المجلس النرويجي. للاجئين