Land Research Center

Violation: issuing halt-of-work orders on two houses.

Location: Nahalin / Bethlehem governorate.

Date: 11/08/2019.

Perpetrator: The Israeli occupation civil administration.

Victims: Citizens Ameer Shakarneh and Hamza Awad.

Description:

Sunday morning , August 11,2019, The Israeli occupation civil administration supported by the occupation army raided Nahalin village and served halt-of-work notices on two houses belong to Ameer Shakarneh and Hamza Awad, on the pretext of building without licenses.

The notice orders the immediate stoppage of construction works , and that the subcommittee will discuss in  their session wither to demolish the structure or return it to its previous status.

Jihad Fanoun from Nahalin municipality told LRC reporter:

“The occupation forces are always present in Nahalin, provoking citizens , and making sure they won’t build any new structures, to keep the area a reserve for colonial expansion.”

Owner Hamza Awad told LRC:

“My house is located on a mountain top and has a great view, we are very blessed to be here, and it is a great area with fresh air.   Since we received a halt-of-work notice, we have been living in fear and tension of our dark future . The occupation makes sure that we are never happy and constantly disturb our lives. This is a violation of our right to an adequate housing, which is guaranteed by international conventions and agreements.

The following table shows more information about the targeted houses:

Noteworthy, the occupation forces and authorities do not respect the Sancity of Moslem holidays , they served notices on the first day of  Eid Al-Adha , while during their holidays and religious occasions they close off Al-Aqsa Mosque to  perform their religious practices.

The Israeli occupations carry on their attacks on Palestinians and their lands in Nahalin , despite the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution in its 28^th session , that condemned Israeli continuous expansion of settlements , land grabs, confiscation of properties , as violations of the fourth Geneva convention on the protection of Civilians in times of war, but the occupation does not respect any of these laws.

Noteworthy , Nahalin town is going under a wave of assaults and violations by the Israeli occupation , it is surrounded by settlers and settlements which reduces the area for physical expansion.

Nahalin:[1]

The village is located 10 km to the south west of Bethlehem and 3.5 km to the east of the armistice line of 1949.

The village's total area is 18,858 dunums including 890 dunums of built-up area, inhabited by 8741 people according to the PCBS statistics of 2017.

Israel has confiscated 4,283 dunums from the village lands 3,583 dunums of which for colonial expansion purposes and 700 dunums for the favor of bypass roads. There are 8 colonies founded on the village land, namely (Beit Ein, Tsoref, Majdal Oz, Jabot, Kfar Etzion, Efrat, Illit, Rosen Tsurem and Allon Shevut).

The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of LRC and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union

[1] GIS-LRC