Land Research Center

Thursday January 9^th 2020, The Israeli Occupation municipality forces a Jerusalemite to demolish his own family home in Jabal Al-Mukabir on the pretext of building without licenses.

Reportedly, the house belong to brothers Maher and Mohammed Nayef Nassar, they live in the house along with their families , Maher has a family of 11 (9 of them are children), and Mohammed has a family of 4 (2 of them are children), all of them were left homeless after the demolition.

The house was built 8 years ago, and consists of 3 bedrooms , a kitchen and a bathroom with a total area of 90m², and built of bricks and cement.

Maher Nassar told LRC:

“We built a roof over our head to have a normal life like everyone else, but the Israeli occupation won’t leave us live in peace under licensing claims.

20 days before the demolition, I got an eviction order from the occupation municipality , I went to the municipality to apply for an adjournment , they gave me an adjourn for 7 days, I tried again and they gave me only one day , but I was told that in case the notice ended and they implemented the demolition , I will have to pay 80,000 shekels as demolition costs, while I was already fined 35,000 Shekels from the occupation’s municipality on the pretext of building without licenses , that I have bayed 8000 of them hoping to protect my house.

So to stop the cycle and reduce my financial loss , I rented a bulldozer and implemented the demolition myself.

As a result , our family was torn apart , some of my children are staying at their grandmother’s house, and I set up a tent at the place of the house, despite all that they will never be able to uproot our roots from the ground.”

اله

Self-Demolition is a Crime against Humanity:

Definition: When an owner of a structure is forced to demolish his property by himself, it is called 'self demolition' or 'silent demolition'. It used to be carried out in quiet or in silence as the name suggests. But recently, due to their increased number of cases, victims have come to disclose that such type of demolition exists and that it is their only choice and speak out about the inhumanity of the Israeli occupation for forcing such a practice.

This kind of demolition is mainly imposed on Palestinians in Jerusalem in efforts to displace them and Judaize the city.

The Israeli occupation always justifies that type of demolition, which is a blatant contravention of the right to residence and a crime against humanity, on the pretext of unlicensed construction.

According to the field visits conducted by Land Research Center, the occupation municipality forced the owners of 100 residences to self-demolish their structures during the past ten year. As a result, more than 848 citizens, 455 of whom are children became homeless.

Israel’s aim of the self-demolition policy in Occupied Jerusalem:

• Deporting Palestinians out of Jerusalem, to create a Jewish majority.
• Palestinians will be forced to demolish their own homes to reduce financial loss, which will make them no longer appear as victims.
• The occupation appears innocent from Eviction and demolition crimes.
• The occupation reduces demolition related procedures and measurements.
• In case the deadline was preached, the occupation authorities will find a pretext to fine the owner and gain thousands of shekels.
• With self demolition cases, there won’t be clear data and statistics for demolition cases in Jerusalem.
• Palestinians who experience self demolition may face trauma of psychological issues.

Protecting marginalized communities in Jerusalem through legal support and advocacy

This report was prepared with EU funding, the contents of this document do not reflect positions of the European Union