Αrt2160 10 Ιανουαρίου 2017
As settlements encroach deeper into occupied East Jerusalem and pressure mounts on the area's Palestinian population, UNOCHA estimates that around 1,000 new housing units are being built without a permit each year, for a current total of more than 25,000. Annual demolition figures do not exceed two percent of what is considered illegal, suggesting that the cycle of unlicensed construction and Israeli demolition may continue indefinitely.
Factors such as the budget, political decisions and settlement plans may affect the demolition numbers in any given year. The data in this project represents just a fraction of the toll that Israel's policy of home demolitions has wrought throughout the occupied West Bank over the years.
http://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2017/jerusalem-2016-home-demolitions/index.html
www.fotavgeia.blogspot.com
For decades, Israel has been accused of using home demolitions as a tool to control the Palestinian population in the occupied territories. Approving less than two percent of all requests for building permits submitted by Palestinians, Israel then razes the homes and shops that lack one. In recent months, Israel has also ramped up its policy of punitive demolitions, despite the practice being labelled a war crime.
For a full year, Al Jazeera worked with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to monitor and document every demolition that occurred in occupied East Jerusalem, a neighbourhood that has been at the heart of a recent wave of unrest.
The data provides detailed insights into the scale and scope of Israel's home demolitions, revealing the devastating toll on Palestinian families. 2016 was a record year, with the highest number of demolitions and displacements since UNOCHA began recording these trends in 2009.
For a full year, Al Jazeera worked with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to monitor and document every demolition that occurred in occupied East Jerusalem, a neighbourhood that has been at the heart of a recent wave of unrest.
The data provides detailed insights into the scale and scope of Israel's home demolitions, revealing the devastating toll on Palestinian families. 2016 was a record year, with the highest number of demolitions and displacements since UNOCHA began recording these trends in 2009.
*A Palestinian family was forced to self-demolish their home, which had been under construction in Beit Hanina, for lacking an Israeli building permit. The family said they began building the home in late December 2015, spending around $5,000 on construction materials to get started. Almost immediately, they received a demolition order. In order to avoid the high costs associated with having municipal authorities demolish their home, they opted for self-demolition instead, taking it apart brick by brick
*Israeli forces used sledgehammers to smash the walls of Mohammed Allyan's home, the middle storey of a three-storey building. The demolition was punitive: Mohammed's son, Bahaa, was accused in a deadly shooting and stabbing attack in the East Talpiot Jewish settlement in October 2015. Bahaa was killed at the scene of the attack and the demolition order was swiftly issued. Although the family had appealed to Israel's Supreme Court, the order was upheld. Eight members of the family were displaced, forced to erect a tent by the ruins of their old home.
*Israeli forces punitively sealed with concrete the family home of Alaa Abu Jamal, who was involved in an October 2015 attack on Israeli citizens. Abu Jamal was killed at the scene of the attack. Five family members who lived in the home, including three children, were displaced by the sealing, which affected the first floor of a three-storey building, built in 1990. This was the third time that properties belonging to Abu Jamal's family have been punitively demolished or sealed off.
*A Palestinian family was forced to self-demolish their horse stable for lacking an Israeli building permit. The wooden stable was built in 2013 to provide shelter for two horses. According to the family, Israeli authorities visited the property in December 2015, confiscated one of the horses and ordered the stable demolished.
*Israeli authorities demolished a home that was under construction because the family did not have a building permit. The family began building the concrete-and-stone home in April 2015 and received the demolition order a few months later. In addition to destroying the home, Israeli forces bulldozed an olive field and damaged several olive trees while carving out a path to the house. The home, which had been just two months away from completion, was intended to house the family's next generation.
*Israeli authorities demolished an under-construction home because it lacked a building permit. The affected family said they began building the home in November 2015 and quickly received a stop-work order. In late December, the family appealed against the order and received a one-month injunction; but in carrying out the demolition just a week later, Israeli authorities alleged that the family had violated the conditions of the injunction by altering the "status quo" of the home. A mother and her two children had planned to move into the home, but instead, they had to continue living with their grandmother.
*Part of a restaurant belonging to a Palestinian family was demolished by Israeli forces because it lacked a building permit. The demolished portion, an 80sq-metre extension to an older structure built in 1998, comprised the restaurant hall, which cost the family approximately $90,000 to build. Its demolition rendered the restaurant temporarily non-functional. The family says they never received a demolition order.
*A Palestinian family was forced to self-demolish a shelter for goats because it lacked a building permit. The shelter, made of zinc and bricks, was built in June 2015, and a demolition order was issued the following November. The family opted to self-demolish the shelter to avoid other penalties, including a $10,000 fine and possible prison time. After the demolition, they were forced to sell the goats, causing them to lose a significant source of their limited income.
*Israeli forces used sledgehammers to smash the walls of Mohammed Allyan's home, the middle storey of a three-storey building. The demolition was punitive: Mohammed's son, Bahaa, was accused in a deadly shooting and stabbing attack in the East Talpiot Jewish settlement in October 2015. Bahaa was killed at the scene of the attack and the demolition order was swiftly issued. Although the family had appealed to Israel's Supreme Court, the order was upheld. Eight members of the family were displaced, forced to erect a tent by the ruins of their old home.
*Israeli forces punitively sealed with concrete the family home of Alaa Abu Jamal, who was involved in an October 2015 attack on Israeli citizens. Abu Jamal was killed at the scene of the attack. Five family members who lived in the home, including three children, were displaced by the sealing, which affected the first floor of a three-storey building, built in 1990. This was the third time that properties belonging to Abu Jamal's family have been punitively demolished or sealed off.
*A Palestinian family was forced to self-demolish their horse stable for lacking an Israeli building permit. The wooden stable was built in 2013 to provide shelter for two horses. According to the family, Israeli authorities visited the property in December 2015, confiscated one of the horses and ordered the stable demolished.
*Israeli authorities demolished a home that was under construction because the family did not have a building permit. The family began building the concrete-and-stone home in April 2015 and received the demolition order a few months later. In addition to destroying the home, Israeli forces bulldozed an olive field and damaged several olive trees while carving out a path to the house. The home, which had been just two months away from completion, was intended to house the family's next generation.
*Israeli authorities demolished an under-construction home because it lacked a building permit. The affected family said they began building the home in November 2015 and quickly received a stop-work order. In late December, the family appealed against the order and received a one-month injunction; but in carrying out the demolition just a week later, Israeli authorities alleged that the family had violated the conditions of the injunction by altering the "status quo" of the home. A mother and her two children had planned to move into the home, but instead, they had to continue living with their grandmother.
*Part of a restaurant belonging to a Palestinian family was demolished by Israeli forces because it lacked a building permit. The demolished portion, an 80sq-metre extension to an older structure built in 1998, comprised the restaurant hall, which cost the family approximately $90,000 to build. Its demolition rendered the restaurant temporarily non-functional. The family says they never received a demolition order.
*A Palestinian family was forced to self-demolish a shelter for goats because it lacked a building permit. The shelter, made of zinc and bricks, was built in June 2015, and a demolition order was issued the following November. The family opted to self-demolish the shelter to avoid other penalties, including a $10,000 fine and possible prison time. After the demolition, they were forced to sell the goats, causing them to lose a significant source of their limited income.
ΜORE
As settlements encroach deeper into occupied East Jerusalem and pressure mounts on the area's Palestinian population, UNOCHA estimates that around 1,000 new housing units are being built without a permit each year, for a current total of more than 25,000. Annual demolition figures do not exceed two percent of what is considered illegal, suggesting that the cycle of unlicensed construction and Israeli demolition may continue indefinitely.
Factors such as the budget, political decisions and settlement plans may affect the demolition numbers in any given year. The data in this project represents just a fraction of the toll that Israel's policy of home demolitions has wrought throughout the occupied West Bank over the years.
http://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2017/jerusalem-2016-home-demolitions/index.html
www.fotavgeia.blogspot.com
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