Israeli Forces Demolish Residential Community
In the Context of the Policy of Forcible Displacement in Area C, Israeli Forces Demolish Residential Community in Northern Jordan Valley Rendering 48 Palestinians, Including 17 Children, Homeless
On Monday, 16 September 2013, Israeli forces demolished Makhoul community to the east of Tubas town in the northern Jordan Valley in the north of the West Bank, rendering 48 Palestinians, including 17 children, homeless. They also confiscated humanitarian aids and tents provided to the community, and held 2 trucks that were transporting humanitarian aid to the affected families.
According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately 04:45 on Monday, 16 September 2013, Israeli forces backed with 10 military vehicles and 3 bulldozers stormed Makhoul area to the north of Tubas town in the northern Jordan Valley. They immediately started demolishing a Palestinian residential community where 10 Palestinian families of farmers and shepherds, comprised of 48 individuals, including 17 children, live. In this operation, Israeli forces demolished 12 tents and tin-made houses, a number of subordinate kitchens and mobile bathrooms and 28 barnyards.
Demolitions in Makhoul area were as follows:
1) The family of Mohammed Ali Bisharat: A mobile bathroom, a 30-square-meter kitchen, a 160-square-meter tent, an 80-square-meter animal barrack and a 170-meter-long animal farm were demolished, and 5 individuals, including 3 children, were rendered homeless.
2) The family of Younis Mohammed Abu Hilaw (Daraghma): A mobile bathroom, a 20-square-meter kitchen, a 72-square-meter housing barrack, an 80-square-meter animal barrack and a 200-meter-long animal farm were demolished, and 4 individuals were rendered homeless.
3) The family of Ahmed Khalaf Bani Ouda: A mobile bathroom, a 25-square-meter kitchen, a 60-square-meter housing barrck, a 40-square-meter animal barrack, an 80-square-meter animal barrack, a 150-meter-long animal farm and a 30-square-meter store were demolished, and 3 individuals were rendered homeless.
4) The family of Mohammed Younis Abu Hilwa (Daraghma): A mobile bathroom, a 20-square-meter kitchen, an 84-square-meter house, an 80-square-meter animal barrack and a 200-meter-long animal farm, and 4 individuals were rendered homeless.
5) The family of Burhan Hussein Bisharat: A mobile bathroom, a 16-square-meter kitchen, 3 30-square-meter housing barracks, a 250-square-meter animal barrack, an 300-meter-long animal farm and a 36-square-meter bird farm were demolished, and 10 individuals, including 8 children, were rendered homeless.
6) The family of Mahmoud Ali Bisharat: A mobile bathroom, a 20-square-meter kitchen, a 60-square-meter house, a 60-square-meter animal barrack, and a 100-meter-long animal farm were demolished, and 4 individuals were rendered homeless.
7) The family of Ahmed Abdullah Bani Ouda: A mobile bathroom, a 25-square-meter kitchen, a 60-square-meter house, an 80-square-meter animal barrack, a 25-square-meter animal barrack, and a 60-meter-long animal farm were demolished, and 5 individuals were rendered homeless.
8) The family of Ashraf Hussein Bisharat: A 36-square-meter house, a 110-square-meter animal barrack and a 60-meter-long animal farm were demolished, and 3 individuals, including a child, were rendered homeless.
9) The family of Yousef Hussein Bisharat: A mobile bathroom, a 20-square-meter kitchen, a 60-square-meter house, a 150-meter-long animal barrack, a 120-meter-long animal farm, a 200-square-meter animal farm and a 10-square-meter bird tent were demolished, and 7 individuals, including 5 children, were rendered homeless.
10) The family of Hussein Ahmed Bisharat: A mobile bathroom, a 30-square-meter kitchen, a 72-square-meter housing tent and 250-square-meter animal barrack were demolished, and 2 individuals were rendered homeless.
Makhoul area is located between a number of Israeli settlements, including “Ru’ei” and “Hamdat,” and an Israeli military post. Over the past years, residents of the area were subject to attacks by Israeli forces and settlers. These latest demolitions were carried out for the purpose of settlement expansion.
In the same context, on Tuesday, 17 September 2013, Israeli forces forced dozens of Palestinian families in al-Burj and al-Mayta areas in Wadi al-Maleh in the northern Jordan Valley to leave these areas allegedly to conduct military training. According to local sources, in the early morning, Israeli forces closed al-Burj and al-Mayta areas and Tayaseer checkpoint and evacuated dozens of Palestinian civilians from their tents. It should be noted that Israeli forces notified those civilians to leave the area on 10 September 2013 allegedly to conduct military training.
PCHR condemns the demolition crime committed by
Israeli forces in Makkhoul area, and views it as part of the
policy of forcible displacement adopted by Israeli forces in
Area C in the West Bank, which is under full Israeli control
according to Oslo Accords signed between Israel and the
Palestine Liberation Organization. Israel adopts this
policy for the purpose of settlement expansion, especially
in the Jordan Valley, over which Israel plans to maintain
control even if a final political solution is concluded with
the Palestinian National Authority.
PCHR reminds the international community that Israeli forces violate the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, especially Article 33 which prohibits collective punishment, and Article 147 which considers extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly a grave breach of the Convention, that amounts to a war crime according to Article 85(5) of Protocol (I) Additional to the Geneva Conventions. These crimes constitute also a violation of Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which ensures the the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing.
Therefore, PCHR calls upon the international community to take immediate and effective actions to put an end to such crimes and reiterates its call for the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to fulfill their obligations under Article 1; i.e., to respect and to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances, and their obligation under Article 146 to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention. These grave breaches constitute war crimes under Article 147 of the same Convention and Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions.
ENDS