Israeli court approves first home demolition over non-lethal attack
Israel’s High Court of Justice has given its first approval to the demolition of a home belonging to a Palestinian who committed a non-lethal attack, Israeli media is reporting.
The court upheld a decision by Defence Minister Gallant and the Israeli army to destroy a home belonging to the family of a Palestinian man accused of having shot and severely wounded a police officer on October 12.
Home demolitions had so far only been allowed the go-ahead in incidents in which the victim was killed.
Demolishing the homes of Palestinians “suspected of carrying out attacks” on Israelis is a long-held practice of Israel. Thousands of Palestinians have lost their homes to demolitions in what human rights groups say is a policy by Israel of “collective punishment” that may amount to war crimes.
Imagine your kid throws a stone at the police, next thing your house gets bulldozed. Ma
Houses get demolished for far less
Israeli Demolitions of Palestinian East Jerusalem Homes Spike Amid War; Negev Bulldozing Renewed
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-10/ty-article/.premium/demolitions-of-palestinian-east-jerusalem-homes-spike-amid-war-negev-bulldozing-renewed/0000018c-f35e-d28a-a1fe-f7fedf170000
During previous Gaza wars, authorities refrained from demolitions in East Jerusalem to ease tensions. However, the pace increased since October, with a 60% surge in demolished homes reported in 2023. Wednesday also marked the first demolitions in unrecognized Bedouin villages since the war began
The Jerusalem Municipality has expedited the pace of house demolitions in East Jerusalem since the war began, with 140 homes demolished in 2023, marking a 60% increase from the preceding year.
Alongside these, 84 other structures, including shops and warehouses, were also demolished. This current approach diverges from past Gaza conflict periods, where authorities refrained from demolishing homes in East Jerusalem to prevent escalating security tensions in the city.
About 4,000 Palestinians displaced in the West Bank in 2023
https://www.ochaopt.org/content/about-4000-palestinians-displaced-west-bank-2023
In 2023, about 4,000 Palestinians were displaced due to policies and practices implemented by the Israeli authorities or Israeli settlers, all contributing to a coercive environment in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem:
- A total of 1,152 Palestinians, including 575 children, were displaced when the Israeli authorities demolished or forced them to demolish their homes citing lack of Israeli-issued building permits.
- 173 Palestinians, including 70 children, were displaced when the Israeli authorities demolished their homes on punitive grounds.
- 921 Palestinians, including 394 children, were displaced during Israeli forces operations, where 222 structures were destroyed.
- At least 1,539 Palestinians, including 756 children, were displaced from their homes or communities in Area C of the West Bank amid Israeli settler violence, access restrictions, and shrinking access to grazing land.
- 200 Palestinians, including 82 children, were displaced from H2 area and Masafer Yatta in Hebron, citing increased movement restrictions imposed on their communities by Israeli forces as the primary reason.
The above numbers, representing Palestinians displaced in the West Bank, are the highest ever recorded by OCHA for a single year. OCHA has recorded the displacement of Palestinians due to demolitions systematically since 2009. While the highest rate of displacement in 2023 was caused by settler violence and access restriction, this phenomenon may not capture the full scope of Palestinians being displaced in the West Bank due to multiple coercive factors, including demolitions of Palestinian homes and property, systematic discrimination against Palestinians, Israeli forces arrests and often violent operations. Insofar as such actions are committed by or with the approval or acquiescence of the Israeli authorities to force Palestinians to leave their homes and lands or constitute actions that create conditions which force Palestinians to leave their homes and their lands, such actions raise concerns of forcible transfer, which is prohibited under international humanitarian law.
Displacement due to demolition for lacking Israeli-issued building permits
Most structures demolished in the West Bank are targeted for lacking Israeli issued building permits, which are nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain under Israel’s discriminatory planning and permit laws and policies.
In 2023 895 (70%) of structures were demolished for permit issues, 37 homes and one agricultural facility of the families of Palestinians allegedly responsible for attacks targeting Israelis in 2022 and 2023 and an additional 222 structures were destroyed during Israeli forces operations, mainly in Area A
Palestinian ministry blames Israeli far-right ministers for settler attack
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has blamed the death of a 43-year-old Palestinian in Aqraba, south of Nablus, on Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and their policies in support of settlers.
In a statement on X following the shooting of Fakher Bassem Bani Jaber at the hands of Israeli settlers, it said the far-right Israeli ministers, who “brag about distributing weapons to the settlers to carry out their crimes” and who protect them, were responsible for the incident.
It added that the Netanyahu government was responsible as a whole for disregarding the lives of Palestinians and for acting in breach of sanctions imposed by several countries against violent settlers.
It called for the arrest of the perpetrators of the attack against Bani Jaber and on the international community to pressure the Israeli government to stop its encroachment on Palestinian territories.
