Land Research Center

• Violation: demolition and confiscation of a veg packaging center.

• Location: Kardala village, east of Tubas.

• Date: 03/03/2022.

• Perpetrator: the so-called building inspector of the Israeli Civil Administration.

• Victims: the farmer, Muhammad Ali Radwan Fuqaha.

Description:

On Thursday morning, March 3rd  2022, the Israeli occupation forces, accompanied by the so-called building inspector of the Israeli Civil Administration, demolished and confiscated a special center for packing vegetables in the village of Kardala in the northern Jordan Valley. After the demolition, the components of the demolished center were loaded and transported to a nearby Israeli military camp via a number of Israeli trucks accompanying  the attacking Israeli demolition forces. After the operation has been completed, the owner  was handed over a confiscation order of the structure of the packaging center.

It is noteworthy that the center, which was provided by the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees ( A Palestinian NGO) was used as a central store and packaging house for vegetables goods produced for the Palestinian markets.

On February 15th  2022, the occupation authorities had handed over the owner of the storehouse a final military order of demolition and removal within a period not exceeding seven days from the date of issuance, under the pretext of building without a permit in area C according to Oslo Accords.

Mr. Fuqaha's family composes of 9 members including 7 children under the age of 18. The demolished structure  has an area of 100m2, while the number of the military demolition order is 61255.

The village of Kardala is one of the places continuously targeted by the occupation, as it is located within the area classified as C according to the Oslo Accord.  Its residential and agricultural facilities are under constant threat from the occupation authorities. Currently, there are 21 facilities in the village whose owners have received demolition notices, including the village’s only mosque. All of this aims to empty the area of its original owners, seize their land for future exclusive israeli settlers  use.  The population of the village is about 145 people, derived   from the clans of Tubas city and depend on agriculture as main source of livelihood.

Legal Commentary:

The demolition of Palestinian homes and installations by the occupation authorities is part of their violations of international and humanitarian law, and the violation of the right to adequate housing for Palestinian citizens guaranteed by international law and international treaties presented by the following articles:

• Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states that “Destruction and usurpation of property in a manner not justified by military necessity and on a large scale in an unlawful and arbitrary manner is a grave breaches of the convention.

• Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1948 prohibits the destruction of property, as this article states the following: “The occupying power is prohibited from destroying any private, fixed or movable property related to individuals or groups, the state or public authorities, or social or cooperative organizations, unless the war operations inevitably require this destruction.

• Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed.

• Paragraph 'g' of Article 23 of the Hague Convention of 1907 AD also warned against destroying or seizing the enemy's property, unless the necessities of war necessarily require such destruction or seizure.

• Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, dated December 10, 1948 states that “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property”.