Land Research Center

• Violation: a house demolished on the pretext of un-licensing.

• Location: Al-Auja town, north of Jericho.

• Date of violation: 23/03/2022.

The perpetrator: the so-called building inspector of the Israeli Civil Administration.

• Affected party: Mr. Atta Muhammad Musa Al Ka'abneh.

 Details of the violation:

On Wednesday morning, March 23, 2022, the occupation army, accompanied by the so-called construction inspector of the Israeli Civil Administration, raided the town of Al-Auja, north of the city of Jericho, and demolished an 80-square-meter brick house and a zinc roof. The demolished house is owned by Mr. Atta Muhammad Musa Al-Ka'abneh, 39 years old and  supports a family of (7) members, including 4 children.

The owner of the demolished house gave the following account to LRC field worker:

“In October of the year 2021 AD, I rented a plot of land from the Palestinian Waqf (Islamic Trust)  in the Al-Auja area, and began building a house for my family on it. At the beginning of the current month of March, I received a military notice that included an order to demolish and remove the structure within 96 hours. I immediately started the licensing procedures, but to no avail. My house was demolished and my family was made holess without any proper reason. I work as a shepherd and do not have the money to build a new house".

It is noteworthy that the town of Al-Auja is considered one of the most prominent residential communities threatened by the Israeli occupation in the Jericho Governorate. There are more than 45 residential, agricultural and commercial establishments threatened with demolition and construction halt while dozens have actually been demolished over the past years..

Moreover, the town suffers a severe lack of basic services, as the occupation refuses to build any infrastructure, and even, prevents any development project in it, in addition to depriving the citizens of their basic right to water and land.

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”.