authorities and the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem in Jerusalem to harass and displace Palestinians is
the policy of demolishing homes and leaving Palestinian families in the open without shelter. Almost a
week does not pass without a house being demolished in this or that Palestinian neighborhood in
Jerusalem.
The demolitions are concentrated in the neighborhoods closest to the outposts and settlements in
Jerusalem, especially the town of Silwan, Jabal Mukaber, Shuafat and Al-Tur. In recent days, the
Jerusalem municipality demolished the Dabash family's home in the village of Sur Baher, south of
Jerusalem. The house has an area of 7 square meters, and four people live in it. The demolition was
done by bulldozers, after the police besieged the Qusyan neighborhood where the house is located.
It is true that the Jerusalem municipality gives the Palestinians the right to object to the demolition to
the Israeli courts, but in most cases the courts agree to the demolition decision.
The policy of self-demolition of houses. It seems that it is not enough for the Israeli court to decide to
demolish houses in Jerusalem, but it also requires the owner of the house to demolish it himself instead
of having the municipality demolish it in exchange for the owner paying the demolition fee. It is a harsh
punishment for a person to demolish the house he built. It is a policy described by the homeowners as
aiming to break their morale. Muhammad Jaabis, from the Jabal Mukaber neighborhood in Jerusalem,
was forced to demolish his house, in which 7 of the family lived. Jaabis said, "I demolished my house to
avoid a heavy fine of 100,000 shekels in case the municipality demolished it, and despite my sadness
and pain that he resisted the demolition of the house that I built, I cannot pay the fine."
At a time when the Palestinians in Jerusalem are being restricted in building houses and urban
expansion, there is an accelerated settlement expansion in the Palestinian neighborhoods and bringing
in more settlers, which Jerusalemite Researcher Rasim Obeidat confirms to Alternative Information
Center” it is an implementation of the Israeli approaches towards the Israeli aims and plan of an Israeli
majority and a Palestinian minority in Jerusalem”.
The demolition of homes in East Jerusalem, as it is an occupied area in accordance with international
legitimacy and United Nations resolutions, is a violation of these resolutions and the international law
applicable to East Jerusalem, which prohibits the occupation from destroying property
The right to adequate housing is considered one of the basic human rights that have been codified by
declarations, covenants, and various international agreements. It is forbidden to violate this right,
especially if the violation is part of a policy of ethnic cleansing and racial discrimination against a
particular group, or it comes as a collective punishment. House demolitions constitute a clear violation
of international human rights declarations and conventions that guarantee the right of the individual to
adequate housing, especially Article 25/1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 11 (1) of
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966, and Article 5/E/3 of the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination of 1965 guarantees the
right to housing.