Al-Quds home razed despite court order

24 November, 2010 13:57

Israeli forces have demolished a Palestinian house in the occupied East al-Qud (Jerusalem) and destroyed a number of buildings in the northern West Bank.

Scores of Israeli forces raided a small house in the al-Tur neighborhood in the illegally annexed city on Wednesday, Shiite News reported.

The forces bulldozed the home shortly before the Palestinian owner arrived with a court letter ordering a halt to the demolition.

Abed Zablah, a father of five, said the order had been issued early on Wednesday by the al-Quds District Court, but by the time he got home with the letter, the house had already been leveled.

Meanwhile, Israeli troops in the Jordan Valley razed two Palestinian buildings and a tent in the northern West bank city of Nablus, near the border with Jordan. The buildings in the city’s southwestern area of Massu’a were being used to house cattle.

Israeli authorities have been engaged in a regular demolition of Palestinian houses in the occupied West Bank, East al-Quds in particular, claiming the buildings have been illegally constructed on public land.

But Palestinians complain that it is almost impossible for them to get permits for building on their occupied land, especially in the illegally annexed East al-Quds which the international community has never recognized as part of Israel.

Israel captured East al-Quds in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it despite strong opposition from the rest of the world.

Palestinians demand the city as the capital of their future Palestinian state and see demolition and settlement operations as part of Israel’s long-term judaization project, which would effectively make a two-state solution implausible.

‘Israelis confiscate Palestinian home’

Aided by Israeli police, a hard-line Israeli organization has reportedly taken over a Palestinian home against the will of its residents.

On Tuesday, the Elad organization, which engages itself in efforts to put Palestinian property to the name of the Jewish settlers, saw the 16 members of the household out of the building in the occupied East al-Quds (Jerusalem), Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz wrote.

“We saw people from Elad inside the house coordinating things. They seemed heavily involved,” AFP quoted activist Assaf Sharon as saying.

“There are about 100 police here and the whole area is completely closed off,” he said.

The organization encourages Jews to move into dense neighborhoods in East al-Quds, in line with Israel’s policy of Judiazation of the city, which came under Tel Aviv’s occupation in 1967.

The residents said the Palestinian owner had left the house to them in his will. Lowell Investments Ltd, a company known to be acting on behalf of Elad, however, said it had bought the property from the landlord, who recently died.

Elad has also invested financed archaeological excavations in the crowded Arab neighborhood of Silwan in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).

Tel Aviv has planned to raze 22 Arab-residing homes in the neighborhood to build a so-called archeological park. Angry locals protesting the project have been faced with stiff police action.