Ref:
37/2010
On
Sunday morning, 16 May 2010, the Palestinian Land Authority demolished 20 homes
in the west of the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood in the southern Gaza Strip town
of Rafah, claiming that they had been built on public land. The police assisted in the process of house
demolitions. Twenty families, consisting
of approximately 150 individuals, became homeless as a result. The majority of the displaced families were
forced to set up tents on the debris of the demolished houses.[1] On the morning of Monday, 17 May 2010, the
Land Authority also demolished two houses that were under construction and a
fence in the west of al-Amal neighborhood in Khan Yunis.
These
house demolitions are part of a continued campaign implemented by the Land
Authority to remove infringements on public lands that were illegally seized by
some civilians. Bulldozers belonging to
local municipalities and accompanied by the police carried the
demolitions. These demolitions were
carried out while the Gaza Strip is subjected to a tightened siege, under which
the import of construction is banned.
The
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) expresses its grave concern over
these demolitions, which constitute a violation of civilians’ right to adequate
housing. These violations may affect an
additional 180 houses in Rafah in the future. PCHR calls upon the government in Gaza to protect civilians from forced
displacement and to put an end to such demolitions. PCHR notes that these demolitions will likely
result in increased hardship for the residents of the affected homes. The majority of the affected civilians are
impoverished refugees, and many of them have previously lost their houses when
they were demolished by IOF in past years.
According
to investigations conducted by PCHR, on the morning of Sunday, 16 May 2010, a large force of the
Palestinian police arrived in the targeted area with officials from the Land
Authority. The officials demanded that
the residents of the targeted houses evacuate their homes in preparation for
the demolition. The majority of the
residents refused to leave their houses, but were evacuated by force. The police beat them with clubs. Twenty houses, including five cement houses
and 15 asbestos-roofed ones, were demolished.
‘Issa
Abdullah al-Sdoudi, 41, from the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah, told a
PCHR fieldworker that he refused to evacuate his house in preparation for
demolition. He added that he was
surprised when a number of policemen attacked him and forcibly pulled him out
of his home. He stated that he was
violently beaten. He noted that one of
the policemen at the scene recognized him and intervened to stop the others who
were beating him. He further said that
his wife fell onto the ground and lost consciousness. The policemen then began
to remove some of the furniture from the house and bulldozers demolished the
house completely.
Samir
Zaqqout, 46, from al-Barahma neighborhood in Rafah, told a PCHR fieldworker
that over the course of three hours, bulldozers demolished numerous houses,
including his home, in which he had been living with 6 of his family members.
Zaqqout explained that the demolitions took place after the affected residents
lost a petition they filed at the High Court of Justice in Gaza. Eighteen hearings were held to consider the
case, which was then dismissed with the explanation that the targeted houses
were built on public land. Zaqqout also
explained that the police used force to evacuate the residents and that some
civilians were beaten and, as a result, sustained bruises. He added that a number of policewomen were at
the scene, some of whom evacuated his 6-member
family from his 150 m2
cement house. Zaqqout noted that many of
the affected residents were beaten by the policemen and women as they were
protesting against the demolition of their homes, which continued until 15:00.
Abdul
Aziz ‘Afana, Director General of the Department of General Administration and
Governmental Property at the Land Authority in Gaza, stated to PCHR that 17
houses were demolished, including one built with cement and 16 constructed from
tin. He explained that the demolished
houses were built on an area of 412.731 donums.[2] According to him, the lands on which the
demolished houses had been built are public lands legally referred to as Plot
2366, Section 3. He explained that 20
donums of the lands on which the demolished houses had been built are allocated
for the construction of the Islamic Call and Humanities College in accordance
with a decision issued by the Prime Minister on 12 November 2008. He noted that the Land Authority informed the
targeted residents about the demolition decision several times and delivered
notices to them. The residents of the
area did not respond, he explained. Mr. ‘Afana stated that on 12 May 2010, a meeting was held
between Nasser Barhoum, President of the Board of Trustees of the Islamic Call
College and the parties responsible for providing the land to the College,
including Rafah’s Mayor, officials from the Rafah Municipality, representatives
from the Land Authority and members of the police. It was agreed that the Land Authority,
represented in the Governmental Property Bureau in Khan Yunis, would deliver a
final notice to the residents of the targeted area on 13 May 2010 and give them
a time limit of three days to vacate the area. It was also agreed that demolitions would take place on 16 May
2010. He stated that the demolitions
took place on 16 May despite the fact that the residents did not respond. ‘Afana affirmed that the demolitions were
based on Law no. 5 of 1960, amended by
Law no. 8 of 1966, which was published in the Palestinian Chronicle. This law provides that “the ownership of
public land cannot be decided on a retroactive basis and the competent
authority shall dismantle structures without referring to any other
authority.”
The
decision to demolish houses in Rafah coincided with a decision taken by the
government in Gaza to expand areas allocated for housing on public land and to
encourage individuals and institutions to build on public land. This decision was announced by Dr. Mohammed
‘Awad, Secretary General of the Council of Ministers. Dr. ‘Awad stated: “the government decided to re-plan the public land
which has been infringed upon by people who expanded the area allocated for
housing.” Dr. ‘Awad explained that, through this decision,
the government in Gaza seeks to encourage individuals and institutions to
legally build on public land. He added
that the Ministry of Local Government, the Land Authority and other ministries
will supervise the implementation of this decision.
According
to statistics provided by the Land Authority, the Gaza Strip covers an area of
356,000 donums, distributed as follows: 225,000 donums of lands owned by
civilians, endowment lands and lands owned by local authorities (69.9%), and
110,000 donums of public land (30.1%). The government classifies infringement on public land as either
agricultural infringement or housing infringement. Agricultural infringements made up 60%,
housing infringements 5%, and agricultural-housing infringements 30% of all
infringements.
PCHR
stresses its continued support for the principle of the rule of law, including
all legal measures and actions. However,
PCHR expresses its grave concern regarding the impact of the eviction of
civilians from their homes with the justification that their houses are built
on public land. This holds true
especially in view of the serious crisis affecting the residents of the Gaza
Strip, resulting from the extensive demolitions implemented by IOF since the
beginning of the Intifada in 2000,
and the ban imposed on the importat of construction materials, urgently needed
to reconstruct thousands of buildings across the Gaza Strip. PCHR notes that all legal measures and
actions taken must take into consideration the need to enforce the rule of law
on one hand and the respect for human rights and basic freedoms on the
other. This requires examining the
status and circumstances of each of the affected houses separately. PCHR calls upon the government in Gaza to:
1. Temporarily freeze all
decisions to demolish houses built on public land and protect the affected
civilians from displacement caused by demolitions implemented by the Land
Authority.
2. Reach an adequate
agreement with the residents of houses built on public land. This may include signing contracts with the
residents to establish that the government owns these lands.
3. Associate the
implementation of any plans to remove building infringements with finding a
viable solution for the serious crisis affecting the residents of the Gaza
Strip in general.
4. Implement the
decisions of the government as announced by the Secretary General of the
Council of Ministers with regard to the adoption of policies that encourage
individuals and institutions to legally expand construction on public
land. These policies can be developed in
a way that protects the legal ownership of these lands and that protects
civilians against forcible eviction and displacement.
5. Protect civilians
against any attacks on their property and safety of person.
The
provision of houses to civilians whose homes were demolished by IOF during the
past ten years must be a priority. An
end must be put to the continued eviction of civilians from their homes without
the provision of practical alternative solutions that ensure their right to
adequate housing in accordance with the Palestinian Basic Law and international
human rights standards.