July 10, 2001
Israeli occupation forces move into Rafah and Shu’fat, demolishing more than 30 houses and leaving approximately 350 Palestinians homeless
Israeli occupation forces move into Rafah and Shu’fat, demolishing more than 30 houses and leaving approximately 350 Palestinians homeless

 

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Press Release

 

Israeli occupation forces move into Rafah and Shu’fat, demolishing more than 30 houses and leaving approximately 350 Palestinians homeless

 

  

Ref: 37/2001

Date: July 10, 2001

 

On Monday  night, July 9, 2001, Israeli occupation forces moved into the Block “O” area in Rafah, near Salah El-Din Gate on the border with Egypt.  They demolished 19 Palestinian houses without any prior warning, leaving more than 250 people homeless.  This escalation came approximately 12 hours after Israeli occupation forces concluded the demolition of 17 Palestinian houses in the eastern part of Shu’fat refugee camp in Jerusalem, leaving more than 130 people homeless.

 According to PCHR’s investigation, Israeli occupation forces, reinforced with 11 tanks and 4 bulldozers, penetrated 100-200m into Block “O” area at approximately 00:00 local time.  The area, near Salah El-Din Gate on the border with Egypt in Rafah refugee camp, is under the full control of the Palestinian National Authority.  PCHR’s field officers reported that the encroachment lasted up to 04:00 local time on Tuesday, during which time the Israeli occupation forces completely demolished 18 houses and partially damaged one more.  Israeli forces fired dozens of artillery shells and heavy- and medium-caliber bullets at Palestinian homes in the area, wounding six people.  They were evacuated to Martyr Mohammed Yousef Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah.

 Panicked, residents had to abandon their homes with no opportunity to salvage furniture or personal belongings.  The Israeli occupation forces destroyed the following houses:

 

No.

Owner

Area in square meters

Number of roofs

Number of residents

Damage

1.

Mohammed Sa’di Mohammed Ziada

180

1, asbestos –roofed

24

Completely demolished

2.

Mohammed Musleh Mohammed Abu Lebda

240

1, asbestos –roofed

20

Completely demolished

3.

Jihad Hamdan ‘Abdel-Karim ‘Abdel-‘Aal

120

1, asbestos –roofed

7

Completely demolished

4.

Amina Shukri Mustafa El-Ra’ei

200

1, asbestos –roofed

15

Completely demolished

5.

Fathi Mohammed Musleh Abu Lebda

120

1, asbestos –roofed

9

Completely demolished

6.

Jihad Hassan ‘Abdel-Rahman Kalloub

100

1, asbestos –roofed

4

Completely demolished

7.

‘Ali Maher Hassan Abu Halawa

150

1, asbestos –roofed

10

Completely demolished

8.

Sa’ada Mohammed Ahmed Abu Halawa

150

1, asbestos –roofed

3

Completely demolished

9.

Sabri ‘Abdullah Mahmoud Abu Nahla

200

1, asbestos –roofed

12

Completely demolished

10.

Zaki Khamis Mohammed Abu Halawa

140

1, asbestos –roofed

11

Completely demolished

11.

Faraj Hassan ‘Ali Abu Halawa

120

1, asbestos –roofed

6

Completely demolished

12.

Ahmed Khamis Mohammed Abu Halawa

90

1, asbestos –roofed

6

Completely demolished

13.

Anwar Hassan ‘Abdel-Rahman Kalloub

160

1, asbestos –roofed

8

Completely demolished

14.

Fayez Ibrahim Suleiman Abu Taha

300

1, asbestos and concrete –roofed

23

Completely demolished

15.

Mufid Ibrahim Suleiman Abu Taha

300

1, asbestos –roofed

9

Completely demolished

16.

Ne’ma Ahmed Mohammed El-Yazouri

250

1, asbestos –roofed

16

Completely demolished

17.

Tamam Yousef Mustafa El-Jammal

120

1, asbestos –roofed

11

Completely demolished

18.

Mahmoud Mhammed Musleh Abu Lebda

160

2

7

Completely demolished

19.

Hussein ‘Abdullah Mahmoud Abu Nahla

200

1, concrete –roofed

3

Partially demolished

 

Four Palestinian civilians were among those wounded by the Israeli occupation forces:

1)                     Ra’ed Jamal Bahloul, 26, wounded by a live bullet in the right leg;

2)                     Jamal Mohammed Abu Taha, 30, wounded by a live bullet in the left arm;

3)                     Akram Harb ‘Aashour, 37, wounded by shrapnel in the right arm and the chest; and

4)                     Yasser Mahmoud El-Khatib, wounded by shrapnel in the arms.

 

On Sunday morning, Israeli occupation forces had moved into the eastern part of Shu’fat refugee camp in Jerusalem and demolished 17 Palestinian houses, leaving more than 120 people homeless.  At approximately 07:00 local time, Israeli occupation forces imposed a strict siege on the area and started demolishing the Palestinian houses, which were approximately 200m east of “Pisgat Ziev” settlement.  This action came less than 24 hours after the Israeli occupation authorities, as a preliminary step towards carrying out the demolition, warned 25 Palestinian families in Shu’fat refugee camp to stop building their houses, claiming that these houses had no building licenses.  The demolition is part of a systematic policy adopted by Israeli occupation forces since 1967 of oppressing and expelling Palestinians from Jerusalem.  Israeli occupation forces routinely claim that Palestinian houses are built without permission as a pretext for such demolitions.  Yet it is almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain building permits under the criteria set by Israeli occupation forces.

 PCHR strongly condemns the escalation in crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians.  PCHR reiterates its call on the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to take practical measures to ensure international protection for Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and to stop war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against them.