After plans to demolish 100 homes in East Jerusalem, more Palestinian homes under threat of demolition by Israel
WAFA News Agency, 18 March 2021
JERUSALEM—As plans loom for the demolition of an entire area that includes 100 houses in occupied East Jerusalem, at least eight more Palestinian-owned homes in the occupied city are facing an imminent threat of demolition by the Israeli municipality under the pretext of construction without a permit, today said different sources.
In Silwan neighborhood, two homeowners from the Abbasi family were informed by their lawyer that efforts to get a building permit for the building they constructed in 2016 to shelter their families have failed after the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem has refused to give them the necessary permit and therefore they have to empty their homes of the furniture and people in order to have them demolished, according to Khaled Abu Tayeh, member of the Committee for the Defense of Silwan Lands.
Seven people live in the two homes, including three children, he said, adding that the Israeli municipality also informed four other households in Silwan that they should empty their homes in preparation for their demolition under the pretext of construction without a permit.
The Israeli municipality also plans to demolish 100 homes in al-Bustan section of Silwan, which means displacing their 1550 Palestinian residents, more than 60 percent of them are children under the age of 18.
In Isawiyya, another East Jerusalem neighborhood, local sources said the Israeli municipality posted demolition orders on two Palestinian-owned houses in the neighborhood under the pretext of construction without a permit.
An editorial in the Israeli daily Haaretz today called on the Israeli mayor of West Jerusalem, Moshe Leon, to stop the bulldozers in occupied East Jerusalem.
M.K.
Israel Municipality Asks Court to OK Mass Demolitions in Silwan
Foundation for Middle East Peace, 18 March 2021
Haaretz reports that three weeks ago, the Jerusalem Municipality petitioned the city courts to “reactivate” demolition orders for more than 70 Palestinian structures (home to more than 1,500 individuals) in the al-Bustan section of the Silwan neighborhood in East Jerusalem. [map]
The legal case around these 70 homes dates back to 2005, when the Israeli government unveiled a plan to establish a new archaeological/touristic park called “The King’s Garden” on privately owned Palestinian land in al-Bustan. Following international blowback the plan was dropped for a time, only to be revived by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat in 2010, who once again began moving forward. To implement the plan, Israel issued demolition notices to Palestinian homes in the area — homes that Palestinians built (on their own land) but without the required Israeli-issued permits. This is, of course, a common circumstance for Palestinians in East Jerusalem and Israeli-controlled Area C of the West Bank, because Israel systematically denies planning and construction permissions to Palestinians.
Following another round of international outcry and an organized response by the Palestinian landowners, Israel (hoping to avoid more scrutiny) began quiet negotiations to provide the Palestinian land and home owners with alternative housing. After nearly seven years, the negotiations reportedly resulted in an agreement under which the city would defer demolition of the homes in question until after the Palestinians were able to build new homes (with permits) on adjacent plots.
According to Haaretz, the city has now decided it will no longer honor its commitment to defer those demolitions. The battle is now playing out in Court, with the city arguing that Palestinians have made no substantial progress on building the new homes. The Palestinians asked the court for a one-year delay, saying that there has been progress that the city is not telling the court about.
Explaining the complexity of the situation facing Palestinians, Ir Amim wrote in an 2012 report:
“According to the Municipality’s plan, houses are intended to be demolished only after residents receive alternative housing. Consequently, condensation and construction will precede demolition—the reverse of normal procedure. But this proposed solution does not appear to be feasible. In order for the solution to be realized, the people evicted from the western part of Al-Bustan, against whose homes demolition orders are pending, will find themselves in the position of having to build alternative housing. In most cases, the space designated for alternative housing is on top of existing housing in the eastern part of the area; which is to say, in a built-up area, on the private land of other families. Such an arrangement could only be executed if the family currently on the land reaches agreement with the residents who have been evicted. Once an agreement is reached, the owners of the buildings in the eastern side of the area would have to request building permits, and only once said permits are obtained would the designated demolition of the houses in the western part of the plan take place and the buildings in the eastern part be legalized. The entire process would have to occur within a predetermined period; if not, the houses on both sides of the plan—the east and the west—would be torn down. However, as described above, obtaining building permits in this area is next to impossible. Requesting a building permit can jeopardize home owners on the east side who fear ownership of their current residences may be denied, as well as being a cost prohibitive process for most residents. Moreover, the negotiation challenges posed by evicted east side residents requesting to build on top of their neighbors on the west side all but preclude the likelihood of such arrangements.”
Ir Amim wrote in conclusion:
“As argued in a recent report by Bimkom, Planners for Planning Rights: “Despite the professional and apolitical facade of the planning and declaration of national parks, the picture appears to be more complex. In certain cases and places, it appears that the planning and declaration of national parks and nature reserves serves not only to protect natural and heritage assets and valuable open areas, but also serves as an instrument to limit the building and development of the Palestinian population. This phenomenon is widespread and particularly acute in the Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.” The report goes on to state that one of the most salient features of existing plans for the Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem is the proliferation of “green areas” designated as open spaces, which constitute some 35% of the planned area (p. 6). The King’s Garden is another “green” area planned to be an open public space, though it is located in the middle of an overcrowded Palestinian neighborhood. That such a plan involves the massive demolition of Palestinian homes, and a drastic change of the neighborhood’s character from a Palestinian residential neighborhood to an archaeological park under Israeli control, raises more than reasonable concerns that the planning tool of “greening” is once again being used to establish political facts on the ground.”
The Haaretz Editorial Board intervened to plead for the municipality a return to negotiations, writing:
“Decision-makers must understand that a demolition order demolishes the lives of the inhabitants long before the bulldozer destroys their home. Anyone who hasn’t lived under the constant threat of their home’s destruction, who doesn’t panic every time a heavy vehicle rumbles down the street, or who has not seen the shadow of a bulldozer from the window of the children’s room, cannot understand the terror. Leon must come to his senses and bring the municipality back to the negotiating table, for the good of the residents of Silwan and all Jerusalemites. The success of the negotiations over the Bustan neighborhood and the construction of a new neighborhood next to the park will prove that Jerusalem has a mayor who truly works for the good of his residents and his city.”
Comments/Questions? Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org)
See video by Silwan Information Center: The risk of demolition threatens homes of Al-Bustan in Silwan
Photo: View of Silwan neighborhood of occupied Jerusalem. Source: WAFA.
