Green Line & West Bank Demolition and Displacement Report, June 2024

Demolitions & Displacement in the occupied West Bank and within the state of Israel

The sharp rise in demolitions in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Naqab (Negev) desert continued in June.  Yet again entire villages were razed; 100 homes were demolished as well as livelihood, agricultural and WASH structures. Hundreds of people have been displaced without a way to provide for their families under the scorching sun amidst heatwaves.

The spike in demolitions is due to the plan of Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, to clear and annex more of area C in the West Bank as Israel’s Jewish settlements, illegal under international law, are expanded.

On 4th July, Peace Now, an Israeli NGO, reported that Israel’s government has approved 5,295 new housing units as well as three new settlement outposts in the West Bank. In addition, Israel approved the largest land seizure in more than three decades. The seizure involves more than 12 sq km of land in a key corridor bordering Jordan.

In the Naqab, it is Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir who is accelerating the demolitions. Demolitions have intensified in the last six months compared to 2023, when a record number of over 3,280 Bedouin structures were razed.

Israel does not recognise 35 Bedouin villages in the Naqab because the state outlined the area for agricultural purposes under Israel’s 1965 Planning and Construction Law, meaning housing construction is illegal where they are situated. Without recognition, the villages are not zoned for planning and therefore cannot receive building permits and basic utilities like access to the electrical grid and road infrastructure. This is despite having Israeli citizenship, granted to them because they stayed on their land instead of fleeing or being expelled when the state of Israel was established in 1948. Despite having Israeli citizenship, the Bedouins in the Negev have never been granted equal rights therefore they suffer from Israel’s apartheid policies. Israel’s overall plan is to forcibly displace the Bedouins to “reservations” in the Naqab.

The spike in demolitions is due to the plan of Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, to clear and annex more of area C in the West Bank as Israel’s Jewish settlements, illegal under international law, are expanded.

On 4th July, Peace Now, an Israeli NGO, reported that Israel’s government has approved 5,295 new housing units as well as three new settlement outposts in the West Bank. In addition, Israel approved the largest land seizure in more than three decades. The seizure involves more than 12 sq km of land in a key corridor bordering Jordan.

In the Naqab, it is Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir who is accelerating the demolitions. Demolitions have intensified in the last six months compared to 2023, when a record number of over 3,280 Bedouin structures were razed.

Israel does not recognise 35 Bedouin villages in the Naqab because the state outlined the area for agricultural purposes under Israel’s 1965 Planning and Construction Law, meaning housing construction is illegal where they are situated. Without recognition, the villages are not zoned for planning and therefore cannot receive building permits and basic utilities like access to the electrical grid and road infrastructure. This is despite having Israeli citizenship, granted to them because they stayed on their land instead of fleeing or being expelled when the state of Israel was established in 1948. Despite having Israeli citizenship, the Bedouins in the Negev have never been granted equal rights therefore they suffer from Israel’s apartheid policies. Israel’s overall plan is to forcibly displace the Bedouins to “reservations” in the Naqab.

This table by the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions (ICAHD) presents the known demolitions of Palestinian homes and other structures during the month of June 2024. These data are combined from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OHCHR), Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality, and B’Tselem.

Please note thatIsrael’s demolitions of Palestinian homes comprise four categories:

1. Punitive demolitions: Houses demolished as punishment for the actions of any person associated with the home.
2. Administrative demolitions: Houses demolished for lack of a building permit. This happens in Area C and in East Jerusalem, under exclusive Israeli authority, though prior to the designation of Areas A, B & C under the Oslo Accords, Israeli occupation forces also have carried out this category of demolition in other areas. In most cases, Palestinians have no choice but to build "illegally" as Israeli municipal authorities rarely grant construction permits to Indigenous Palestinians.
3. Land-clearing operations/Military demolitions: Houses demolished by the IDF in the course of military operations for the purposes of clearing a piece of land (for any reason), achieve a military goal, or to kill wanted persons as part of Israel’s policy of extrajudicial killings.
4. Undefined demolitions: These include mainly demolitions resulting from land-clearing operations and removal of Palestinian populations with no attributed purpose.

Notes:

*    WASH is the acronym applied to structures relating to water, sanitation and hygiene.
†    In many cases, notably in East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities coerce Palestinians to either demolish their properties themselves, or have the authorities carry it out, while imposing heavy fines ostensibly to cover the occupier’s cost for rendering the service.
** No additional information is available.
Original source
Photo on front page: Rubble remaining from an Israeli forces’ demolition of a Palestinian Home in Jericho, 26 June 2024. Source: OCHA oPT.