JERUSALEM, July 22, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Israeli forces surrounded a number of
Palestinian homes it considers illegal south of Jerusalem early Monday, an
AFP journalist saw, ahead of expected demolitions that have drawn
international concern.
Dozens of Israeli police and military began sealing off at least four
multi-story buildings in the Sur Baher area south of Jerusalem early Monday,
the journalist said.
Reporters and activists were prevented from reaching the area and residents
and activists were being dragged out.
One man yelled “I want to die here” after being dragged out.
The buildings are close to Israel’s separation barrier which cuts off the
occupied West Bank and the Jewish state says they were built without too
close to the wall.
Palestinians accuse Israel of using security as a pretext to force them out
of the area as part of long-term efforts to expand settlements and roads
linking them.
They also point out that most of the buildings are located in areas meant
to be under Palestinian Authority civilian control under the agreements
between the Palestinian and Israeli governments.
Ismail Abadiyeh, who lives in one of the buildings under threat with his
family, said they would be left homeless.
“We will be on the street,” he told AFP.
On June 18, residents received a 30-day notice from Israeli authorities
informing them of their intent to demolish the homes, many of which are still
under construction.
According to UN humanitarian affairs agency OCHA, the ruling affects 10
buildings already built or under construction, including around 70
apartments.
The demolitions would see 17 people displaced and another 350 affected,
according to the United Nations.
European Union diplomats recently toured the area and the United Nations
has called on Israel to abandon the demolition plan.
Residents fear another 100 buildings in the area in a similar situation
could be at risk in the near future.
It is extremely difficult for Palestinians to receive construction permits
from Israeli authorities in areas under their control, and Palestinians and
rights activists say a housing shortage has resulted.
Israel occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War.
It later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the
international community.
Israel began construction of the barrier during the bloody second
Palestinian intifada, or uprising, in the early 2000s and says it is
necessary to protect against attacks.
Palestinians see it as an “apartheid wall.”