Home Demolition as Collective Punishment

B'Tselem to Attorney General: do not allow home demolition of relatives of the murderers of Fogel family

10 May 2012

B'Tselem has written to the Israeli Attorney General, Adv. Yehuda Weinstein, requesting him to reject the Israel Security Agency (ISA) recommendation to demolish the 'Awarta homes of the families of Amjad and Hakim Awad, who murdered five members of the Fogel family in March 2011.

The letter was also addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Defense Ehud Barak, and Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz. B'Tselem Executive Director Jessica Montell wrote that the attack carried out by Amjad and Hakim Awad is shocking and horrifying. Nothing about that attack, however, makes harming their relatives, who were never found guilty of involvement of any kind, legal or moral. The murderers were sentenced to long prison terms. If it is found that family members were involved in obstruction of justice or destruction of evidence, as the ISA claims, then they should be tried in accordance with due process.

B'Tselem's letter notes that early in 2005, Shaul Mofaz, then Minister of Defense, decided to end the policy it had implemented for years of demolishing Palestinians’ homes, which was carried out under Article 119 of the Emergency Regulations. While the policy was in force, hundreds of homes in the occupied territories were demolished and thousands of Palestinians were left without shelter. The Minister’s decision was taken in the wake of conclusions reached by a committee appointed by then Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon, indicating that there is no evidence that house demolitions offer an effective deterrent to terror and that the use of this method may even be harmful.

Legal Background

Home demolition which is not required by immediate military necessity, is illegal under international humanitarian law. Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the occupying power from demolishing the property of citizens residing in the occupied territory, “unless rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.” The International Red Cross, designated as interpreter of the Convention, defined the term “military operations” as “movements, exercises, and other actions taken by armed forces for combat purposes.” House demolitions used as a penalty or deterrent, by contrast, are not carried out as part of combat. Hence, they cannot be viewed as part of “military operations” as meant in the Geneva Conventions and certainly are not “absolutely necessary” military operations.

Punitive demolition of houses contradicts the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. Although Article 119 of the British Mandate Emergency Regulations is cited as providing the authority for these demolitions and predates the Basic Law, legal rulings have held that the spirit of the Basic Law should be used to govern the interpretation even of laws that predate it.

Moreover, home demolition for punitive and deterrent purposes also violates one of the most basic norms of justice: the prohibition against punishing someone for acts carried out by another person, or in other words collective punishment. This prohibition is especially severe when the punishment victimizes children. Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention completely prohibits collective punishment, without exception.

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Planning Policy in the West Bank

Israeli house demolitions spiked in 2019 compared to previous years

Israel demolished a record number of homes in East Jerusalem in 2019, also setting a record for homes demolished by their own owners on Israel’s orders. The number of homes Israel demolished in the rest of the West Bank, both over permit issues and as a punitive measure, also spiked in the past year. East Jerusalem In 2019, Israel demolished 265 structures in East Jerusalem. According to B'Tselem figures, Israel demolished 169 housing units in East Jerusalem in 2019 –more than in any year since 2004, when B'Tselem started keeping records. The demolitions have left 328 Palestinians homeless, 182 of them minors. In 42 cases, the homeowners demolished their own houses to avoid the hefty levies the city collects for demolitions it carries out itself. This is the highest number of self-demolitions B'Tselem has recorded since it began keeping track. Additionally, 96 non-residential structures were demolished in East Jerusalem in the past year, 13 of them by the owners and the rest by the city. Palestinians in East Jerusalem are effectively left with no choice but to build without permits as a direct result of Israeli policy which makes it practically impossible for them to obtain building permits. Israel uses this policy to further its goal of perpetuating a Jewish majority in Jerusalem. One of the way in which it pursues this goal is by making life in the city unbearable for Palestinian residents, in a bid to push them to leave their homes, ostensibly of their own free will. From the beginning of 2004 until the end of 2019, the Jerusalem Municipality demolished 978 housing units in East Jerusalem, leaving 3,177 people homeless, including 1,704 minors. In addition, from the beginning of 2012, when B'Tselem began recording demolitions of non-residential structures, to the end of 2019, the municipality demolished at least 413 such structures. West Bank In 2019, Israel demolished 256 structures in the West Bank. According to B'Tselem figures, Israel demolished 106 housing units in 2019, more than it did in both 2017 and 2018. The demolitions have left 349 Palestinians homeless, including 160 minors. The Civil Administration also demolished 150 non-residential structures in the West Bank this year. Israel uses its planning system in the West Bank to block Palestinian development and dispossess Palestinians of their land. Palestinians have virtually no chance of obtaining a building permit, even for their privately owned land. With no hope of obtaining a permit and building in keeping with Israeli law, Palestinians are forced to develop their communities and build their homes without permits. As a result, they live with the constant threat of seeing their homes and businesses demolished. This Israeli policy, which has been repeatedly upheld by the country’s Supreme Court, is based on the concept that land in the West Bank should primarily serve Israeli needs and interests, while the needs of the Palestinians are never considered. From 2006, when B'Tselem started recording these figures, until the end of 2019, Israel demolished at least 1,525 Palestinian housing units in the West Bank. At least 6,660 people were left homeless as a result, including at least 3,342 minors. Israel repeatedly demolishes homes in communities it refuses to recognize, and which are at risk of expulsion. From 2006 to the end of 2019, Israel demolished the homes of at least 1,069 Palestinians, 511 of them minors, more than once. During the same time, the Civil Administration demolished 779 non-residential structures in the West Bank (including fences, water cisterns, roads, storage facilities, agricultural structures, businesses, public buildings, and other structures). Punitive demolitions In 2019, the military demolished 14 housing units as a punitive measure. These demolitions left 36 people, including 15 minors, homeless. Punitive house demolitions have also increased compared to the previous two years: Israel demolished nine housing units as a punitive measure in 2018, and seven in 2017. This policy is immoral and constitutes collective punishment, which is prohibited under international law. Nevertheless, the justices of the Supreme Court repeatedly dismiss petitions brought by Palestinians against these demolitions, relying on an unreasonable interpretation of international law and acceptance of the state’s arguments, including the claim that the policy is meant as a deterrent rather than a penalty - even though this claim has never been proven.

6 January 2020

Palestinians watch the Israeli military arrive at the family home of the person who carried out the attack in the settlement of Har Adar. Photo by Ammar Awad, Reuters

Home Demolition as Collective Punishment

40,000 Palestinians Collectively Punished after Har Adar Attack

On Tuesday, 26 September, Nimer Mahmoud Jamal, 37, from Beit Surik carried out an attack in the settlement of Har Adar, killing a Border Police officer and two settlement security guards: Sgt. Solomon Gavryia, 20, Yusef Othman, 25 and Or Arish, 25. Border Police officers and the settlement security coordinator – who himself had been moderately to seriously hurt during the incident according to the police – shot and killed Jamal. Immediately following the attack, the military implemented punitive measures against the residents of nine villages in the area of Beit Surik, northwest of Jerusalem, totaling about 40,000 people. The military’s actions included raids on villages and homes, damaging property in some cases, scores of arrests, as well as movement restrictions. In Beit Surik itself, the military sealed off all entries and exits. Soldiers took over seven rooftops in the village, having turned the residents out, and raided many other homes, conducting searches, leaving havoc behind in some cases. Soldiers also carried out patrols in the village, which attracted stone throwing on the part of local residents. The soldiers responded with live bullets, rubber-coated metal bullets and gas grenades. These incidents led to the schools shutting down. In addition, five demolition orders and 15 stop-work orders were issued, all under the pretext of “illegal construction”, and soldiers confiscated some thirty cars. Soldiers also raided the village of Bidu, and there too, clashes including stone-throwing erupted, with the soldiers responding with rubber-coated metal bullets, tear gas and stun grenades. School was canceled in Bidu as well as a result of these incidents. Soldiers took over eight rooftops in the village, having turned out the residents, and confiscated 25 vehicles. Yesterday in the early afternoon, the military set up a manned roadblock near the village, with soldiers denying passage to anyone under forty, and anyone who is not a resident of the village. A similar roadblock was set up near the entrance to Beit ‘Anan, and other side roads, used by the residents when the main entrances are blocked, were also blocked with dirt mounds. On the day of the attack, and the day after (yesterday), forces arrived at Jamal’s home, interrogated family members, and arrested his two brothers. They also surveyed the house in preparation for demolition, and revoked all family members’ permits to enter Israel for work. Disrupting the lives of tens of thousands of people, who have done nothing wrong and are not suspected of any wronging in such a severe manner is completely unjustifiable. This violence against the population is an exploitation of the military’s power and authority in aid of wanton abuse of civilians without any accountability. Palestinians watch the Israeli military arrive at the family home of the person who carried out the attack in the settlement of Har Adar. Photo by Ammar Awad, Reuters

28 September 2017