Israeli Occupation Forces demolish a car maintenance workshop in Jerusalem town of Anata
A force from Israel Civil Administration and the occupation army accompanied by military dozers raided on July 12, 2016 the neighborhood of Al-Buhaira in Anata and demolished a workshop for car maintenance on the claim of "proximity to military camp" and that the structure is founded in area "C" according to Oslo accords, which is under Israeli control.
The owner of the workshop, Ashraf AL-Joulani, told Land Research Center the following:
" I built this workshop in 2014 with a total area of 250m2. The structure is built by metal slaps and provides jobs for nine workers. During the course of work. I didn’t receive any demolition order or notice by Israel Civil Administration. There might have been a served order but I didn’t receive it. Employees of the Civil Administration tend to throw orders on the ground on the intention they get lost by vent or damaged by rain. But I didn’t receive any written or verbal order.
On July 10, 2016, employees from the Civil Administration arrived at the location and photographed the structure and I didn’t receive anything from them. Two days later, the workshop guard phone called me saying that a massive force from the occupation army and two dozers raided the area to demolish the structure. I immediately headed to the workshop but the force encircling the structure banned me from reaching it".
He also added: " The demolition operation lasted for two and half hours. The structure was totally destructed on its interior and the periphery was also damaged to make it impossible to reconstruct or rehabilitate. The dozers demolished the work equipments including cars lift. Some of the evacuated cars from inside were damaged due to the way they were pulled out. This workshop provides living for nine families".
The Israeli acts of ravaging and destruction violate the international laws and human rights that include but limited to:
- Article 17 of the (1948) Universal Declaration of Human Rights stating: “Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.”
- Section ‹G› of article 23 of the (1907) The Hague Conventions asserting: “In addition to the prohibitions provided by special Conventions, it is especially forbidden to destroy or seize the enemy's property, unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war.”
- Article 33 of Geneva Fourth Convention : "Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited".
- Article 53 of the Geneva Fourth Convention (1948) declaring: “Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.”
- Article 147 of Geneva Fourth Convention Grave breaches to which the preceding Article relates shall be those involving any of the following acts, if committed against persons or property protected by the present Convention: wilful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health, unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of a protected person, compelling a protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile Power, or wilfully depriving a protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial prescribed in the present Convention, taking of hostages and extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
