The remains of the home of Ishak Mustafa, a Palestinian living in the East Jerusalem village of Isawiyya, which was demolished by the Israeli authorities on the evening of 14 July, 2008.
Ishak Mustafa, a Palestinian living in the East Jerusalem village
of Isawiyya, woke up yesterday morning (15 July) to find that Israel had
demolished his nearly completed home.One day prior, five additional Isawiyya residents received demolition
orders from the Jerusalem Municipality, ordering them to evacuate their homes
within 10 days. One of these five
residents is Fathi Khader Abu Humus.Fathi’s
building houses not only his family but also his grocery store, the apartments
of two additional families and the only bakery in Isawiyya.The demolition of this building will affect
not only the lives of the 20 people living in it, but the entire village which
will lose their bakery and grocery store.
Fathi’s struggle with the Jerusalem Municipality began in 2002
during the planning stages of his building. Initially the Municipality ruled
that he could purchase a legal building permit, although it later recanted this
authorization, claiming his building plan did not meet binding legal
standards.Three separate times Abu
Humus was asked by the Municipality to revise his building plans, which he did,
although the Municipality still refused to grant him a building permit.Fathi eventually had no choice and to
accommodate his growing family, he built the house without a permit.Since April of 2005, he has been paying fines
for this unauthorized building of NIS 800 each month to the Jerusalem
Municipality, and must continue doing so until April 2013.
“Even after they come and
destroy my home, I will still have to pay the NIS 800 every month until the
2013 deadline.”Fathi Abu Humus
exclaimed.“If I refuse to pay, Israel will
put me in jail and make me pay even more fines.We have nowhere to go if we lose our home.Israel is putting us out on the street.”
Abu Humus’ attorney has requested to suspend the eviction and
demolition order, so all Fatihi and his family can do for the moment is wait
and see.“We will not move out,” he says
grimly. “We will stay and fight for our home until the very end.”
Also in East Jerusalem, Mohammed and Fawzia al-Kurd are facing
imminent eviction from their home of over forty years in the Sheikh Jarrah
neighborhood. For decades the ownership of the land in Sheikh Jarrah has been
contested between Jewish groups and Palestinian families, each claiming lawful
possession back hundreds of years. In 2000, Israeli settlers took over a newly
renovated portion of the al-Kurd home after a court ruling allowed them to
inhabit half of the house. Since that time, armed guards have protected the
settlers living in the confiscated section of the al-Kurd home, the settlers’
front door only steps away from that of the al-Kurd family.
Only one year ago,
the Israeli High Court ruled that the settlers should be evicted from the al-Kurd
home, but the settlers refused to leave and the Israeli police failed to enforce
this court order. Opposing the previous decision, on 14 July 2008, the Supreme
Court issued a judgment in favor of the settlers, ordering the expulsion of the
al-Kurd family. Amal Alqasem of the Jerusalem
Coalition stated that the family has vowed to stay in their home and fight the
eviction order.
Yesterday’s ruling also jeopardizes 27 additional
Palestinian owned homes nearby, housing over 500 people. Israeli settlers are
also targeting these homes to make way for a new 250-unit Israeli settlement in
the heart of East Jerusalem.
A building owned by Fathi Khader Abu Humus is slated to be demolished. This building houses his family and also his grocery store, the apartments of two additional families and the only bakery in Isawiyya
Abu Humus showing receipts for his 800 shekel monthly fine, which he is obligated to pay until 2013 even if the Israeli authorities demolish his properties.
A closup of one of the reciepts for the monthly fine.
Fawzia al-Kurd, whose family is facing imminent eviction from their home of over forty years in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, interviewed by local and international press.
The home in of the al-Kurd family in Sheikh Jarrah. The door on right is the al-Kurd family, the door on left is where the settlers have taken over and live.
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