JERUSALEM, July 9, 2015 (WAFA) – Israeli authorities on Thursday handed notifications to Palestinian families in the Bedouin village of Abu Nawar, east of Jerusalem, ordering them to stop the construction of residential structures in the area, according to local sources.

Anti-Settlement Committee (ASC) in Jerusalem said an Israeli army force and staff from the Israeli Civil Administration broke into Abu Nawar, a Bedouin community east of Jerusalem, and asked a number of local residents to attend before the Israeli court in Beit El on August 6, which will examine resettlement of the village’s residents. The army force also ordered many local residents to stop construction of residential structures.

ASC said the resettlement process could force hundreds of Bedouins out of the area and relocate them to a nearby area that is adjacent to a landfill, which is unsuitable for living.

Meanwhile, Israeli police in Jerusalem handed notifications to Palestinians in Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood informing them about the intention of the Israeli municipality to demolish a house and a car repair workshop in the area, Wadi Hilweh Information Center (WHIC) reported. 

The house is a shelter for seven Palestinians, while the workshop provides for five Palestinian families.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement to the press, slammed the latest Israeli measures in and outside East Jerusalem, saying they are intended at forcing “native inhabitants” out of their lands. 

It said the relocation of the Bedouin village comes as part of Israel’s Greater Jerusalem plan which could separate northern and southern West Bank, undermining the potential for a viable and geographically contiguous state of Palestine.

“The silence of the international community towards these practices which amount to crimes is interpreted by Israel as a motif to go ahead with its projects to destroy peace,” the statement concluded.

Issuance of construction permits for Palestinians living in Area C, under full Israeli administrative and military control, is strictly limited, forcing Palestinians residing in such areas to embark on construction without obtaining a permit to provide a shelter for themselves and their families, risking in the process having their homes demolished.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), between December 30, 2014 and January 12, 2015, the Israeli authorities demolished 27 Palestinian structures in Area C of the West Bank and five in East Jerusalem, in addition to two self demolition incidents, due to lack of Israeli-issued building permits.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) affirmed that the Israeli authorities do not only demolish Palestinian homes, but also hinder the issuance of any building licenses for Palestinians in Jerusalem and its boundaries.

Al-Maqdisi Institute reported that between the years 2000 and 2014, the Israeli authorities demolished around 1,342 buildings in East Jerusalem (the areas annexed by Israel in 1967), which has resulted in the displacement of approximately 5,760 people.

Data also showed an increase in the cases of residents being forced to demolish their own houses: 340 people were forced to demolish their own homes during the period 2000-2014; the highest rate of self-demolition was recorded in 2010 with 70 demolitions and 49 in 2009.

Many families are forced to demolish their homes with their own hands to avoid the high cost of paying for Israeli government bulldozers.

M.N/M.H