Israeli soldiers began demolishing Palestinian
homes in East Jerusalem early Monday morning, according to
a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Twitter account.
"Preparations started past midnight as hundreds of armed Israeli
occupying soldiers bulldozers stormed the town. Families threatened
with demolitions were woken up moved out of their homes," read a
Tweet by the PLO - Negotiations Affairs Department.
Palestinian activists in the neighbourhood of Wadi al-Hummus in Sur
Bahir said buildings were being rigged with explosives and their
inhabitants evacuated in preparation for the demolition of dozens of
apartments.
According to United Nations officials, 17 Palestinians faced
displacement and hundreds of others faced property loss.
Israel has said that the houses were built too close to the barrier
which it built around the West Bank, citing security reasons.
Palestinians argue that the barrier has divided their neighbourhood
into sections that fall under the jurisdiction of the city of
Jerusalem and others outside it.
The Palestinian Authority has administrative rights over some of
those sections and others are under full Israeli rule, the United
Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
said in a statement last week.
"Contrary to the lies spread by the Palestinians: the demolition of
illegal structures in Wadi al-Hummus in East Jerusalem is in
accordance with a High Court of Justice ruling, which unequivocally
determined that these buildings were built illegally near the
security fence," Israel's Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan wrote
on Twitter.
"The proceedings in the High Court of Justice took several years and
yesterday the High Court of Justice rejected the request for a delay
in the implementation [of the demolition]," he added.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on Monday
morning.
United Nations officials last week called on the Israeli authorities
to halt plans for the demolitions in Sur Bahir.
"Seventeen Palestinians, including nine Palestine refugees, face the
risk of displacement," the UN said in a statement.
Another 350 people - not yet living in the buildings as they were
still under construction - risked massive property loss due to the
Israeli authorities' intention to demolish 10 buildings, including
around 70 apartments, they said.
On June 11, the Israeli High Court dismissed a petition that had been
filed by some residents of Sur Bahir in 2017 against a demolition
order of their homes, according to the OCHA.
One month ago, Israeli forces sent the residents an "Intent to
Demolish" notice.
Walid Assaf, head of the PA Commission against the Wall and
Settlements said the demolition "intends to create a buffer zone
between Jerusalem and Bethlehem to separate them."
He described the military order to demolish buildings near the
barrier as "unfair and [it] will give Israel the pretext to demolish
thousands of other buildings near the wall."
Israel began to build the West Bank barrier in 2002 during a wave of
Palestinian suicide bombings, and says there has been a significant
decline in attacks since it was constructed.
Israeli security forces tearing down one of the Palestinian buildings still under construction in the Wadi al-Hummus area adjacent to the Palestinian village of Sur Baher in East Jerusalem.