ISRAELI armed forces on Wednesday imposed a curfew on Jerusalem’s Shuafat Refugee Camp after cordoning off the area, in an apparent prelude to punitively demolish the family homes of a number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.
Since early October 2015, Israel has intensified its security procedures across the West Bank, including Jerusalem, as tensions and violent unrest continued to engulf the region, triggered by Israel’s repeated attempts to temporally divide al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem.
The almost daily intensified checkpoints have suffocated Palestinian towns and villages; tremendous traffic jams and delays to daily livelihoods have been witnessed across the West Bank since the beginning of unrest in early October.
A WAFA correspondent reported that Israeli forces coerced Palestinians in Shuafat into closing their shops and denied local Palestinians’ entry and exit into or out of the camp, including the access of Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC’s) paramedics.
Hundreds of troops, joined by dozens of military tanks with a military helicopter flying overhead, stormed the camp in the early morning hours and a curfew was imposed across the camp; in an anticipation to demolish the family homes of three Palestinians, whom Israel shot dead on sight, for alleged and confirmed attacks against Israelis.
Israel accused Ibrahim al-Akkari, 47, of deliberately ramming his car into Israeli pedestrians, claiming two lives in November 2014. Akkari was shot dead after he rammed his car into a light rail stop in Jerusalem in November 2014, killing two Israelis, including a police officer, and injuring 13 others.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Ali, was gunned down in October after taking part in a stabbing attack that claimed the lives of three Israeli forces; Israel has not returned the body of Ali to his family for burial yet.
Local Ahmad Salah was also killed by Israel in October during clashes at the entrance of the camp. As part of the attack on Shuafat, a large number of heavily armed Israeli police escorting bulldozers stormed the Jerusalem refugee camp, deploying across its streets and alleyways, while imposing a curfew throughout the camp.
Israeli media reported that some 1,200 police troops were deployed across the camp ahead of the planned demolition of the Akkari home in order to ‘maintain order and prevent violent rioting in the flashpoint refugee camp’.
‘The forces were instructed to show zero tolerance for any attempt to harm security forces or disrupt the public order,’ police said in a statement. Police would act ‘with determination and aggressively toward anyone, minor or adult, who violates the peace or tries to attack the forces operating (in the area), and will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law,’ the statement said.
WAFA reported on Palestinian locals as complaining that snipers occupied the rooftops of several high buildings, spreading panic among locals, particularly children. Troops forced all media reporters out of the camp and prevented a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance from entering.
WAFA reported that Midhat Dibah, an attorney representing the al-Akkari family, said that troops and special units broke into al-Akkari’s house, whose residents were not present inside at the time, after destroying the main door and then proceeded to demolish parts of the walls.
Dibah was also reported as saying that troops evicted Palestinian locals from nearby houses and cordoned the area off in preparation for the planned demolition. Troops also forced local traders to close their stores and imposed a curfew across the camp in preparation for the demolition.
Dibah explained that troops used light demolition equipment to demolish the house, nestled among several houses, and prevented locals from viewing the demolition process at gunpoint. Israel resorts to punitive demolitions of family homes of any Palestinians accused of being involved in attacks against Israelis as means of deterrence, a policy that Israel does not use against Israeli settlers who were involved in fatal attacks against Palestinians.
Israeli human rights group, B’Tselem, has called the Israeli government’s response to recent escalation in the area ‘the very inverse of what ought to be done’ toward ending the violence’. ‘The people who bear the brunt of the (punitive) demolitions are relatives – including women, the elderly, and children – whom Israel does not suspect of involvement in any offence,’ says B’Tselem.
‘In the vast majority of cases, the person whose actions prompted the demolition was not even living in the house at the time of the demolition,’ adds the group. ‘The official objective of the house demolition policy is deterrence … yet the deterrent effect of house demolitions has never been proven.
‘Since this constitutes deliberate harm to innocents, it is clear that even if house demolition had the desired deterrent effect, it would, nevertheless, remain unlawful.’ Al-Haq human rights group slammed the punitive home demolition of Palestinians suspected of being involved in attacks against Israelis, as a collective punishment and that in accordance with humanitarian law and human rights law; it is assessed as a war crime and a crime against humanity.
In the meantime, Amnesty International, argued that, The Israeli authorities’ claim that such demolitions are effective in dissuading potential attackers is entirely irrelevant in the eyes of International humanitarian law, which places clear limits on the actions which an occupying power may take in the name of security, and the absolute prohibition on collective punishment is one of the most important of these rules. Collective punishment is never permissible under any circumstances,’ it said.
• Israeli army forces closed the entrance of the town of Beit Jala, near Bethlehem on Wednesday, according to security sources. The sources said the Israeli army closed the metal gate placed at the town’s western entrance, cutting it off from the city and surrounding villages.
• The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov Wednesday expressed concern over the slow progress in bringing the perpetrators responsible for killing the Dawabsheh family to justice.
Mladenov, said in a statement ‘Four months have passed since the arson attack against the Dawabsheh family in the village of Duma in the occupied West Bank on 31 July.’ Acknowledging the tragedy of the brutal killing of toddler Ali, and his parents Reham and Sa’ad, Mladenov called on the Israeli authorities to ‘move swiftly in bringing the perpetrators of this terrible crime to justice.’
He added, ‘Today, the only surviving member of the family – four year-old Ahmed, is still being treated for his wounds at the Sheba Medical Centre.’ On July 31, the village of Duma was awakened to an arson believed to be executed by Israeli settlers who attacked the family while fast asleep and burned the house with toddler Ali still inside.
The mother and father sustained critical burns that covered mostly 80% to 90% of their bodies. The father succumbed to wounds a week after while the mother died one month later. Mladenov concluded, ‘Amidst the current escalation of violence, it is essential that all firmly and consistently reject terrorism and act decisively to stop hatred and incitement.’
Since early October 2015, the occupied Palestinian Territory including Jerusalem has been witnessing rising tensions as a result to Israel’s ongoing attempts to divide al-Aqsa Mosque between Muslims and Jews. Israeli troops have killed at least 108 Palestinians, mostly teenagers, including 24 children and five women, during the ongoing crackdown on a growing unrest against Israel’s policies in the occupied territories, which broke out in early October 2015.
13,000 Palestinians have been injured. Twenty four Israelis, including Israeli armed soldiers, were killed since early October.
