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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">‘War Crimes’: This is How Israel Demolishes Palestinian Homes in the Occupied West Bank</h1>June 22, 2023</div>
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<img src="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/House-demolition-fayha-678x438.png" alt="" title="House demolition fayha" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;" width="416" height="269">
The demolished house of Palestinian
prisoner Islam Al-Faroukh, in the town of Ramallah. (Photo: The
Palestine Chronicle, Supplied)
<p><strong>By <a href="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/fahya-shalash" title="Display all articles for Fayha Shalash">Fayha Shalash</a></strong></p><p><span>Every
morning, Salah Al-Khawaja, 53, sits between the shattered walls of his
house. He spends his time reliving his family’s memories in each of the
demolished rooms.</span></p>
<p><span>The Israeli occupation forces stormed the house of the Khawaja
family, in the town of Nilin, west of Ramallah, on May 23. They blew up
the home, despite the fact that it is located in a four-story
residential building.</span></p>
<p><span>The destruction of the family home came less than three months
after Moataz, Salah’s 23-year-old son, allegedly carried out a shooting
attack on Dizenkoff Street, in the center of Tel Aviv. This attack
resulted in the death of an Israeli and the injury of others.</span></p>
<p><img src="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/WhatsApp-Image-2023-06-21-at-11.50.55-PM-1.jpeg" alt="" style="margin-right: 0px;" width="416" height="278"> <img src="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/WhatsApp-Image-2023-06-21-at-11.50.55-PM.jpeg" alt="" style="margin-right: 0px;" width="416" height="278"> <img src="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/WhatsApp-Image-2023-06-21-at-11.50.56-PM-1.jpeg" alt="" style="margin-right: 0px;" width="416" height="278"></p>
<p><span>Aside from refusing to release Moataz’s body to this day, thus
not allowing his family to give him a proper burial, the Israeli
soldiers stormed his house several times and arrested his father for two
weeks. They took measurements of his house in preparation for its
demolition after handing his family a demolition notice.</span></p>
<p><span>“Soon after learning that Moataz was the young man who was
killed by the soldiers after the attack in Tel Aviv, the house was
stormed by dozens of Israeli troops. They began planning the house
destruction, and, in two months, the house was blown up,” Salah told The
Palestine Chronicle.</span></p>
<p><span>The family of seven sought the help of the town’s residents to
move the furniture from their home to safety, after being handed the
Israeli court order to demolish the house at any time.</span><span> </span></p>
<p><span>“My siblings and I built this building on a plot of land that
we inherited from my father. Each one of us lived on a separate floor.
All my children were born and raised here, and it carries many memories
that we can’t forget,” Salah added.</span></p>
<p><span>Dozens of Israeli military vehicles with hundreds of soldiers
stormed Ni’lin on the night of May 23, carrying boxes of explosives, in
preparation for the demolition operation.</span></p>
<p><span>“They surrounded the building, stormed in and then ordered us
to leave within minutes. We couldn’t carry anything except our wallets.
They forced all the residents to get out of the building, and then
forced the residents of the whole neighboring houses to leave,” Salah
added.</span></p>
<p><span>Within hours, the house of the Khawaja family turned into
rubble. Its internal walls were shattered, while the external ones still
bear witness to the enormity of the explosion.</span></p>
<p><span>The rest of the apartments in the building were not demolished
but were damaged by the explosives. All the windows were shattered and
the fragments of the bombed house were spread throughout the entire
neighborhood.</span></p>
<p><span>“I now live with my family in my brother’s house on the top
floor of the building. Our life will never be the same. But no matter
how painful, the demolition of the house didn’t take away our
steadfastness and dignity,” Salah concluded.</span></p>
<p><b>Memorable Details</b></p>
<p><span>According to the Palestinian Information Center MAUTA, 13 homes
of Palestinians accused of carrying out resistance operations – some
killed and others imprisoned – have been demolished or blown up by the
Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem since
the beginning of 2023.</span></p>
<p><span>One of the last homes to be demolished was the family home of
Palestinian prisoner Osama Al-Taweel, who was accused by Israel of
killing a soldier near the Shavei Shomron settlement, in the northern
West Bank, last October.</span></p>
<p><img src="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/WhatsApp-Image-2023-06-21-at-11.50.56-PM-1-1.jpeg" alt="" style="margin-right: 0px;" width="416" height="278"> <img src="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/WhatsApp-Image-2023-06-21-at-11.50.56-PM-2.jpeg" alt="" style="margin-right: 0px;" width="416" height="278"> <img src="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/WhatsApp-Image-2023-06-21-at-11.50.56-PM.jpeg" alt="" style="margin-right: 0px;" width="416" height="278"></p>
<p><span>At the break of dawn on June 16, Israel blew up the prisoner’s house in the center of Nablus, leaving massive damage.</span><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Huda al-Taweel, Osama’s mother, was devastated by the loss of
her home and all the family memories it contained. She raised her son
there. Now, the house is gone and the son is in prison. </span></p>
<p><span>Only a week prior to the demolition, the Israeli army blew up
the apartment of Palestinian prisoner Islam Al-Faroukh in the heart of
Ramallah. </span></p>
<p><span>On June 22, Israeli forces blew up the house of Palestinian
prisoner Kamal Jouri, who was arrested last February and accused of
taking part in the killing of an Israeli occupation soldier in the West
Bank last October.</span></p>
<p><b>Policy of ‘Deterrence’</b></p>
<p><span>The frequency of the demolitions suggests that this policy has
become a way for Israel to achieve what it calls ‘deterrence’, with the
aim of discouraging Palestinains from taking part in the ongoing
resistance against the Israeli occupation army and its illegal
settlers. </span></p>
<p><span>However, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz published a report last
March in which it stated that the policy of demolishing the homes of the
Palestinian resisters had failed to achieve its primary goal. “(Its)
effectiveness in deterring potential terrorists is in doubt”, according
to Haaretz.</span></p>
<p><img src="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/WhatsApp-Image-2023-06-21-at-11.50.58-PM-1.jpeg" alt="" style="margin-right: 0px;" width="416" height="278"> <img src="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/WhatsApp-Image-2023-06-21-at-11.50.59-PM.jpeg" alt="" style="margin-right: 0px;" width="416" height="278"></p>
<p><b>A War Crime</b></p>
<p><span>Shawan Jabarin, General Director of Al-Haq Foundation, </span><a href="https://www.palestine-studies.org/ar/node/1650159"><span>believes</span></a><span>
that the home demolition policy dates back to 1967. At the time, it
targeted the homes of Palestinian fighters and anyone who supported
them.</span></p>
<p><span>According to Jabarin, “The logic of house demolitions is
punitive, in order to deter other people from carrying out similar acts,
and to try to intimidate the community that hosts them.”</span></p>
<p><span>Jabarin added that this is a retaliatory and not a legal
measure, as there is no other country in the world that implements the
policy of demolishing homes except for Israel.</span></p>
<p><span>“The international institutions consider house demolitions a war crime and a collective punishment,” Jabarin indicated.</span></p>
<p><em><span>(The Palestine Chronicle) </span></em></p>
<div><p><img src="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Fayha-Shalash.png" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" width="180" height="180"></p><p><span><em>- Fayha'</em><em>
Shalash is a Ramallah-based Palestinian journalist. She graduated from
Birzeit University in 2008 and she has been working as a reporter and
broadcaster ever since. Her articles appeared in several online
publications. She contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle.</em></span></p></div>
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