The UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, on
Thursday urged Israeli to immediately halt all evictions and
demolitions in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, after an
entire family was forced out of their long-term home the previous
day.
Israeli police evicted the Salhiyya family from their two
adjacent houses, according to news reports, in the Sheikh Jarrah
neighbourhood in East Jerusalem early on Wednesday, and later
tore down the structures - a move which UNRWA’s West Bank field
office has condemned.
Staff who visited the scene on Thursday morning observed the
total destruction of the property, with school bags, clothes and
family photos still partially visible beneath the rubble.
Against international law
“Under international humanitarian law, the forcible
transfer of protected persons, as well as the destruction of real
or personal property belonging individually or collectively to
private persons by Israel, as the occupying power, is strictly
forbidden, except where such measures would be rendered
absolutely necessary by imperative military reasons, or for the
security of the population under occupation,” the
agency said.
The 15-member Salhiyya family, who include an older woman and
young child, had been living in Sheikh Jarrah for nearly 40
years, according to UNRWA.
The neigbourhood and tensions surrounding evictions, and
attempted evictions, was at the heart of brutal fighting that
erupted last year in Gaza, between Israel and the militant group,
Hamas.
Arrests and injuries
Israeli forces raided the two Salhiyya houses on the property, at
3am on Wednesday, while the family was sleeping.
In a matter of hours the homes, as well as their possessions,
were destroyed, UNRWA said, adding that Israeli forces injured
several family members during the eviction operations.
The head of the family, Mahmoud Salhiyya, along with other
relatives, was also arrested. Mr. Salhiyya had threatened
to set himself on fire two days ago after Israeli forces
demolished his business, located next door.
Other families at risk
UNRWA stated that sadly, cases like the Salhiyya's are not unique
as scores of Palestine refugee families in different areas of
Sheikh Jarrah alone - over 200 persons, many of them children -
currently face imminent threat of eviction.
Across East Jerusalem, an estimated 218 Palestinian households
are at risk of displacement by the Israeli authorities, the
agency said, citing 2020 data from the UN humanitarian affairs
office, OCHA.
These households comprise some 970 people, including 424
children.
UNRWA called on the Israeli authorities to abide by international
law and, as the occupying power, to ensure the protection of
Palestine refugees and civilians in the West Bank, including East
Jerusalem.
“All individuals have a right to safe and secure housing and to
live in peace and dignity,” said the agency.
Agencies call for release of seriously ill
child
In another development in the region, UNRWA and two other UN
agencies are calling for the immediate release of a seriously ill
Palestinian child detained in Israel.
Amal Nakhleh, now 18, has been held without charge for more than
a year, a measure known as administrative detention. He has
a rare neuromuscular disorder, according to media reports.
Israel has extended his detention until 18 May, according
to a statement issued on
Thursday by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UNRWA, and the UN
human rights office, OHCHR.
“Neither Amal nor his lawyers or family have been
informed of the reasons for his arrest and detention. Amal
suffers from a severe autoimmune disease that requires continuous
medical treatment and monitoring,” they said.
Not an isolated case
The UN agencies called for his “immediate and unconditional
release”, in line with international human rights law.
This is not an isolated case, they added, as currently at
least three Palestinians are in administrative detention who were
under age 18 when they were first detained.
“We echo the calls of the UN Secretary-General who in his Report
on Children and Armed Conflict has, every year since 2015, urges
Israel to end the administrative detention of children. This
practice deprives children of their liberty and must immediately
end.”
