The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed on Sunday morning Wadi Hummus neighborhood in Sur Baher town east of Jerusalem and laid siege to it as a prelude to demolishing dozens of Palestinian apartments.
Head of the Wadi al-Hummus Committee Hamada Hamada said that a large number of Israeli army and police forces stormed and cordoned off the neighborhood after the Israeli municipality recently took measurements of the apartment buildings to be razed.
According to the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) the apartment buildings are located near the separation wall and pose a security threat to the settlers living in the area.
Last Thursday staff from the Israeli municipality and police forces stormed Wadi al-Hummus neighborhood in Sur Baher town and took measurements of apartment buildings slated for demolitions.
Hamada said at the time that they took measurements of 16 buildings composed of 100 apartments in the presence of Israeli contractors.
Hamada added that such step came after the period given by IOA to the owners to demolish their apartments on their own expired on July 18 2019 so the Israeli municipality would carry out the demolitions and make the owners pay the expenses.
The Israeli high court of justice recently rejected an appeal filed by local residents against an Israeli decision ordering the demolition of 16 apartment buildings containing 100 housing units in Sur Baher town.
This court ruling sets a precedent that will enable the IOA to demolish thousands of buildings and homes in the West Bank.
The Wadi Hummus neighborhood is located on the edge of Sur Baher in southeast Jerusalem. Unlike the rest of the town this neighborhood lies beyond the city’s municipal boundaries in the West Bank. Most of the area it occupies is designated as part of Area A which is under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
But after local residents submitted a petition while the separation fence was being built beginning in 2003 the location of the wall was moved so that it would not pass through the heart of Sur Baher. Thus Wadi Hummus ended up on the Israeli side of the barrier although legally it is considered to be part of the West Bank and under the PA’s control.
Wadi Hummus is the only area that remains for future expansion of the town which is surrounded by the fence and Jewish settlements. Many buildings were erected in the neighborhood over the last decade or so most occupied by young couples and families from the town. The buildings set for demolitions have some 100 apartments 20 of which are tenanted and the rest are under construction.
Building permits for those buildings were issued by the PA’s planning ministry. However seven years ago the Israel army’s central command issued an injunction banning construction of buildings within 250 meters of the separation barrier. Locals say the order was not publicized and they had no knowledge of it and that in any case it is the PA that has planning authorization in the area.
