UNRWA condemns demolition of Palestinian home in East Jerusalem

Israeli constabulary evicted the Salhiyya household from their 2 adjacent houses, according to quality reports, successful the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood successful East Jerusalem aboriginal connected Wednesday, and aboriginal tore down the structures - a determination which UNRWA’s West Bank tract bureau has condemned. 

Staff who visited the country connected Thursday greeting observed the full demolition of the property, with schoolhouse bags, apparel and household photos inactive partially disposable beneath the rubble. 

Against planetary law 

“Under planetary humanitarian law, the forcible transportation of protected persons, arsenic good arsenic the demolition of existent oregon idiosyncratic spot belonging individually oregon collectively to backstage persons by Israel, arsenic the occupying power, is strictly forbidden, but wherever specified measures would beryllium rendered perfectly indispensable by imperative subject reasons, oregon for the information of the colonisation nether occupation,” the bureau said. 

The 15-member Salhiyya family, who see an older pistillate and young child, had been surviving successful Sheikh Jarrah for astir 40 years, according to UNRWA.   

The neigbourhood and tensions surrounding evictions, and attempted evictions, was astatine the bosom of brutal warring that erupted past twelvemonth successful Gaza, betwixt Israel and the militant group, Hamas. 

Arrests and injuries 

Israeli forces raided the 2 Salhiyya houses connected the property, astatine 3am connected Wednesday, portion the household was sleeping.   

In a substance of hours the homes, arsenic good arsenic their possessions, were destroyed, UNRWA said, adding that Israeli forces injured respective household members during the eviction operations. 

The caput of the family, Mahmoud Salhiyya, on with different relatives, was besides arrested.  Mr. Salhiyya had threatened to acceptable himself connected occurrence 2 days agone aft Israeli forces demolished his business, located adjacent door. 

Other families astatine risk 

UNRWA stated that sadly, cases similar the Salhiyya's are not unsocial arsenic scores of Palestine exile families successful antithetic areas of Sheikh Jarrah unsocial - implicit 200 persons, galore of them children - presently look imminent menace of eviction.  

Across East Jerusalem, an estimated 218 Palestinian households are astatine hazard of displacement by the Israeli authorities, the bureau said, citing 2020 information from the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA. 

These households comprise immoderate 970 people, including 424 children. 

UNRWA called connected the Israeli authorities to abide by planetary instrumentality and, arsenic the occupying power, to guarantee the extortion of Palestine refugees and civilians successful the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.  

“All individuals person a close to harmless and unafraid lodging and to unrecorded successful bid and dignity,” said the agency. 

Agencies telephone for merchandise of earnestly sick child 

In different improvement successful the region, UNRWA and 2 different UN agencies are calling for the contiguous merchandise of a earnestly sick Palestinian kid detained successful Israel. 

Amal Nakhleh, present 18, has been held without complaint for much than a year, a measurement known arsenic administrative detention.  He has a uncommon neuromuscular disorder, according to media reports. 

Israel has extended his detention until 18 May, according to a statement issued connected Thursday by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UNRWA, and the UN quality rights office, OHCHR. 

“Neither Amal nor his lawyers oregon household person been informed of the reasons for his apprehension and detention. Amal suffers from a terrible autoimmune illness that requires continuous aesculapian attraction and monitoring,” they said. 

Not an isolated case 

The UN agencies called for his “immediate and unconditional release”, successful enactment with planetary quality rights law. 

This is not an isolated case, they added, as presently astatine slightest 3 Palestinians are successful administrative detention who were nether property 18 erstwhile they were archetypal detained. 

“We echo the calls of the UN Secretary-General who successful his Report connected Children and Armed Conflict has, each twelvemonth since 2015, urges Israel to extremity the administrative detention of children. This signifier deprives children of their liberty and indispensable instantly end.”