To demolish the school, the Mosque and leave the illegal outposts in South Hebron Hills ›

Umm-Fakra-mosque-demolition

To demolish the school, the Mosque and leave the illegal outposts in South Hebron Hills

The State of Israel does not grant building permits to South Hebron Hills residents, supports the illegal outposts in the area and seeks to prevent living in the area. Here is a full description of the destruction of school services in the Palestinian village of Susya, a mosque and other structures in Hirbet M’faqura. Please let all your social networks know and give hope to the oppressed residents of South Hebron Hills.

On Thursday, November 24^th we went to visit the local school in Susya, in South Hebron Hills, in order to see the development of this educational institute. When we arrived we realized that since our last visit, two weeks ago, the building of the permanent school was almost finished. Mobile toilets were brought to the place, a cistern, that is supposed to serve the school, is being quarried and the dirt track that leads to the school is being renovated. Our initial enthusiasm at the school’s development vanished when the school’s headmaster showed us orders issued by the Civil Administration to stop the work. The meaning of these orders is clear. The State of Israel intends to demolish the facilities designed for the education and development of the children in the area. The orders include the main building, toilets, the cistern and the road to the school.

The demand to demolish the school ignored these factors:

1. The school was built on the border between B and C area. This means, according to the Civil Administration’s officer, that the school is located 100 meters inside area C.
2. The school provides an essential service to Palestinian Susya’s Children.
3. The demolition of the cistern and the toilets are a death sentence for the school.

There is not explanation why the State of Israel wants to completely demolish the school. The stop building order will lead to demolition orders and to the demolition itself.

The demolitions that were executed by the IDF, the Civil Administration, as representatives of the State of Israel, in South Hebron Hills, show the duration of the bureaucratic procedure that leads to demolition varies from one case to the other: In the case of Muhamed Musa Muganem from Susya, it ended in a few weeks. Without legal protection, two months passed from the time the stop working orders were issued until November 23^rd when a bulldozer, accompanied by military and police forces, demolished the two temporary buildings that were Muhamed Muganem’s family home during the last months.

Demolition of structures at Hirbet M’Faquara

Many structures were demolished at Hirbet M’Faquara (the caves village at Um Faquara) under the patronage of the destructive bureaucracy of the State of Israel. The same bureaucratic process that leads eventually to demolition has lasted longer: In the spring of 2000 the people who were evicted during the winter of 1999 returned to their village. According to the interim ruling of the Supreme Court that enabled their return, they were prevented from building until the final ruling. The years passed, and there was no final ruling. The freeze that prevents them from any possibility of development in Hirbet M’Faquara (including preventing their connection to electricity) became a permanent fact. Four years ago, the residents of Hirbet M’Faquara started to break the freeze order and dared to build a small mosque for the local residents. At the same time, the village’s Mukhtar, Mahmud Hamada, added two rooms above his cave for his growing family.

In later years a few more buildings were added to Hirbet M’Faquara. The Civil Administration issued stop work orders to all the new buildings. The lawyers representing the owners of these buildings succeeded in delaying, for a few years, the race of the occupation’s bureaucracy, until last Thursday (November 24^th 2011): two bulldozers came to Hirbet M’Faquara, accompanied by Civil Administration officials, soldiers and policemen, and demolished the village’s mosque and the rooms of the village’s Mukhtar (the cave, located beneath the rooms, was severely damaged, and only one of two rabbits that was in the corral survived, the other died).

A strange detention of two young female students

During the demolitions in Hirbet M’Faquara, the security forces detained two young girls, residents of the place – the daughter of the Mukhtar, Sausan Hamada, 21 year old student, and her relative, 17 years old – Amal Hamada. The two girls were taken to a detention facility in Tel Mond, Israel.  From little information that we have at this stage, it seems that the Israeli police is going to serve these two young women (whose professional and academic studies we support) with severe indictments that can lead to their imprisonment for a long time.

Remember: the State does not grant South Hebron Hill residents building permits, supports the illegal outposts in the area and seeks to prevent the continuation of living in the area. It is impossible to destroy what little these people have, without providing a more expansive solution to South Hebron Hills.

An additional testimony: destructive forces arrive at Hirbet M’Faquara

On Thursday morning, November 24^th 2011, IDF and Civil Administration forces accompanied by bulldozers arrived at South Hebron Hills area. At first they turned to Hirbet M’Faquara, near Tuwane near the illegal outpost “Abgail.” There they demolished 3 structures including a mosque. They also demolished a tent and a cave. In addition to the destruction the occupation forces also detained two young Palestinian girls.

• In South Hebron Israel destroys Palestinian homes on daily basis but leave Jewish outposts. Facebook pictues from recent day