House Demolitions Threaten Equilibrium in Jerusalem

November 5, 2008

At 2:25 this afternoon, as the call to prayer echoed through the Old City and the adjacent Kidron Valley, and residents stood watching from roofs and through windows, the Jerusalem municipality demolished a single-story house belonging to Mohammad Siam. The house, located in the Wadi-Helwa/Al-Bustan neighborhood of the politically sensitive village of Silwan, just outside the Old City walls and in the Historic/Holy Basin, is in an area designated by the city as the site of a future national park that will form a ring around the Old City. Palestinian youth threw stones at officers throughout the set-up and demolition, and at 3 o'clock, five minutes after the demolition was complete, police opened live fire, rubber bullets, and stun grenades. (The live ammunition was fired against buildings.) The police spokesperson reports light injuries sustained by officers, and OCHA reports seven injured Palestinians, including a young woman and two elderly men.

The neighborhood is at the heart of ongoing struggles between municipal and state interests in securing the Old City and inhabiting it and its environs with Jewish residents. The El-Ad archeological and settlement organization works around the clock on excavations at the City of David, the supposed ruins of the ancient monarch, and an ongoing legal process is examining the legality of their work. In recent months, a court order succeeded in halting excavations that ran directly beneath Palestinian residents' homes in close proximity to today's demolition.

According to neighbors, a bulldozer appeared at Mohammed Siam's house around noon, and neighbors called to inform him. Reports say Siam received 48 hours notice to demolish the house or the municipality would do it for him (at his expense). According to some reports, a family had just moved into the house days before. A group of 10-12 neighbors barricaded themselves in inside the house while police forces and special forces gathered in the area. Officers on foot, horseback, and in vehicles closed off surrounding streets and alleyways and prevented residents and journalists alike from approaching the immediate area. By 2:15, after negotiations with police, offices had evacuated the remaining people by force and the family's furniture stood piled in the abandoned adjacent yard.

Along with 87 other houses in the area, the Siam family received a demolition order several months ago. Last week, Silwan residents suspected a demolition was imminent when the municipality and a group of police officers surveyed and photographed the area. The house stood at the entrance to an area of the valley and its destruction will allow for continued clearance for the slated park. The second floor of the home was destroyed in the last 1-2 years.

The homes receiving the demolition orders were built without building permits, which Palestinian Jerusalemites find nearly impossibly to acquire, and often apply for years in advance only to be rejected. Though statistics are difficult to obtain, a significant percent of Palestinian residences in Jerusalem are built without permits and are therefore susceptible to demolition.

This demolition was carried out despite public statements that slated demolitions would be postponed until after the municipal elections on November 11th. Two years ago, due to Israeli and international pressure, Mayor Lupolianski cancelled a plan to demolish 90 Silwan homes.

As of 3:30 PM, stirrings toward a second demolition was reported in Silwan. Later reports say the family has been given 48 hours notice. Earlier today demolitions were reported in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina and the refugee camp, Shoafat, also located within the Jerusalem municipality.