Demolishing the houses of the Rabay’a family in the village of Sur Baher
On Tuesday, the occupation bulldozers demolished the residential facilities of the Rabay’a family in the Wadi Al-Hummos neighborhood, under the pretext of “closeness to the security wall” built on the village lands.
Mohammad Rabay’a explained that he and his brother Amjad built two buildings on a land they purchased 4 years ago, and about 5 months ago they were pursued by the occupation authorities, under the pretext of building near the “security wall” which is a street surrounded by barbed wire and electronic sensors.
The family added that the area of the building that was demolished is more than 600 square meters, in addition to razing the cultivated land surrounding the houses.
Rabay’a explained that the Supreme Court issued the demolition decision without informing the family about it, and upon learning of the decision, they tried to freeze or postpone it. The last deadline for demolition ends on Wednesday, but the forces and bulldozers stormed the house at dawn and carried out the demolition.
Rabay’a added that the occupation pretexts to demolish their homes and displace them, but they are steadfast, even in a tent.
Rabay'a had fully prepared his house and set his wedding date after 4 months, and said: "The occupation wants to prevent us from being happy and living in Jerusalem safely, but the joy will continue, and I will continue preparations for the wedding day."
Rabay'a said: "They demolished our dream, and turned our homes into rubble. Neither the stones nor the trees were spared from the demolition and bulldozing, and even the furniture we were unable to remove... The fatigue of 20 years was demolished in minutes."
The occupation army began persecuting the residents of Wadi al-Hummos neighborhood about 6 years ago, with demolition decisions under the pretext of “closeness to the security wall.” According to the decisions of the occupation authorities, construction is prohibited within 250 meters from the wall for security reasons, which means that the threat of demolition threatens about 1500 dunoms of Wadi al-Hummos, i.e. half of the neighborhood.
Many of the buildings and residential facilities in the Wadi al-Hummus neighborhood are located in an area classified as “A” and have building permits from the Ministry of Local Government.
