Appeal against Wadi Hilweh Information Center demolition rejected, deadline expires in July
The District Court rejected, on Tuesday, the appeal filed against the decision to demolish the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in the town of Silwan.
The District Court approved the decision of the Municipal Court issued in July 2023, which stipulates the demolition of the center, and gives its director, Jawad Siam, until next July to implement the demolition decision; in addition to paying a fine of 20 thousand shekels. The decision stipulates that if the demolition is not carried out within the specified period, the municipality crews will do so, and impose the "demolition fee" for the crews and the accompanying forces on its director.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center is located in the town of Silwan at the entrance to the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood, the neighborhood closest to the southern wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque and overlooks it directly, and is several meters away from the so-called "City of David", the main settlement outpost in the neighborhood.
The building threatened with demolition, the "Information Center", consists of a single room with a total area of approximately 35 square meters. It existed before the occupation, and in 2009 the room's ceiling was restored to protect it from rainy weather conditions; by replacing the zinc sheets with wooden panels. At that time, the center was established with the aim of monitoring and documenting violations in the city of Jerusalem.
The center said that in 2009, the municipality issued a decision to demolish the center, and the decision was frozen at the time, under the pretext of "the sensitivity of the center's location", especially after the court sessions revealed settler construction operations in the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood and the expansion of settlement outposts in the neighborhood without a license.
The center explained that the municipality activated the demolition decision in 2019, and held several sessions over the past years to discuss the decision. At the beginning of 2023, the local planning and building committee and the municipality submitted an indictment against Jawad Siam, the center's director, which included "using a building without a license in an area where construction is prohibited", and in July 2023, the demolition decision was issued.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem aims to monitor daily violations in the city, and works on preparing news, reports and daily follow-up of events in Jerusalem.
During the previous court sessions held for the center, the prosecution of its director was personal, focusing on the center's activities, the center's work and coverage of events in the city, and the delegations visiting the center.
The municipality also imposed a large "Arnona tax" on the center, amounting to more than 100 thousand shekels, despite the fact that the building is a room with a wooden roof, and provided evidence showing that the residents benefit from the center.
The center said that settlers have filed complaints against the center over the past years, under the pretext of "lack of a license", and attended previous court sessions.
