September 2022 Demolition and Displacement Report

September 1

September 2

September 4

September 6

September 7

September 8

September 11

September 13

September 14

September 19

September 20

See notes below for further details of the destruction of the artesian wells in Tulkarm.

September 21

September 22

September 29

Notes

There are four categories of demolitions:

Punitive demolitions: Houses demolished as punishment for the actions of people associated with the houses. Administrative demolitions: Houses demolished for lack of a building permit. This happens in Area C and in East Jerusalem, under exclusive Israeli authority, though prior to the existence of Areas A, B & C it occurred in other areas as well. It is important to point out that in almost all cases, Palestinians have no choice but to build "illegally" as permits are rarely granted Land-clearing operations/Military demolitions: Houses demolished by the IDF in the course of military operations for the purposes of clearing off a piece of land (for whatever reason), achieve a military goal or to kill wanted persons as part of Israel’s policy of extrajudicial executions.. Undefined demolitions: These include mainly demolitions resulting from land-clearing operations and removal of Palestinian populations.

* WASH stands for structures relating to water, sanitation and hygiene.

† In many cases, notably in East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities condition Palestinians to either demolish their properties themselves or have the authorities do so. In an attempt to avoid having to pay the high fee of the Israeli authorities’ demolition operation and additional high fines, many Palestinians are forced to self-demolish.

** No additional information was available

Above data is from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality, B’Tselem

Further details on the artesian wells in Tulkarm destroyed on 20 September 2022

On the 20th of September, Israeli forces alongside personnel from the ICA sealed off artesian water wells in 2 separate incidents:

In the first incident, Israeli forces sealed off an artesian water well in the village of Ar Ras, southeast of (Tulkarm), through pouring a concrete mix down its pipes for allegedly lacking an Israeli-issued permit to extract groundwater, despite its presence in Area "B". The artesian well was dug, prepared, and funded by the local village council after obtaining an approval from the Palestinian Water Authority to begin digging the well. The well provided drinking water and water for agricultural usage for about 480 households, which resembled an alternative to them buying water from nearby Israeli settlements. No prior warning was issued against the WASH structure by the Israeli military before the well was sealed. In addition, a water booster device was confiscated from the site. A truck that was also at the site while conducting maintenance works to the well was also confiscated. The sealing of this well hinders access to water and affects the livelihood of about 480 Palestinian households of 2880 members, including 1267 children.

In the second incident, Israeli forces sealed off an artesian well through pouring concrete inside of it and its pipes in the village of Kur, southeast of (Tulkarm), for allegedly lacking an Israeli-issued permit to extract groundwater, despite its location in Area "B". According to the affected owners, the well was licensed by the PA and they were authorized to dig it and extract water from the Palestinian Water Authority in 2022. Despite this, and without a prior military order/warning, the well was sealed off and had its water booster confiscated, in addition to the destruction and vandalism of its electric control panel and several pipes forming the supply network of the well. The artesian well was a main provider of drinking and irrigation water for about 906 households in the villages of Kur and Kafr 'Abbush (Tulkarm), with planned expansions of supply to 1000 other households in the villages of Baqat al Hatab and Hajja (Qalqiliya). The sealing of this artesian well seriously undermines access to water for about 906 households of 5443 members, including 2394 children.

Demolition of agricultural structures in Rujeib (Nablus), 14 Sep 2022. Photo by OCHA