«Nakba for the second time» .. 60 Palestinian families in the Valley of Yassol in the rubble of deportation

On the side of the road, next to the rubble of her house, the Ezz Barqan family lives in the Wadi Yassul neighborhood of Silwan, south of the Al Aqsa Mosque, inside a cloth tent, facing the tragedy of homelessness and displacement for the second time since 1967, after Israeli bulldozers demolished its two-story house. An eye after an eye.

A few meters away, the al-Qaq family lost a 200-square-meter horse-breed, which has spent 12 years building and breeding horses.

The case affecting the families of al-Qaq and Burqan occurred on April 17, after the Israeli High Court of Justice supported the decision of the Israeli occupation authority to demolish four houses and several commercial establishments in the neighborhood, because they rejected an appeal filed by their owners.

At the same time, the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem issued a decision to demolish 60 houses in which 850 people live out of 84 houses in the Wadi Yasol neighborhood of Silwan, south of the Al Aqsa Mosque, on the grounds of its presence in the Green Zone and Natural Parks To build tourism and Judaic projects within them.

The two brothers, Suhaib and Mahmoud Barqan, face the specter of demolition and displacement at any moment, following the Israeli authorities' failure to demolish their homes within two weeks of April 20, under the pretext of a lack of authorization. The municipality of Jerusalem informed the Burgan brothers that they demolished their homes themselves or paid for the demolition High.

Scenes of homelessness

Emirates Al-Youm wandered between the rubble of the Burgan family home and the Qa'aq family's stable. The fear of the families of the two families is evident in the eyes of the neighboring families who have been threatened with demolition and eviction.

"On the morning of Wednesday, April 17, I was surprised that Israeli bulldozers surrounded my house, and did not allow me to empty it of furniture, or to move the goods and equipment in the stores of the house, which I use in a restaurant belonging to me in Jerusalem," said Ezz Burgan, sitting next to the rubble of his house.

"I tried to get a one-hour time to transport supplies and furniture, but the troops refused. They forcibly removed me and my family. The bulldozers started to demolish the 145-square-meter warehouses, and then the rooms and parts of the yard and its outer walls were demolished."

"The stones were scattered in front of my eyes. The house that I built with difficulty and effort over the past few years has become a heap of rubble in a few minutes, as if there were no shelter for a family of eight who lived inside their days in a long and bitter way. .

The owner of the destroyed house points out that the damage to his home and his stores is about NIS 200,000, mostly home furniture and cooking equipment for a restaurant he owns.

"We have to defend our homes with our bodies, we will hold on to them and we will maintain our land even if we live in a tent," Burgan said.

At a distance that did not exceed sight, Hanan al-Qaq was completing what remained of the stable of horses destroyed by Israeli bulldozers, and made it an impact after an eye.

"Israel has destroyed our lives, the fatigue and misery of many years. The bulldozers were a sword planted in our bodies. The stable of horses is our source of livelihood in the difficult economic situation, due to the tightening of the siege on us and the imposition of further measures," she says with tears and tears. Tax on the Palestinians ».

"The Israeli bulldozers demolished the entire stable of horses and did not leave a single stone. The 12 horses were rescued by the neighbors and the family despite the harshness of the demolition, and they were transported abroad."

Demolition legislation

The demolition process in the Wadi Yasul neighborhood of Silwan is part of the structural plan "AM / 9", which is called the plan of the Old City of Jerusalem and its environs, which provides for the establishment of all areas and land areas in Silwan, including the neighborhoods of Ein Al Luza, Wadi Hilwa and Al Bustan And the central region of the region, as areas prohibited for construction and housing, and classified natural green areas, according to a member of the Committee for the Defense of the Silwan Fakhri Aboudiab.

Abu Diab asserts that the goal of demolishing Palestinian homes in Wadi Yasul is to allow the implementation of projects and plans for Judaization and settlement, under the pretext of developing tourism in Silwan.

"The refusal of the Israeli Supreme Court to appeal to the residents of the Wadi Yassul neighborhood is a direct legislation to demolish houses and uproot the families of 60 families," he said. The families, despite having maps and identity documents, Above them, and allow them to expand, and therefore Israel wants to cancel the presence of Palestinians under the cover of the law ».

• The Israeli High Court of Justice rejected the appeal of the residents of the Wadi Yassul neighborhood, which is direct legislation to demolish houses and uproot the families of 60 families.