Israeli Occupation Soldiers Demolish Tubas Mosque

Thursday November 25, 2010 10:55 by Mays Al-Azza - IMEMC & Agencies

Palestinian News Agency, Ma'an, reported on Thursday that Israeli bulldozers leveled a mosque in the neighborhood of Yazra in the eastern part of the central West Bank city of Tubas. The army claimed that the mosque was built without a construction permit.

Ahmad Asa'ad, a Palestinian official, stated that Israeli occupation soldiers invaded an area regarded by the army as a military training field, and they declared it a closed military zone before demolishing the only mosque which. The mosque was built in 1967 and the residents have attached two extra rooms to it .

Asa'ad added that the residents have official papers that prove the licensed construction of the mosque in 1967, and that the two rooms were added due to the increasing number of residents who attend this mosque.

Also, the troops tried to push the residents out of the area by imposing tight measures and strict military orders.

The neighborhood of Yazra is located in the eastern part of Tubas, with a population of nearly 200 people. All heavily depend on agriculture and livestock as the main source of livelihood.

Tubas is a small Palestinian city in the northeastern West Bank, located only 21 kilometers (13 mi) northeast of Nablus, a few kilometers west of the Jordan River.
 

Tubas Mosque Razed by Israeli Occupation Government Bulldozers

Published today, November 25, 2010, 10:39 TUBAS (Ma’an) --

The Israeli occupation government demolished a village mosque in the Tubas area on Thursday.

Residents of Khirbet Yarza, a village of less than 200 residents, said Israeli bulldozers entered the Jordan Valley area early in the morning and tore down the mosque, saying document indicated that it was demolished because it lacked a proper permit.

Local spokesman delegated by the PA Ahmad Asa’ad said villagers had papers proving the mosque was legal, and that it was built before 1967, when Israeli forces occupied the West Bank.

An Israeli occupation government official said the building was demolished along with eight sheds which were built without permits in an area that Israeli occupation forces had declared a firing zone.

"The extension on the building which workers said could have been a mosque was unsafe," he said, refuting claims that the structure had been in place for as long as villagers claimed.

"They got the evacuation order three months ago and the demolition order after that, they had a chance to appeal it in the court," he added.

The spokesman from the village, whose residents depend on small-scale farms and livestock raising for their living, did not indicate that the issue had been taken to the Israeli courts.

Since 1967, Israel has designated close to 18% of the West Bank a closed military zone for the purposes of military training, according to UN documents.

"Israel's planning regime in Area C directly contributes to poor living conditions confronting many Palestinians in the West Bank," a report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs said.

According to Israeli officials, "citizens have the time to arrive and appeal at the civil administration offices," but according to the UN, few appeals succeed, being unable to satisfy severely restrictive policies.

Most recent demolitions echo similar incidents which prompted a December 2009 UN report, which notes that "Palestinian construction is effectively prohibited in some 70 percent of Area C, while in the remaining 30 percent, a range of restrictions virtually eliminate the possibility of obtaining a permit."

The OCHA report noted that some 39% of the West Bank falls under the category of "state land," noting that the area is "four times more than the territory taken up by the built-up are of settlements." The issue was particularly acute for residents of the Jordan Valley, the report said, "where almost all of the area falls under the jurisdiction of two Regional [Settlement] Councils."

In practical terms, the UN office has noted, "in almost the entirety of the Jordan Valley, Palestinian construction is prohibited."