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EAST JERUSALEM / DEMOLITIONS
STORY: EAST JERUSALEM / DEMOLITIONS
TRT: 3.50
SOURCE: UNRWA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: OCTOBER 2009, BEIT HANINA, EAST JERUSALEM, ISRAEL
1. Wide shot, bulldozer completing demolition of Teriyaki family's house in Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem and leaves the site
2. Med shot, mounted Israeli border police by gate of Teriyaki family compound
3. Med shot, bulldozer leaving through gate of Teriyaki family compound
4. Wide shot, demolished residential house of Teriyaki family
5. Med shot, Mother-in-law of Amjad Teriyaki, the owner of the demolished house
6. Med shot, Amjad Teriyaki, owner of the demolished house, crying while speaking on mobile phone
7. Wide shot, neighbor looking at demolished house
8. Med shot, mother-in-law of Amjad Teriyaki, the owner of the house, in tears while walking past furniture and belongings that the family was ordered to move out of the house
9. Med shot, wife of Amjad Teriyaki, the owner of the demolished house, arrives and breaks down in tears when seeing the demolished house. She is comforted by her mother and her husband but falls down on the ground as the sight of the demolished house is overwhelming for her
10. Close up, young daughter of Teriyaki family looking at demolished house
11. Med shot, wife of Amjad Teriyaki comforted by relatives
12. Med shot, male member of Teriyaki family in agony
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Amjad Teriyaki, owner of demolished house (Responding to questions):
-"In the morning I sleep inside. The soldiers come and take me. They bring the dog. What do you want, I tell him. I have a problem with my heart. It's not my problem he tells me, go outside. I don't want to go. Five soldiers take me, they brought me out. They take my phone. I said can I dress. They tell me no. And we see, they destroyed the house. Now I have two problems, I don't have any place to sit, I have three children.
- "How many people lived in the house?"
- "Five. Me and my wife and three children. A small house."
- "When did you start building it?"
- "Before three years."
14. Wide shot, son of Abu-Aysha family among Israeli border police. The son presents the police with court order received the same morning to stop the demolition.
15. Close-up, son of Abu-Aysha family among border police
16. Med shot, bulldozer working on wall of foundation of Abu-Aysha family house in Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem.
17. Med shot, commander of border police unit reading the court order
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Majed Abu-Aysha, head of family (Responding to journalists questions):
"We pay 80.000 Shekel for one house."
- "40.000 is for the court?"
- "To the court. And this is 40.000 to the municipality."
- "For all the soldiers?"
- "Yes"
- "40 plus 40? And still they can come back next week?"
- "And still they can come back. It's temporary you know."
19. Wide shot, excavator driving away from house foundation when order comes through that demolition is stopped for the time being.
20. Med shot, Majed Abu-Aysha watching excavators leaving
21. Med shot, excavators preparing to be transported away from site
This week has seen a number of house demolitions in East Jerusalem.
In the Al Marwaha area in the Beit Hanina neighborhood of East Jerusalem a residential house that was the home of the Palestinian Teriyaki family of 5, including 3 children aged 3, 6 and 8, was demolished early morning on Monday 12 October.
The family had been receiving repeated visits from Israeli border police officials threatening them with eviction and demolition. At the time of demolition the family had lived in the home for 5 months. With no alternative shelter the family decided to stay at the site, camping among the rubble. The family kept horses in a stable next to the house. On Wednesday 14 October the family received orders from the Israeli border police to remove the horses from the compound. UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees), ICRC and others provide basic emergency assistance to the family.
The ability of the humanitarian community to provide displaced families with alternative shelter is very limited, given the lack of available housing in East Jerusalem as a result of the current planning and housing crisis in Palestinian neighborhoods.
The usual reason for demolition given by the Jerusalem municipal authorities is that a building has been erected without permits.
In Old Hizma Road in the Beit Hanina neighborhood of East Jerusalem the foundation of an apartment block under construction, intended to provide 8 large housing units was partially demolished on Monday 12 October.
Construction was initiated in 2002 but halted in 2003 when the structure received a stop-work order on the grounds that it exceeded approved building plans. The owners, the Abu-Aysha family, have attempted to obtain additional permits, but their efforts have so far been unsuccessful. The demolition on Monday was halted and postponed following a court order and the payment by the Abu-Aysha family of a 40.000 Shekel (11.000 USD) guarantee, while they make a final attempt to obtain further permits.
Several new demolition orders had been issued in recent weeks in East Jerusalem, adding to the increasing tension in the city. Palestinians fear that the number of house demolitions will increase in the near future. 227 buildings have been demolished since the beginning of 2009 in East Jerusalem and in other areas of the West Bank that are under Israeli civil and military control. 95 of these demolished structures have been residential buildings. 520 persons have so far been displaced this year as a result of the demolitions.
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