Israel soldiers force Palestinian family to halt authorised construction

Israeli forces seen at the home of the the Sharabati family, on Shuhada street in Hebron, preventing them from performing construction work on their roof for which they had Israeli permission, in February 2018 [ISM]

Israeli forces seen at the home of the the Sharabati family, on Shuada street in Hebron, preventing them from performing construction work on their roof for which they had Israeli permission, in February 2018 [ISM]

Israeli occupation forces demanded a Palestinian family halt rooftop construction work despite the family having the required paperwork, according to the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).

According to ISM, the Sharabati family, who live on Shuada street in Hebron, “were hard at work constructing a metal frame for a roof covering on top of their house”, which is overlooked by an illegal Israeli settlement.

As they were working, “settlers arrived at a gate adjacent to the Sharabati rooftop and began swearing in Arabic, banging on the gate and trying to provoke a response.”

After the settlers were ignored, 12 Israeli soldiers “arrived and ordered the Palestinians to halt construction”, falsely claiming “they did not have proper permission”.

“After one hour of talking on their radios and taking pictures of the project and the family, the soldiers confiscated the power tools, equipment and generator leaving the rooftop in disarray.” ISM added:

The Sharabati family have previously tried to make alterations to their roof and faced the same difficulties. Head of the family, Mufid Sharabati, was assaulted five years ago by many soldiers, which resulted in hospitalization and metal plates in his back

 Thus, “regardless of having proper paperwork authorising rooftop construction, the family remained powerless at the word of a few angry settlers and actions of soldiers”, losing “the right to construct on their private property as well as 10,000 NIS [$2,840] worth of equipment”.

ISM notes that while “Palestinians cannot even make minor improvements to their own homes on their own land”, the Israeli occupation authorities continue to approve illegal settlement housing.