By Rami Younis and Haggai Matar
A bulldozer demolishes an apartment building in the unrecognized village Dahmash, April 15, 2015. (photo: Rami Younis)
The unrecognized village Dahmash is under the jurisdiction of the Emek Lod Regional Council, a mere 20 minute drive from Tel Aviv. The village has been around since 1948, and its residents even have proof of ownership in the Israel Land Registry. However, the State does not recognize their claim to the land, and does not provide the village with the necessary infrastructure or even the most basic services, such as sewage, roads, electricity, garbage collection or a post office. Over the past few years, the residents have been struggling against repeated home demolitions by coming up with their own master plan in order to gain recognition for their rights to live on their land.
“Just yesterday [Tuesday] the Lod District Court responded to our request to prevent the demolition, and called on the State to respond to our request within 48 hours, but the judge did not clearly state that she demands an injunction during this time,” said Sufyan Asaf, a resident of the village and an owner of one of the homes that was destroyed. “The police did not respect the court’s request and came to demolish the buildings before the court could even discuss our appeal against the demolition orders. On Tuesday we spoke with a police officer who promised that nothing would happen.”
The
remains of the demolished buildings in the unrecognized village
Dahmash, near Lod, Israel, April 15, 2015. (photo: Oren
Ziv/Activestills.org)
Residents
walk through the remains of their homes in the unrecognized village
Dahmash, Israel, April 15, 2015. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
“We do not know of a promise by the police to delay the implementation of the order. Moreover, the police informed the family’s attorney regarding the intention to carry out the demolition order on the particular date.”
Just last month, residents of Dahmash welcomed hundreds of Palestinians and Israelis for a solidarity festival featuring artists and entertainers from across the country.
The author is a Palestinian activist and writer. Read this article in Hebrew on Local Call here.
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