On 15 April 2020, the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC) sent a letter to the Israeli occupation's Civil Administration (ICA) to demand the freezing of demolition orders against essential old structures in Area C.
Amid the ongoing outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the ICA announced, in response to various letters by JLAC and other human rights organizations, that demolition orders against inhabited residential structures would be frozen. This new non-enforcement policy, however, explicitly excludes new structures, particularly those whose owners supposedly took advantage of the situation.
In a letter penned by attorney Sliman Shahin, JLAC demanded the expansion of the new policy's scope to include other essential structures that serve as water supplies such as wells and facilities serving the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian population.
Due to the state of emergency declared by Israeli occupying authorities and the closures and shutdowns it entailed, Palestinians cannot take any legal action to retroactively regulate old structures in accordance with the Jordanian Planning and Construction Law. Thus, the letter demanded freezing the enforcement of all final demolition orders against old structures until thirty days after the end of the state of emergency.
Furthermore, JLAC called for freezing all demolition and confiscation orders against structures and equipment used by the Palestinian population for protection from the pandemic, for social isolation, quarantine, and treatment. These include structures and equipment funded by international organizations.
Israeli occupation authorities continue to confiscate such equipment, further endangering the safety, lives and right to health of Palestinians, including some of the most vulnerable sectors in the Palestinian society.
For this reason, the new policy of non-enforcement is insufficient and should be expanded.