Commission of Detainees’ Affairs & Palestinian Society Prisoner’s Club

House demolition is a collective punitive measure against detainees and their relatives

February 19, 2025

The Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Society Prisoner’s Club stated that the so-called Israeli supreme court has rejected a petition submitted by the family of detainee Hayel Daifullah, against the demolition order for their home. The order was issued by the Israeli military commander under the so-called "Mandate Emergency Regulations," which grant Israeli authorities the power to demolish the homes of Palestinian detainees accused of carrying out operations against Israeli forces, under the pretext of "deterrence."

The Commission and the Palestinian Society Prisoners’ Club emphasized that the policy of demolishing detainees' homes constitutes collective punishment, violating international law.
This policy is exclusively applied to Palestinians while Israeli settlers are exempted, in a blatant violation of Article 3 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Lawyers from the Commission and the Prisoners’ Club stated that the court rejected the family's request to limit the demolition to the room of detainee Hayel, who is accused of carrying out an aggressive attack against Israeli soldiers on Route 60, despite the fact that his family members had no connection to the incident.

The court also dismissed the family's plea to preserve the ceiling of the house, which contains support columns for a planned second floor intended for the detainee's son after his marriage, as demolishing the ceiling would cause significant damage to the young man and the family.
According to the court’s decision, the family has until February 26, 2025, to evacuate the home before its demolition.
In a related context, lawyers from the Commission and the Prisoners’ Club reported that Israeli authorities retracted their decision to demolish an entire apartment belonging to the family of detainee Ahmed Al-Haimouni from Hebron.
The family had previously been informed of the intention to demolish an entire floor that included both Al-Haimouni’s apartment and his uncle’s. However, following the family's objection to the demolition of the uncle’s apartment—given that the detainee had no connection to that part of the house—the court approved the exclusion of the uncle’s apartment from demolition.

The decision was based on an architectural plan attached to the demolition notice, which clearly showed that the shared wall between the two apartments lacked any doors, proving that the units were separate with distinct entrances. Nevertheless, the court upheld the decision to demolish Al-Haimouni’s family apartment, which is set to be destroyed by an explosion.