A business destroyed

Nayef's son Shadi shows destroyed machinery and living space

At 3 a.m. this morning soldiers and police came with a bulldozer and demolished the family building-tile plant of Nayef Wahid al Ashhab in the West Bank village of Hizma, northeast of Jerusalem. The authorities did not present a demolition order, and the family had been pursuing litigation to contest a "stop building" order. Nayef, his two sons, and two employees were living in a small room on the site. They said they were awakened by the soldiers and were not given time to remove any of the equipment. The whole demolition took only 20 or 25 minutes.

EA Olli from Finland views the damage

Some of the tiles that were spared

Nayef estimates the value of the machinery and building destroyed was more than $25,000. His son Shadi says,"We want to build it again, right here, if we can." The problem is, the Israeli army controls Area C of the West Bank, in which Hizma is located, and does not generally permit new Palestinian construction.

Nayef in makeshift shelter

Nayef is from Hebron, and he visits the rest of his family there on weekends. But during the week, as noted above, he, his two sons, and two employees share a small room on the site that was destroyed this morning. EAPPI is trying to help them get a tent through the Red Cross or some other agency, but it is not so easy because the site is primarily industrial rather than residential. In the meantime, they must use makeshift blanket shelters.