Two buildings in the Basta neighborhood are threatened with collapse due to the damage caused by an Israeli raid on the street during the last war, as the condition of the two buildings was already dilapidated by the chronic negligence that led to the deterioration of their structure.
The buildings are listed on the General Inventory of Historical Heritage Buildings (Ministry of Culture Decision No. 203 of the Date of 31/12/2013), which prohibits any work that would change their status without the approval of the Ministry’s Directorate General of Antiquities, in particular their destruction.
These factors eventually came together and led not only to warn passers-by about the risk of collapse of the buildings, but also to the eviction of the dwellers on Christmas Eve.
This issue is not merely the destruction of unsafe buildings, but a clear example of the complexities of the issue of neglected heritage buildings and the institutional failures in its management. It also opens the door to fundamental questions about how to reconcile the preservation of public safety with the preservation of historical legacy, and how to protect the most vulnerable groups who inhabit these buildings, in the face of owners’ aspirations for material gain.
Read the full Field Watch in Arabic.
