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ICAHD Peace Center Beit Arabiya Demolished for the Fifth Time

January 24th, 2012 | Add a Comment

Israeli authorities demolished Beit Arabiya (Arabiyas House) last night (Monday, January 23rd) for the fifth time, along with structures in the East Anata Bedouincompound. Beit Arabiya, Located in the West Bank town of Anata (Area C) just to the northeast of Jerusalem, is a living symbol of resistance to Occupation andthe desire for justice and peace.

As its name suggests, Beit Arabiya is a home belonging to Arabiya Shawamreh, her husband Salim and their seven children, a Palestinian family whose home has beendemolished four times by the Israeli authorities and rebuilt each time by ICAHD's Palestinian, Israeli and international peace activists, before being demolished again last night.

At around 11p.m. Monday, a bulldozer accompanied by a contingent of heavily armed Israeli soldiers appeared on the Anata hills, to promptly demolish Beit Arabiya, along withresidential and agricultural structures in the nearby Arab al-Jahalin Bedouin compound. 3 family homes were demolished along with numerous animal pans, and 20 people

including young children were displaced, left exposed to the harsh desert environment. While standing in solidarity with Palestinians, ICAHD staff and activists were repeatedly

threatened by Israeli soldieries. ICAHD Co-Director Itay Epshtain was beaten and sustained minor injuries.

Beit Arabiya was issued a demolition order by Israeli authorities back in 1994, following their failure to grant a building permit. It has since been demolished four times, to berebuilt by ICAHD activists. Following a reissue of the demolition order last Thursday, came last night's fifth demolition. ICAHD Director, Dr. Jeff Halper, standing astride theruins, vowed to support Salim and Arabiya in rebuilding their home. "We shall rebuild, we must rebuild forthwith, as an act of political defiance of the occupation and protracted

oppression of Palestinians" said Halper.

Beit Arabiya has become a symbol of resistance to the Judaization of the Occupied West Bank and Israeli demolition policy. "ICAHD is as determined as always to rebuild thehome, and endure in its struggle to bring about justice and peace" added Halper.

Salim and Arabiya, along with their neighbors and friends stood last night and watched as this tragedy unfold once again. Arabiya and Salim have dedicated their home as a

center for peace in the memories of Rachel Corrie and Nuha Sweidan, two women (an American and a Palestinian) who died resisting home demolitions in Gaza. In the pastdecade ICAHD has hosted numerous visitors at Beit Arabiya, and based its annul rebuilding camp at the house, rebuilding 185 demolished Palestinian homes.

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26/01/2012 19:59ICAHD Peace Center Beit Arabiya Demolished for the Fifth Time |

Only earlier this month, ICAHD extended an invitation to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing to visit Beit Arabiya during her country visit to theOccupied Palestinian Territory scheduled for later in the month. "It is our hope, that while we cannot extend the same hospitality to the Special Raportueor, Prof. Raquel Rolnik

will visit the ruins of Beit Arabiya, and report on the utter cruelty, and illegality of Israeli policies and practices, and that members of the international community will follow in herfootsteps". " said ICAHD Co-Director Itay Epshtain.

Salim and Arabiya in front of their home

Ruins of Beit Arabiya this morning

UPDATE January 24th: Anata Home Rebuilt by ICAHD Demolished

This morning, Israeli authorities demolished the home of the Abu Omar family, rebuilt by ICAHD in July 2011. The Abu Omar family home, built in 1990 on privately owned land,

was demolished by the Israeli military in 2005. Ahmed Abu Omar (46) had applied for a building permit, but was refused on the grounds that his land was zoned as an

agricultural area. This is a story we hear often, and it reflects Israels long-time, unlawful policy of curtailing all construction by Palestinians since 1967. They were offered

neither alternative housing nor compensation for the demolition, violating international law. The construction of the Abu Omar family home, long waited since the 2005

demolition by Israel, was completed on July 24th 2011, exactly six months ago. The keys to the home were handed over to the family in a celebratory dedication ceremony

marking the end of a two week rebuild. Volunteers were joined by members of the larger Anata community, civil society activists and Palestinian Authority high ranking officials,

as family members began life in their rebuilt home. ICAHD staff visited with the family shortly after the demolition of their home took place to find them s omber, traumatized,

and grief stricken. ICAHD has vowed to support the family in rebuilding their home, once more. This is the second ICAHD rebuilt home demolished within 24 hours, in what

seems like a concerted, yet futile, effort to discourage ICAHD from rebuilding demolished Palestinian homes.

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ICAHD Rebuilding Camp participants

Ruins of the Abu Omar home this morning

For more information and coordination of visits to Beit Arabiya, kindly contact Itay Epshtain at itay@icahd.org or +972-54-2623306

Additional Information

House demolitions and forced evictions are among Israels most heinous practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). In 2011, a record year of displacement, a totalof 622 Palestinian structures were demolished by Israeli authorities, of which 36% (or 222) were family homes; the remainder were livelihood-related (including water storageand agricultural structures), resulting in 1,094 people displaced, almost double the number for 2010. The Jordan Valley sustained the largest number of demolitions (32% oftotal structures demolished, 40% of residential structures demolished, 37% of people displaced), with 199 structures demolished and 401 people displaced.

Israel now controls 40% of the West Bank through 149 settlements and 102 outposts, housing more than 500,000 Jewish Israelis, as well as through closed military zones anddeclared nature reserves. In addition, house demolitions, forced evictions, and land expropriation, exacerbated by settler violence and the economic effects of movementrestrictions, have left Palestinian communities struggling to make a living. Palestinians live in constant fear of displacement and dispersion, while Israel secures its dominationand control.

The demolition of Palestinian homes is politically motivated and strategically informed. The goal is to confine the 4 million residents of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, andGaza to small enclaves, thus effectively foreclosing any viable Palestinian state and ensuring Israeli control, and to allow for the expropriation of land, the ethnic displacementof Palestinians, and the Judaization of the Occupied West Bank.

The recent ICAHD report 'The Judaization of Palestine: 2011 Displacement Trends' provides a political analysis of the root causes and consequences of Israels housedemolition policy, focusing on the demolition of Palestinian homes and other structures in the Occupied West Bank. Click here to read the report