Israel’s criminal demolitions in the occupied Palestinian territories

8/2/2019 Israels criminal demolitions in the occupied Palestinian territories

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Homes destroyed lives shattered

Israels criminal demolitions in the occupied Palestinianterritories

Within the catalogue of criminality that is Israels occupationof the West bank and Gaza, the destruction of Palestinianhomes must rank as one of the most cynical and heinous.Some 90,000 people are currently reported to be at risk ofdisplacement as a result of Israeli policies such as restrictiveand discriminatory planning, the revocation of residencyrights, the expansion of settlements and the construction ofthe West Bank Separation Wall.1

All let us note and explore further, with the tacitengagement of America, who bank-roles the entireoperation.

Home, a refuge from the world, safe and secure, somewhereto relax with family and friends, and breath easy, free fromfear. This simple image of normality is unknown to manyPalestinians living under the brutal illegal occupation by

Israel. The Israeli practice of demolishing homes, basicinfrastructure and sources of livelihoods continues todevastate Palestinian families and communities in East

Jerusalem and the 60 per cent of the West Bank controlledby Israel, known as Area C. Many of the people afectedalready live in poverty, and demolitions are a leading causeof their on-going displacement and dispossession in theWest Bank.2

Last year (2011) saw more homes demolished than in theprevious six years, and record numbers of people madehomeless and displaced, by November 2011 Israeliauthorities had demolished 467 Palestinian homes and otherbuildings in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem),

1 http://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/opt

2 http://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=1001 (UNRWA)
http://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=1001http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territories%20(HRWIP)http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territories%20(HRWIP)http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territories%20(HRWIP)http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/opthttp://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/opthttp://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/opthttp://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/opthttp://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/opthttp://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/opthttp://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=1001http://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=1001http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territories%20(HRWIP)http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territories%20(HRWIP)http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territories%20(HRWIP)http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territories%20(HRWIP)http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territories%20(HRWIP)http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territories%20(HRWIP)http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/opthttp://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/opthttp://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/opthttp://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/opthttp://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/opthttp://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/opthttp://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/opthttp://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/opthttp://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/opthttp://www.internal-displacement.org/countries/opt


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displacing 869 people.3 The UN puts the figure evenhigher, at 1000. (HRWHD) Alongside the illegal destructionof Palestinian homes, the settlement expansion hasaccelerated and with it, according to Human Rights Watchan escalation of violence perpetrated by settlers.4

The total number or recorded house demolitions since theoccupation began in 1967, is estimated to be 24,813.5With Palestinians perversely being forced to either demolishtheir own home or face a charge for the IDF to do it, somehomeowners undertake the task themselves, it [the family]is liable for the costs of the house demolition which can runup to tens of thousands of dollars. To avoid these costs,Palestinians subject to administrative house demolitions

may opt to undertake the demolition of their own home -itis not known how many Palestinians choose this route.6These homemade demolitions will not be included in the(IAK) figure quoted, making the actual total much higher.

Let us ponder for a moment on the absurdity of living underthe cloud of an illegal authority that forces families tobulldoze their own home.

Lives demolished

The impact on the families whose homes are demolishedand the efects, immediate and long-term are devastating.Children are particularly vulnerable, as too are pregnantwomen and the elderly. Families are displaced andseparated, children made homeless, frightened andunsettled for years. Children who have had their homedemolished fare significantly worse on a range of mentalhealth indicators, including: withdrawal, somatic complaints,depression/anxiety, social diculties, higher rates ofdelusional, obsessive, compulsive and psychotic thoughts,

3 http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-

territories (HRWIP)

4http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/03/08/israel-stop-discriminatory-home-demolitions(HRWHD)

5http://www.ifamericansknew.org/stats/homes.html (IAK)

6 Broken Homes. Addressing the Impact of house demolitions on Palestinian children and

families. (BH) Save The Children (UK)
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/stats/homes.htmlhttp://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territorieshttp://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territorieshttp://www.ifamericansknew.org/stats/homes.html%20(IAK)http://livepage.apple.com/http://www.ifamericansknew.org/stats/homes.htmlhttp://www.ifamericansknew.org/stats/homes.htmlhttp://www.hrw.org/news/2011/03/08/israel-stop-discriminatory-home-demolitionshttp://www.hrw.org/news/2011/03/08/israel-stop-discriminatory-home-demolitionshttp://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territorieshttp://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territorieshttp://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territorieshttp://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territorieshttp://www.ifamericansknew.org/stats/homes.html%20(IAK)http://www.ifamericansknew.org/stats/homes.html%20(IAK)http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territories%20(HRWIP)http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territories%20(HRWIP)http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territories%20(HRWIP)http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territories%20(HRWIP)


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attention behavior - even six months after the demolition.They cry more, are afraid to go to school, feel they are notloved or that others are bad to them, feel guilty, nervousand are very tense. (BH)

House demolitions add to the numbers of Palestinianrefugees, who constitute the largest single group ofrefugees in the World, In 2007, there were an estimatedseven million Palestinian refugees worldwide and450,000internally displaced in Israel and the OPT. (BH)

Propaganda permitting violence

As well as the demolition of homes, places of work,

businesses and sources of livelihood are destroyed, inaddition to basic groundwork, wells, rainwater harvestingcisterns, and other essential structures.(HRHD) When in theWest bank in 2009 I witnessed numerous roadside marketstalls outside Hebron being demolished. I counted eightsmashed to ruin or in the process of being destroyed at thehands of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), Americasoccupying security force. Most demolitions in 2011 afectedlivelihood structures, negatively afecting the sources of

income and living standards of some 1,300 people.7 Thereasons given, Palestinians set up shop without therequired ocial permits. (ISOPT)

Israeli explanations justifying demolitions serve only aspropaganda, seeking to justify the unjust, the illegal, theinhumane. The nonsense of permits tramples on sanity. It isthe Israeli authorities (IDF) that grant, or refuse to grantpermits for a variety of aspects of daily life; Housing,importing goods, travel, trading and infrastructuredevelopment, such as water pipes, electrical lines,communication etc. We only destroy homes hat are builtwithout a permit 13% (BH), or for military reasons41% (BH), claims the IDF. Disingenuous nonsense. Thelocution of the deceiver attempting to trap the right minded

7 http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B3A4BFA2EEAF830D85257928004A961B Israeli

settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Including East Jerusalem, and theoccupied Syrian Golan. Report of the Secretary-General (ISOPT)
http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B3A4BFA2EEAF830D85257928004A961Bhttp://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B3A4BFA2EEAF830D85257928004A961B%20Israeli%20settlements%20in%20the%20Occupied%20Palestinian%20Territory.%20Including%20East%20Jerusalem,%20and%20the%20occupied%20Syrian%20Golan.%20Report%20of%20the%20Secretary-General%20(ISOPT)http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B3A4BFA2EEAF830D85257928004A961B%20Israeli%20settlements%20in%20the%20Occupied%20Palestinian%20Territory.%20Including%20East%20Jerusalem,%20and%20the%20occupied%20Syrian%20Golan.%20Report%20of%20the%20Secretary-General%20(ISOPT)http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B3A4BFA2EEAF830D85257928004A961B%20Israeli%20settlements%20in%20the%20Occupied%20Palestinian%20Territory.%20Including%20East%20Jerusalem,%20and%20the%20occupied%20Syrian%20Golan.%20Report%20of%20the%20Secretary-General%20(ISOPT)http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B3A4BFA2EEAF830D85257928004A961B%20Israeli%20settlements%20in%20the%20Occupied%20Palestinian%20Territory.%20Including%20East%20Jerusalem,%20and%20the%20occupied%20Syrian%20Golan.%20Report%20of%20the%20Secretary-General%20(ISOPT)http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B3A4BFA2EEAF830D85257928004A961B%20Israeli%20settlements%20in%20the%20Occupied%20Palestinian%20Territory.%20Including%20East%20Jerusalem,%20and%20the%20occupied%20Syrian%20Golan.%20Report%20of%20the%20Secretary-General%20(ISOPT)http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B3A4BFA2EEAF830D85257928004A961B%20Israeli%20settlements%20in%20the%20Occupied%20Palestinian%20Territory.%20Including%20East%20Jerusalem,%20and%20the%20occupied%20Syrian%20Golan.%20Report%20of%20the%20Secretary-General%20(ISOPT)http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B3A4BFA2EEAF830D85257928004A961B%20Israeli%20settlements%20in%20the%20Occupied%20Palestinian%20Territory.%20Including%20East%20Jerusalem,%20and%20the%20occupied%20Syrian%20Golan.%20Report%20of%20the%20Secretary-General%20(ISOPT)http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B3A4BFA2EEAF830D85257928004A961Bhttp://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B3A4BFA2EEAF830D85257928004A961Bhttp://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B3A4BFA2EEAF830D85257928004A961B%20Israeli%20settlements%20in%20the%20Occupied%20Palestinian%20Territory.%20Including%20East%20Jerusalem,%20and%20the%20occupied%20Syrian%20Golan.%20Report%20of%20the%20Secretary-General%20(ISOPT)http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B3A4BFA2EEAF830D85257928004A961B%20Israeli%20settlements%20in%20the%20Occupied%20Palestinian%20Territory.%20Including%20East%20Jerusalem,%20and%20the%20occupied%20Syrian%20Golan.%20Report%20of%20the%20Secretary-General%20(ISOPT)http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B3A4BFA2EEAF830D85257928004A961B%20Israeli%20settlements%20in%20the%20Occupied%20Palestinian%20Territory.%20Including%20East%20Jerusalem,%20and%20the%20occupied%20Syrian%20Golan.%20Report%20of%20the%20Secretary-General%20(ISOPT)http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B3A4BFA2EEAF830D85257928004A961B%20Israeli%20settlements%20in%20the%20Occupied%20Palestinian%20Territory.%20Including%20East%20Jerusalem,%20and%20the%20occupied%20Syrian%20Golan.%20Report%20of%20the%20Secretary-General%20(ISOPT)http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B3A4BFA2EEAF830D85257928004A961B%20Israeli%20settlements%20in%20the%20Occupied%20Palestinian%20Territory.%20Including%20East%20Jerusalem,%20and%20the%20occupied%20Syrian%20Golan.%20Report%20of%20the%20Secretary-General%20(ISOPT)http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/B3A4BFA2EEAF830D85257928004A961B%20Israeli%20settlements%20in%20the%20Occupied%20Palestinian%20Territory.%20Including%20East%20Jerusalem,%20and%20the%20occupied%20Syrian%20Golan.%20Report%20of%20the%20Secretary-General%20(ISOPT)


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into legitimising the actions of the IDF and validating itsillegitimate authority.

This bureaucratic maze of madness, established, maintainedand administered as instruments of control adds to the

armoury employed by Israel to bring Palestinians to theirphysical and emotional knees. Military law (that)systematically deprives Palestinians of their rights anddenies them the ability to have any real efect on shapingthe policy regarding the land space in which they live andwith respect to their rights.8

The two-tier legal structure installed by the occupying forceis designed and implemented to maximise the sufering of

the Palestinians, leaving them with no choice but to liveoutside the system. Israels discriminatory planningrestrictions result in the lack of building permits for thePalestinian population in the West Bank forcing them tobuild without permits and live under the constant threat ofeviction and demolition. (ISOPT)

Flouting conventions.

Whilst Palestinian homes and essential structures aredestroyed, Israelis living comfortably and secure within theillegal settlements are allowed to flout the law. Peace Nowhas documented a dramatic increase in the number of newillegal buildings in the settlements, construction isproceeding according to plans that were never approved bythe IDF. At least 507 unapproved housing units are currentlybeing built in 29 settlements, these (Israeli) developmentsare not subject to a demolition order, even though they arebuilding without the necessary permits compulsory underIsraeli law. House demolitions exercised exclusively againstPalestinians have displaced thousands of families, whileneglecting to enforce the planning laws on Israelisettlers. (ISOPT) Contradictions coil around the IDF,strangling its actions within a web of dishonesty and deceit

8 http://www.btselem.org/topic/settlements
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as they justify atrocities with bureaucracy, whilst supportingcriminality.

Israel has no legitimacy under international law, to buildthemselves, creating subsidized settler ghettos, or to

destroy structures of those that do so without theirpermission. Full and complete domination of Palestinians isthe aim, with all land under Israeli control, Israeli leaderMenachem Begin "The return of even one bit of earth to theArab would be a betrayal of the nation."(MM)

Demolitions of Homes, infrastructure and places oflivelihood, are illegal under international law, The

systematic policy of house demolitions carried out againstPalestinian residents in Jerusalem contravenes the 4thGeneva Convention which forbids any destruction by theOccupying Power of real or personal property belongingindividually or collectively to private persons except wheresuch destruction is rendered absolutely necessary bymilitary operations.9 Furthermore, extensive destructionof property not justified by military necessity and carried outunlawfully and wantonly constitutes a grave breach to the

Convention, which can theoretically be prosecuted under theuniversal jurisdiction of States party to the convention.10Theory needs to turn into action, collective complacencygiving way to international outrage. Implement and enforcethe law.

Add to the above a raft of relevant articles in the UNConvention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), where we find

Article 9, 1 State Parties shall ensure that a child shall notbe separated from his/her parents against their will, Articles24, 1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to theenjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health.Article 27. 1. States Parties recognize the right of every childto a standard of living adequate for the child's physical,mental, spiritual, moral and social development. Article 31

9http://www.icahd.org/?page_id=5374 (ICAHD)

House Demolitions and International Law

10www.stanford.edu/group/scai/images/housedemolitions.pdf
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The right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in playand recreational activities appropriate to the age of the childand to participate freely in cultural life and the arts, andcrucially article 38, State parties undertake to respect and toensure respect for rules of international humanitarian law

applicable to them in armed conflicts which are relevant tothe child.11 All are implicitly relevant in the impact of housedemolitions on children. A plethora of International lawengulfs Israel. What is required and most urgently is theimplementation and enforcement of the law.

Quiet please, Ethnic transfer

The demolition policy is a tool of terror in a planned

campaign, with the clear intention of subjugation, controland intimidation. House demolitions are tied in with theoverall strategy of expansion by Israel and the realisation ofimperialist goals the grand design of Judaic-Zionistexpansionist doctrine is to seize all the oil-rich lands fromthe shores of the Euphrates to the banks of the Nile,12which includes the continuing illegal settlement building,violence at the hands of settlers and the Israeli DefenceForce (IDF) Israel has continued to flout agreements for a

moratorium on illegal construction in Israeli settlements,evictions of Palestinian families to make way for incomingsettlers continue apace, 13 throughout the eastern half ofthe city [Jerusalem] nonstop pressure is applied as part of"quiet transfer". (GHD)

The quiet transfer is far from quiet or peaceful. It is theviolent, forced eviction and displacement of Palestinian

families in East Jerusalem. Quiet Transfer refers to thetechnique by the IDF of disempowering the Palestinians andextinguishing all hope by making daily life tortuous, leadingto the transfer of East Jerusalem citizens out of the city intothe West bank. The increasing rate of settlement expansionand housedemolitions is pushing Palestinians to the brink,

11 http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm

12 http://www.mediamonitors.net/johnhenshaw1.html

13 The Guardian. 15th July 2010 http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/15/

force-israels-hand-palestinian-home-demolitions (GHD)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/15/force-israels-hand-palestinian-home-demolitionshttp://www.mediamonitors.net/johnhenshaw1.htmlhttp://www.mediamonitors.net/johnhenshaw1.htmlhttp://www.mediamonitors.net/johnhenshaw1.htmlhttp://www.mediamonitors.net/johnhenshaw1.htmlhttp://www.mediamonitors.net/johnhenshaw1.htmlhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/15/force-israels-hand-palestinian-home-demolitionshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/15/force-israels-hand-palestinian-home-demolitionshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/15/force-israels-hand-palestinian-home-demolitionshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/15/force-israels-hand-palestinian-home-demolitionshttp://www.mediamonitors.net/johnhenshaw1.htmlhttp://www.mediamonitors.net/johnhenshaw1.htmlhttp://www.mediamonitors.net/johnhenshaw1.htmlhttp://www.mediamonitors.net/johnhenshaw1.htmlhttp://www.mediamonitors.net/johnhenshaw1.htmlhttp://www.mediamonitors.net/johnhenshaw1.htmlhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htmhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm


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destroying their livelihoods and prospects for a just anddurable peace. (HRWHD) Just after Christmas last year,Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat announced plans to strip IDsfrom 70,000 Palestinian residents of Jerusalem , and transferthem to the West Bank civil administration. Though not a

physical transfer, this stripping of IDs will mark thelargesten masse stripping of citizenship rights, since 1967,The process of ethnic cleansing, continues apace in

Jerusalem. It is illegal, enforce and implement the law.

Intimidation, unjust house building controls, the theft andrationing of water and the issuing of demolition noticesconstitute a methodology of sufering underpinning thepolicy of quiet transfer in East Jerusalem. Eventuallywearing the people down, until sooner or later they simplygive up. Once they leave, they rescind their rights to

Jerusalem ID papers, destroying any hopes of employment inIsrael proper efectively keeping them caged in the povertyof the West Bank forever. (GHD) Homes, infra structure, andbusinesses are demolished within East Jerusalem and Area Cof the West Bank, C for cleansing - ethnic cleansing it is,the rate and the method of house demolitions show that

this is more a policy of gradual ethnic cleansing thananything else, with clear political and strategic purposes. 14

Everything Israel does inside the OPTs forms a constituentpart to an overall plan, a vision of total domination.Demolitions are no exception to this rule. Each demolitionis a microcosm of the occupation: why they are demolishinga particular house in a particular area exposes how thewider occupation works and how the process of housedemolitions is contributing to the wider occupation. We wantto unmask the way Israel frames the occupation as a conflictof security. The policy of house demolitions shows exactlythe opposite. In more than 90% of the cases the familieswhose house was demolished didnt have a security record.

14 http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/palestine-home-demolition-ethnic-cleansing/
http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/palestine-home-demolition-ethnic-cleansing/http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/palestine-home-demolition-ethnic-cleansing/http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/palestine-home-demolition-ethnic-cleansing/http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/palestine-home-demolition-ethnic-cleansing/http://silwanic.net/?p=23183http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/palestine-home-demolition-ethnic-cleansing/http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/palestine-home-demolition-ethnic-cleansing/http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/palestine-home-demolition-ethnic-cleansing/http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/palestine-home-demolition-ethnic-cleansing/http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/palestine-home-demolition-ethnic-cleansing/http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/palestine-home-demolition-ethnic-cleansing/http://silwanic.net/?p=23183http://silwanic.net/?p=23183http://silwanic.net/?p=23183http://silwanic.net/?p=23183


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House demolitions go hand in hand with land expropriationfor settlements expansion.15

Settlement building is illegal under international law.Implement and enforce the law.

American Partners in crime

Israel disregards international law, with the support andinvolvement of their chief criminal ally and partner in crime,America. Every time a Caterpillar bulldozer from the USstorehouse of sufering smashes into a Palestinian home,Israel commits another illegal act and the US corporate giantis an accessory to a crime, causing ever more human agony

and distress. Caterpillars [has a] long history of complicityin widespread human rights violations within the occupiedPalestinian Territories. Caterpillar routinely provides Israelwith equipment designed specifically for military useknowing it is used to demolish Palestinian homes, to kill andinjure Palestinian and international civilians, to destroy olivetrees and farmland, and to facilitate expropriation ofPalestinian territory through construction of Jewish-onlysettlements and Israels apartheid wall.16

15 http://pieterstockmans.wordpress.com/interview with Angela Goldstein

16 http://rachelorriefoundation.org/
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/http://pieterstockmans.wordpress.com/interviewhttp://pieterstockmans.wordpress.com/interviewhttp://rachelorriefoundation.org/http://rachelorriefoundation.org/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/


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America is the supplier of all that destroys and contaminatesin the OPTs, from white prosperous bombs burning thechildren of Gaza to Caterpillar bulldozers demolishing theirhomes. The U.S. is providing Israel with at least $8.2 millioneach day (IAK) in military aid alone. Amnesty Internationals

report Fuelling Conflict states, transferring weapons to aconsistent violator of human rights is illegal underinternational law. Norman Finkelstein referring toAmnestys findings, Israel is a consistent violator of humanrights, [emphasis mine] and therefore there has to be acomprehensive arms embargo on Israel. The consistentsupplying of arms by America to Israel maintains andsustains the occupation, the US is by far the biggestsupplier of weapons to Israel; supplying those weapons to

Israel is not only illegal under international law, its illegalunder domestic US law 17. Implement and enforce the law,international and domestic, within America and the OPTs.

Those sitting in comfort, shrouded in complacency withinthe White House know well what US corporations aresupporting, where US arms are deployed and whatconsecutive US administrations silence is allowing to

continue. By their support the US is condoning the steadyon-going demolition of homes and the destruction of livestoo many too count. And what words of condemnation issuefrom the Obama administration, that plays lip service only to

justice and the rule of law, Secretary of State Hilary RodhamClinton, described the demolitions as unhelpful, notingthat they violated Israels obligations under the US roadmap for peace.18 The US road map for peace is a bloodsplattered road of rubble leading directly and swiftly

nowhere, at the hands of a broker, whose vision is not ofpeace, the US has blocked the two state-vision supportedby virtually the entire World since the mid 1970s19, but ofextended hegemony and dominance, throughout the MiddleEast and the World.

17http://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/

norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahu

18http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/eu-discovers-israel-is-breaking-the-law/ March 2009

19 Noam Chomsky. Hegemony or Survival, Americas quest for Global Dominance.
http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/eu-discovers-israel-is-breaking-the-law/http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/eu-discovers-israel-is-breaking-the-law/%20March%202009http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/eu-discovers-israel-is-breaking-the-law/%20March%202009http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/eu-discovers-israel-is-breaking-the-law/%20March%202009http://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.normanfinkelstein.com/eu-discovers-israel-is-breaking-the-law/http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/eu-discovers-israel-is-breaking-the-law/http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/eu-discovers-israel-is-breaking-the-law/%20March%202009http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/eu-discovers-israel-is-breaking-the-law/%20March%202009http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/eu-discovers-israel-is-breaking-the-law/%20March%202009http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/eu-discovers-israel-is-breaking-the-law/%20March%202009http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/eu-discovers-israel-is-breaking-the-law/%20March%202009http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/eu-discovers-israel-is-breaking-the-law/%20March%202009http://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahuhttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/23/norman_finkelstein_responds_to_clinton_netanyahu


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Any road map to peace, could be swiftly navigated andgently traversed were America to withdraw the manifestsupport it gives to Israel, the diplomatic, economic andmilitary tools that are fuelling the illegal occupation andcausing untold sufering to the Palestinian people.

The days are numbered for such tyranny and injustice. Agrowing movement of solidarity and cooperation daily buildsin strength throughout the World. Shining light into thedarkest corners, and there are few darker than Israel,sustaining all those who call for justice, freedom and unity.All that would pervert and soil the life of men women andchildren everywhere shall be exposed. Goodness will ought,

justice shall be done. Implement and enforce the law is the

cry

--

Graham is Director of The Create Trust, a UK registeredcharity, supporting fundamental social change and thehuman rights of individuals in acute need.

Documents

Israel’s criminal demolitions in the occupied Palestinian territories