PALESTINE: Israel begins new house demolitions

Kim Bullimore

Israel has begun a new wave of demolitions against Palestinian houses and buildings in occupied East Jerusalem. Earlier this year, the Israeli Jerusalem Municipality demolished 37 Palestinian homes.

According to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), 15 houses and a petrol station were demolished in the final week of June. The Israeli government and the Jerusalem Municipal Council have justified the demolitions with the argument that the houses, most of which were people's homes, did not have permits to be built.

According to ICAHD, more than 12,000 Palestinian homes have been demolished since 1967, leaving over 70,000 people without shelter. The demolition of Palestinian homes located in East Jerusalem and other parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, however, is illegal under international law.

Since 1967, Israel has severely restricted Palestinian housing and residential planning, while simultaneously allocating huge expanses of land to create and expand illegal Israeli settler colonies. According to the Israeli human rights organisation, B'Tselem, Israel's restrictive practices and complicated, prolonged and often expansive planning application procedure has forced many Palestinians to build homes without Israeli permits.

Israel is currently constructing 90,000 housing units for Israeli-only use in East Jerusalem. In contrast, according to ICAHD, the Jerusalem municipality has "intentionally created a shortage of 25,000 housing units for Palestinians" with the purpose of maintaining a 72 82% majority for Israelis over Palestinians and to either confine the Palestinian population of East Jerusalem to "small islands" and "to ultimately force them out of the city".

From Green Left Weekly, July 13, 2005.

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From GLW issue 633