The Israeli Committee against House Demolitions launched its tenth
annual Rebuilding Camp last week. More than 30 volunteers from around
the world joined Palestinians in the West Bank town of Anata to rebuild a
Palestinian home demolished five times by Israel. Last week the United
Nations Human Rights Council received the annual report of Professor
Richard Falk, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the
OPT. Falk highlighted the disturbing case of Salim and Arabiya
Shawamreh, and stated it was "illustrative of a common Palestinian
complaint that their property rights are indirectly usurped through the
denial of formal permits and the subsequent issuance and execution of
demolition orders.
While it will be rebuilt once again next month, the family will live under the threat of having its home demolished at any moment.
While it will be rebuilt once again next month, the family will live under the threat of having its home demolished at any moment.
The ever-present threat of Israeli bulldozers
perverts the sense of normalcy so essential for raising children." Every
year hundreds of Palestinians are forced from their homes, homes built
on land they own. Since 1967 Israel has demolished more than 26,000
Palestinian structures in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
Israel's policy of house demolitions and evictions is illegal under
international law, and is politically motivated; its purpose is to
disenfranchise entire Palestinian communities and expropriate their
land.
Following a visit to Beit Arabiya after its last demolition, Maxwell Gaylard, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the OPT, called for an immediate end to Israel's policy of home demolitions. "Israel as the Occupying Power has a fundamental responsibility to protect the Palestinian civilian population under its control and to ensure their dignity and wellbeing. The current policy and practice of demolitions cause extensive human suffering and should end." Following his visit, Mr. Gaylard also commended the work undertaken by ICAHD and partners to support Palestinian families in distress, and expressed serious concern about the repeated destruction of homes supported by ICAHD.
Following a visit to Beit Arabiya after its last demolition, Maxwell Gaylard, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the OPT, called for an immediate end to Israel's policy of home demolitions. "Israel as the Occupying Power has a fundamental responsibility to protect the Palestinian civilian population under its control and to ensure their dignity and wellbeing. The current policy and practice of demolitions cause extensive human suffering and should end." Following his visit, Mr. Gaylard also commended the work undertaken by ICAHD and partners to support Palestinian families in distress, and expressed serious concern about the repeated destruction of homes supported by ICAHD.
Source
Since Israelis occupied Palestine in 1948, thousands of Palestinians
were forced to leave their homes, and they found themselves living in
refugee camps far away from their original towns and villages. In
Ramadan, the situation gets more difficult for these people.
This story is not an exception, and it is similar to thousands of others. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), there are about five million Palestinian refugees. 1.2 million of them live in the besieged Gaza Strip under very hard humanitarian circumstances. Source
Economic crisis looms large in Gaza
This story is not an exception, and it is similar to thousands of others. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), there are about five million Palestinian refugees. 1.2 million of them live in the besieged Gaza Strip under very hard humanitarian circumstances. Source
Economic crisis looms large in Gaza
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