.              

Stop demolishing Palestinian homes
A way forward for Israel

By César Chelala 

Thursday, May 8, 2003: (IHT) NEW YORK The election of Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian prime minister gives the Bush administration an opportunity to move quickly on the Israeli-Palestinian problem. U.S. and Israeli officials have been discussing a series of measures that could lead to an improvement in the present situation. One way to reduce rapidly the hostility between the two peoples, help Abbas gain credibility among Palestinians and provide the basis for serious discussions with the Israeli leadership would be for the Israeli Army to stop demolishing Palestinians' homes.
.
Since the start of Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands in 1967, more than 10,000 Palestinian civilian homes have been demolished, only 600 of which were the homes of people accused of security offenses. Unjustified demolition of houses - which has increased in intensity since the last intifada - have had a serious negative impact on Palestinians' health and quality of life, and will, in the end, be counterproductive for Israel itself.
.
Arik Ascherman, executive director of the organization Rabbis for Human Rights, has stated, "Israel committed human rights violations in the occupied territories, destroying homes and cropland, expropriating land and treating ordinary Palestinians like criminals. With every violation, more Palestinians lost faith in the peace process until frustration spilled over into uprising. American Jews and Israelis don't realize what is going on because they have not seen what we have seen."
.
On Jan. 3 the State Department's spokesman, Richard Boucher, repeated the Bush administration's position that although the United States recognizes Israel's "need to take legitimate anti-terrorist action," "steps such as the displacement of people through the demolition of homes and property exacerbate the humanitarian situation and undermine trust and confidence."
In spite of that statement, demolitions have continued unabated.
.
Israeli soldiers are now demolishing whole towns and subdivisions. This is the case of Nazlat Issa in the West Bank and Rafah in Gaza. Demolitions are also carried out in Israel itself, such as a housing development in the Palestinian town of Kafr Kassem.
The only accusation against the homeowners is that they lacked a building permit, which in any case is unattainable.
.
In many cases, several homes have been rebuilt with the help of Israelis appalled at the behavior of their own government - only to be destroyed again, sometimes three or four times.
.
As if Palestinians' lives were not difficult enough, since 1967 more than 500,000 olive trees - the main source of income for thousands of families - have been uprooted by the Israeli Army, and 80 percent of the West Bank's water goes into Israel and the settlements. Palestinians cannot drill for water without Israeli permission and are not even allowed to build reservoirs to collect rain water. This systematic intimidation has driven 150,000 to 250,000 Palestinians from their homes during the last two years of the intifada.
.
A small but extremely active organization, the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions, has for the last few years been trying to counteract these brutal occupation policies. Members of this group have been actively rebuilding Palestinians' homes in a remarkable act of solidarity.
.
Jeff Halper, the group's coordinator, has stated, "By doing so we, as Israeli Jews, are saying to the Palestinians: We acknowledge your existence as a people and your right to be in this country. We want to share this country with you, based on the right of both our peoples. We seek a common future based on a just peace. We refuse to be enemies."
.
It is only through this kind of approach that negotiations with the Palestinians will prove fruitful and a lasting peace will eventually be achieved in the Middle East.
.
The writer is an international public health consultant.

Copyright © 2003 the International Herald Tribune

Join our Daily News Headlines Email Digest

HOME

COPYRIGHT NOTICE