Israeli ideologists destroy Peace Centre - for sixth time

Israeli authorities continue to demolish the homes of Palestinian families without warning, while at the same time announcing plans to build hundreds of new Israeli settlement homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) said the demolitions of Palestinian homes and the expansion of settlements were ‘politically and ethnically motivated’; an attempt to restrict Palestinian residents in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.

It is estimated that some 27,000 Palestinian properties have been demolished by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) since the occupation began in 1967 and so far this year, more than 472 properties have been destroyed, including 140 family homes.

At around 6am last Tuesday, the IDF demolished the home belonging to Hamad Abu-Haram in the village of Ad Deirat in the South Hebron Hills.

The family, including Hamad and his wife Rasmiya, who is eight months pregnant, his parents and eight children, were forced to come out of the home in which they slept and watched while their home – built with Hamad's life savings – was destroyed.

Speaking to Lapido at the scene just a few hours later, Rasmiya, 39, said: 'Where are my children going to sleep? This is a huge, huge crime. Where are my children going to sleep?'

Linda Ramsden, UK director of ICAHD, told Lapido on a trip organised by Christian Aid: ‘Israel makes it very difficult for Palestinian people to live in the land that they own – land that’s been in their families for generations.’

Linda said that in some cases, Palestinians whose homes have been demolished are sent a bill for the procedure. She said that because of this there has been an increasing trend towards ‘DIY demolitions’ - people demolishing their own home if they suspect they will be targeted, rather than losing their home and having to pay for its destruction.

The IDF say that house demolitions are carried out as a counter-terrorism measure, but research by Harvard University and the National Bureau of Economic Research last year suggests that house demolitions have in some cases led to an ‘increase in the number of suicide terrorists’.

Palestinian homes are also being demolished to make way for the expansion of Israeli settlements – ideologically-motivated communities built in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, dubbed illegal under international law.

Last week, 11 European NGOs including Christian Aid, IKA Pax Christi and the International Federation for Human Rights, condemned Israel’s announcement that it would be building 1,300 new settlement homes.

William Bell from Christian Aid said: ‘Settlements are illegal under international law and undermine the hopes of a peaceful two-state solution. Europe should speak with one voice in condemning this unilateral act of bad faith.’

Souhayr Belhassen, president of International Federation for Human Rights, said:  ‘More than 42% of West Bank land and the majority of water and natural resources are already allocated to settlements. Settlements and their related infrastructure are carving up Palestinian communities into disconnected enclaves and having a devastating impact on Palestinian lives and livelihoods.’

Earlier this month saw the demolition of the popular Peace Centre known as Beit Arabiya in Anata, just outside Jerusalem. The IDF demolished the house in the early hours of 1 November. It was the sixth time it had been destroyed.

After its fifth demolition in January this year, more than 30 volunteers from around the world took just two weeks in July to help rebuild it.

But just three months later, the house – owned by Salim and Arabiya Sharamweh, who have seven children – was demolished yet again.

Israeli authorities rule that properties need to be approved following a permit application – each application costing around $5,000. The Sharamweh family had forked out nearly $20,000 in permit applications, but in a climate where 94% of all permits are rejected, were not granted permission.

ICAHD said it ‘names Israeli duty-bearers as personally responsible for policies and practices that may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity’.

Speaking to Lapido amid the rubble of Beit Arabiya, Salim said: ‘If the peace process can’t protect my home from demolition, then I don’t need it. It’s not only concrete that they’re demolishing, it’s a family, it’s my kids. Suddenly they have no home.'

Criticising the ‘Kafka-esque’ system, Salim said that after rebuilding his home five times, this sixth demolition was the final straw. ‘I won’t leave the area but I don’t know whether I will rebuild it. It’s a very hard situation – one which I wouldn’t want anyone else in the world to experience.’