Home Demolitions: An Introduction
The Israeli government has tried to control the development of Palestinian community through the demolition of houses. Palestinians are not allowed to build in approximately 60% of the West Bank, 40% of Gaza Strip and 87% of Jerusalem. It is almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain a building permit because of discriminatory building regulations. Palestinians who start to build without permits to house their families are then threatened with the demolition of their homes.
Israel contends that house demolitions are merely an act of law enforcement. Homes are destroyed, or issued a demolition order, on the pretext of being "illegal", that is they are homes built without permits. They were not given permits because they violate existing zoning laws. This is, for the most part, true. Israel relies on a façade of legality to justify home demolitions and to mask the political motivations behind its policy.
Israel's official position is that the demolition of "illegal" homes "is based on enforcement of the valid planning and building laws in the area as well as enforcement of the various planning outlines valid in the area".
These valid laws and outlines referred to in this statement by then Defense Minister, Yitzhak Mordechai, are the RJ/5 regional plan for Jerusalem and the southern areas of the West Bank, and the S/15 regional plan for the northern West Bank. Both these plans were based on a 1942 British Mandate proposal prepared for needs and conditions that bear no resemblance to today. The 57 year-old RJ/5 and S/15 plans have never been replaced by more relevant, updated versions that apply to the current trend of population growth and development requirements. Both plans apply only to Palestinian inhabitants of the West Bank. The 195 illegal Jewish settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and East Jerusalem violate these very same zoning regulations as well as international law and the stipulations of the Oslo Accords and the Wye River Memorandum.
It is true that some Palestinians build homes without applying for permits. They do so because they have no other option. Years of suppressed development have created overcrowding and poverty. The absence of development areas allocated by RJ/5 and S/15 means any development violates planning regulations. RJ/5 and S/15 make it is virtually impossible for a Palestinian to obtain a building permit in the West Bank and even harder for a Palestinian in East Jerusalem. The cost of a building permit in East Jerusalem can amount to $20,000 and take five years to obtain. The number of permits issued in the West Bank has been at less than one-tenth of the rate required by the natural development and population growth taking place.
A closer look reveals the political motivation behind Israeli adherence to antiquated zoning regulations and outlines. Almost all the homes that have been demolished, or have received demolition orders, are situated near existing settlements or by-pass roads, in areas that prevent territorial contiguity between Palestinian population centers, neighboring Israeli military installations or located in the path of planned future settlements and by-pass roads. Many times a Palestinian home is demolished for being built too close to a Jewish structure that did not exist when the house was constructed. House demolition works together with other such discriminatory policies to fragment Palestinian population centers, stifle Palestinian development, expel and limit Palestinians from certain areas, especially East Jerusalem, and fortify Israeli presence and control in the Occupied Territories and the city as a means towards achieving the goal of de facto annexation of the land with little, or none, of the Palestinian population present.
Throughout the occupation, Israel has demolished Palestinian homes, forcing Palestinians off their lands to make way for settlement expansion and more recently, by-pass road construction. Homes have also been demolished as punishment. 786 homes were destroyed during the first four years of the Intifada alone as reprisals against those who took part in the resistance.
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