In 1992, al-Haq launched an international campaign to stop the destruction of Palestinian homes. The campaign had three immediate aims:

1. To secure a halt, in accordance with the requirements of international law, to the demolition and sealing of Palestinian homes on so-called 'security' grounds by the Israeli occupation authorities;
2. To obtain full compensation for all those who have been affected by this policy;
3. To obtain permission for all those whose homes have been demolished or sealed under this policy to rebuild on the same site or to have their homes unsealed.

Al-Haq's campaign was conceived as a response to the massive increase in the number of houses demolished and sealed by the Israeli authorities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since the beginning of the uprising in December, 1987. In preparation for its campaign, al-Haq set out to document, as exhaustively as possible, cases of the demolition or sealing of buildings for 'security' reasons over the 11-year period beginning 1 January, 1981, and ending 31 December, 1991. The statistics given in this study are all based on this information, unless an alternative reference is given. Of the 1001 cases arising from 1981-1991 and documented in preparation for the campaign, 786 occurred in the first four years of the uprising. Despite vigorous condemnation of this policy as a serious violation of international law in the international community, the Israeli military authorities continue to issue demolition and sealing orders, and Israel's highest court, the Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, continues to rule that the policy is legal. The severe trauma and enormous financial consequences inflicted on the large numbers of Palestinian families affected by this particular human rights violation lead al-Haq to consider that particular attention should be focused, at this particular time, on realising the aims stated above.

Al-Haq has examined the Israeli policy of punitive house demolition and sealing for 'security' reasons in a number of its past publications. In 1987, the organisation published a study by Emma Playfair entitled The Demolition and Sealing of Homes as a Punitive Measure in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank. The al-Haq annual reports on human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories during the first three years of the uprising (Punishing a Nation, covering the period December 1987-December 1988, A Nation Under Siege, covering 1989, and Protection Denied, covering 1990), included a detailed consideration of developments in the policy and its implementation over those periods. Israel's use of the Defence (Emergency) Regulations, 1945, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories has also been examined in detail in Martha Moffett's Perpetual Emergency, published by al-Haq in 1989. The reader is referred to those sources for further information on a number of points raised in this paper.

The current study aims to collate and update (for the purpose of the international campaign), al-Haq's previously published work on the subject, and to set in context the results of the extensive fieldwork carried out by al-Haq (in preparation for the campaign). The study also includes previously unpublished case studies selected to illustrate particular aspects of Israel's house demolition and sealing policy. It is hoped that the study will help individuals and organisations participating in the campaign.

Preface

1st. Context

1. Introduction
2. International Humanitarian Law and the Israeli Occupation

2nd. Legal Arguments

1. Israel's Use of the Defence Regulations, 1945, in the Occupied Territories
2. Military Necessity and Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention
3. Collective Punishment, Reprisal and Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention
4. Extra-judicial Punishment
5. Grave Breaches and Reparations

3rd. Non-Legal Arguments

1. The 'Deterrence' Argument
2. The 'Alternatives' Argument

4th. The Role of the Israeli High Court of Justice

5th. Practice

6th. Damage to Adjacent Buildings and Compensation

7th. Rebuilding/Unsealing Affected Houses

8th. Conclusion

Appendices: Seven Case Studies of Families Whose Homes Were Demolished or Sealed for 'Security' Reasons

Endnotes