People's Rights Magazine - August 1997

The issue of the demolition of Palestinian homes, which has been a fact of life since 1967 in the West Bank, demands immediate attention as the Israeli military authorities attempt to cleanse areas of the West Bank and Jerusalem of a Palestinian presence prior to the final status “peace negotiations”. Until about 1985, the great majority of demolitions were on the pretext of “security.” Most recently, however, homes have been destroyed on the pretext of being “illegal”--that is, they are homes which were built without permits, or which fall outside the approved planning scheme. The Israeli authorities rely on such “legal” pretexts in order to legitimize their current policy of demolishing homes and removing a Palestinian presence from Areas C near Jewish settlements, bypass roads and military installations.

On May 18, 1997, Israeli Defense Ministry officials stated that 500 Palestinian homes have been targeted for demolition. In fact, since the election of Prime Minister Netanyahu on May 29, 1996, over 220 homes have already been destroyed. House demolitions are not new, however - since the Oslo Accord was signed in an atmosphere of “good faith” in September 1993, 315 homes have been destroyed, 92 under the previous Labor administration.

Documents and maps showing the location of the homes targeted for demolition reveal that these homes are mainly located near Jewish settlements, military areas or near settler by-pass roads in the still occupied 73% of the West Bank (Area C). For example, all five homes destroyed in Hebron on May 5th were located near a newly-constructed by-pass road, meant to serve local Jewish settlements. The latest trends in Israel’s policy of house demolition, and the most recent announcements can be seen as the final necessary step in order to consolidate Israeli control over Jerusalem and the West Bank before the final status negotiations, to cleanse areas of the West Bank of a Palestinian presence in order to be able to negotiate over “empty” land near the settlements and by-pass roads. The pattern of house demolition shows that many houses are demolished in the same place at once. Again, the 5 homes destroyed in Hebron on May 5th were in the same region.

The Israeli government justifies house demolitions on the basis of “legal” pretexts--making their acts “on paper,” at least, appear somewhat legitimate. However, these excuses are based on laws that are out-dated, unjust, and often inapplicable. In most parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, it is virtually impossible for a Palestinian to obtain a building permit. The procedure for obtaining building permits is convoluted and can easily take over one year and cost over $2,500 (merely for the application process). Furthermore, as decisions are made on an ad hoc and capricious basis, the applicant has no guarantee that his application will be approved. Studies indicate that the number of permits actually issued has been at less than one tenth of the rate required by the natural development and population growth which are actually taking place. It is important to keep in mind that not all the permits issued have been for the development of homes or residential use.

Town planning under military occupation in the West Bank has been instituted through councils and administrative bodies to which Palestinians have had virtually no access, and which have in no way represented, or taken into consideration the needs of the local Palestinian people. In addition, the zoning laws used by these town planning bodies are based on a 1942 British Mandate scheme, called RJ5 (the regional plan for Jerusalem and for the south of the West Bank), and S15 (the regional plan for the northern area of the West Bank). Typically, when rejecting a building permit application, or when rejecting an appeal to a demolition order, the military court will explain that the said house was built in violation of the applicable zoning law. For example, under RJ5, one building may be built on a single plot of land. Therefore, any additional house built by the Palestinian family in possession of that land is deemed illegal, and will be demolished. It is important to keep in mind, however, that these zoning laws date back over 50 years, and have never been updated. They were created even before the creation of the State of Israel. Now, however, the Israeli government selectively applies these regulations only to the Palestinian inhabitatns of the Occupied Territories. Furthermore, the laws do not reflect the changes in population and other developments in the region. The town planning councils and military courts use the zoning laws as a weapon against Palestinians, and restrict building. However, those same RJ5 or S15 lands are conveniently re-zoned to permit the building of 50,000 units for Jewish settlers. This inconsistent distorting and discriminatory application of the law reflects the Israeli scheme to encourage Jewish settlements and to further confiscate Palestinian land, while stifling Palestinian development. .

Upon receiving demolition orders, the family is given an extremely limited opportunity to appeal the order. This appeals process may reach the Israeli High Court. However, to date, all appeals to the High Court have been rejected.

Obviously, the demolition of homes is a flagrant violation of the most basic of human rights (the right to shelter) and constitutes a critical humanitarian issue. Because extended Palestinian families tend to live together, and because housing permits are almost never issued, overcrowding is an acute problem. Therefore the demolition of just one house renders homeless often more than 15 people, the elderly and the children alike.

Besides the basic inhumanity involved in the destruction of homes and the ensuing homelessness, its cynical use as a political tool to prejudice and predetermine the outcome of the “peace negotiations” reveals a total departure from the understandings and assurances of the Oslo agreements. Provision 1 (c) of Article XII of Oslo II specifically forbids the “demolition or removal of existing buildings or installations.”

It is a matter of critical concern that the international community and all concerned parties act at once to protest Israel’s house demolition policy. House demolitions are necessary to facilitate illegal settlement expansion, settler by-pass road construction and to consolidate Israeli military control over the West Bank. The aim of the Israeli government is to rid these areas of the West Bank and Jerusalem of a Palestinian presence. Strategically, such a policy makes additional claims on Palestinian land--land which, in Israeli eyes, is still up for negotiation--even easier. The Israeli government’s use of such an inhumane act as a political tool to predetermine and prejudice the outcome of the negotiations and to tip the balance to their political favor is deplorable. Increasingly in the case of house demolition, the “law” is merely an excuse used in furtherance of a policy and an ultimate goal which violates existing agreements, international law, and basic humanitarian principles.

The international community is called upon to voice its condemnation at this most critical time, and demand an immediate halt to the house demolition policy.
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