15 May 1996

CAMPAIGN TO SAVE THE HOMES OF PALESTINE

In response to the increasing number of house demolitions, and house demolitions notices, in the still occupied 70% of the West Bank (Area C), LAWE is initiating a campaign to save the homes of Palestine.

Since the signing of the Declaration of Principles in September of 1993, a total of 84 houses have been demolished in the West Bank. Many, many more homes remain at risk, for the "crime" of being located in Area C of the West Bank (the area still under direct Israeli occupation), and close to settlements. Israeli Civil Administration spokesperson Peter Lerner recently stated that the massive confiscation around settlements in the Ramallah and Bethlehem areas were to create "security belts" around the settlements. This, and the issuance of house demolition notices in these areas, clearly reflect the campaign of the Israeli government to clear areas around settlements of an Arab presence.

The tragedy of having your home demolished cannot be overstated. Given the nature of Palestinian society, often up to 20 people live in a single home. Houses are passed down from generation to generation, sometimes staying in the same family for hundreds of years. The brutality of an illegal occupying force depriving whole extended families of their homes, especially since the same occupation policy has forced a housing shortage that has been impossible to ease, demonstrates the dehumanizing tragedy of the West Bank. Particularly now, when the negotiators are meeting for the final status negotiations, continued house demolitions demonstrate particularly bad faith on the part of the Israeli government, and a violation of the Oslo Accords and their pledge not to change the status quo of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

In response to this aggression on the part of the occupation authority, and to help the people of the West Bank save their homes, LAWE has organized a Committee of the People against house demolitions. This committee will pressure both the Palestinian Council, Cabinet and the negotiators to take an strong stand against continuing demolition. But the international community can help as well, to write letters and/or faxes to Israeli leaders demanding a halt to all demolitions as violations of the letter and spirit of the Oslo Accords, and as a bad faith policy aimed against an occupied population during an era of the pursuit of peace. These families need your help! Please send your letters, condemning this policy and demanding a halt to all demolitions, to:

Legal Advisor for OC Major General Uzi Dayan: (972) (2) 997 7326

Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres: (972) (2) 664 383

Israeli Minister of Justice David Liba'i: (972) (2) 285 438

Israeli Minister of the Environment Yossi Sarid: (972) (2) 653 5958

Palestinian Minister of Local Affairs Saeb Erekat: (972) (2) 992 1240

** Note - this list will change after the Israeli elections, to be held on May 29.

Land and Water Estabishment is a Palestinian non-governmental organization, dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy. LAWE also is an affiliate of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights.