ISRAELI HIGH COUNCIL OF PLANNING IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES REFUSES BUILDING PERMITS FOR PALESTINIAN HOMES

HOMES CAN NOW BE DEMOLISHED

21 October 1996

An appeal against the Israeli High Council of Planning's decision to refuse building permits for five Palestinian families was struck down today, clearing the way for the demolition of their homes in the West Bank. Five families (3 from Sair near Hebron, one from Abu Dis near Jerusalem, one from Rafat near Ramallah and one from Huwara village near Nablus) came to LAWE - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment to appeal the house demolition orders (for having no permit) they received on 21 May 1996.

The Israeli High Council of Planning for the Occupied West Bank, located in the Jewish settlement of Bet El (where the Israeli military administrative offices are located), refused to consider these building permits on the pretext that these homes are located on "protected agricultural land", according to a regulation passed over 50 years ago during the British Mandate period.

Palestinian villages and towns face chronic housing shortages due to Occupation zoning policies which restrict building areas, settlements and by-pass roads which surround Palestinian villages and towns and the persistent refusal to grant building licenses to Palestinian homeowners. The Israeli High Council of Planning relies on this outdated and irrelevant regulation to limit the expansion of Palestinian towns, which is selectively applied only to Palestinian residents of the West Bank - not to the illegal Jewish settlements which surround Palestinian towns and which are located on Palestinian agricultural land. This case once again demonstrates the arbitrary and restrictive nature of the procedures to grant building licenses, and why Palestinians are forced to build illegally.

In addition, the refusal to grant building licenses in these cases are politically motivated. Three of the homes are located in Sair, within 100 meters of the Jewish-only by-pass road number 35. The future demolition of these homes is consistent with current Israeli policy to clear areas near Jewish settlements and the new by-pass roads of a Palestinian presence.

LAWE condemns this continuing restrictive practice of the Israeli military authorities in the West Bank, particularly given the need for constructive measures to calm the hostile atmosphere against the Israeli occupation that was so evident in September. LAWE calls on the international community to voice its condemnation of the twin policies of refusing building permits and house demolitions. Fax your protests to: Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu (972) (2) 566 4838, Chairman of the High Council of Planning Shlomo Moskovitz (972) (2) 9977051, and to the General Commander of the Occupied Territories Uzi Dayan (972) (2) 530533.

LAWE - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment is a non-governmental organization, dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy. LAWE is also an affiliate member of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights.