25 August 1997

Today, 25 August, two homes were demolished in Nahalin village near Bethlehem, and two in al Za’ayim village near Jerusalem. All four houses were demolished for having no permit, although both the Israeli military authorities of the West Bank and the Jerusalem municipality only very rarely issue building permits to Palestinian residents. Palestinian residents, therefore, must build illegally to alleviate extreme overcrowding. Because they cannot take advantage of the low mortgage rates or the low-interest loans available to the Jewish settlements of the West Bank and Jerusalem, they must invest their life savings into their homes, adding to the economic as well as human devastation caused by these demolitions. These demolitions follow the construction of thousands of new units in the Jewish-only illegal settlements of Jerusalem and the West Bank.

In al Za’ayim village near Jerusalem, the Israeli Jerusalem municipality ordered the demolition of the homes of Mohammed Abu Hawa and Sharif Sheweiki.

In the West Bank, bulldozers demolished the homes of Mohammed Shakarna and Hamze Fanoon in Nahalin village near Bethlehem this morning. Angry residents threw stones and Israeli soldiers responded with tear gas. At least two were wounded in the clashes. Five additional homes received demolition orders at the same time as these two, but the Israeli army was unable to continue the demolitions because of the clashes. These five homes remain vulnerable to immediate demolition.

LAW calls on all concerned parties immediately to protest these policies. Contact the following officials to demand an immediate halt to all house demolitions, and for the international community, especially the United States, to take appropriate actions to sanction Israel for this brutal policy: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu (972) (2) 566 4838, Israeli Mayor of Jerusalem Ehud Olmert (972) (2) 629 7997, Minister of Foreign Affairs David Levy (972) (2) 530 3506, Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai (972) (3) 691 6940. Electronic mail to: Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu: pm@pmo.gov.il, the Office of the Prime Minister: feedback@pmo.gov.il, the Israeli Government Press Office: gpo@pmo.gov.il, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: ask@israel-info.gov.il.

LAW - 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. LAW is also an affiliate member of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights.