26 August 1997

Today three homes were demolished in the Ras al Amoud neighborhood of Jerusalem, and two homes were demolished in Qosra village near Nablus. With these five demolitions, a total of 45 homes have been destroyed in the past 23 days.

The homes of Yassir Jabari, Tayseer Jabari and Ali Abu Suweiye were destroyed today in Ras al Amoud. The Israeli Jerusalem municipality recently approved a new Jewish settlement project in this village, one of six new projects aimed at completing the circle of Jewish settlements around occupied east Jerusalem.

In Qosra village, near Nablus, the homes of Amer and Marmar Mahmoud Jabali were destroyed. This village lies very near Magdalim settlement.

All five of these homes were unfinished structures, reflecting the desire on the part of the Israeli authorities to restrict the natural growth of Palestinian communities. But the human and economic cost is too high to ignore. 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.