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The
Israeli Policy of House Demolitions
What would it mean to have your house destroyed, to have fifteen or
twenty minutes warning before the Caterpillar bulldozers come and reduce
your home to the sort of rubble we normally associate with an
earthquake? What would it be like to have your children watch their
home be demolished, seeing their mother and father powerless to protect
either them or their home?
This is a reality that over 18,000 Palestinians have faced since the
start of the occupation in 1967. A reality that continues unabated
today. Even the Israeli government has given up voicing the myth that
the policy is a matter of security. Rather it is a matter both of
making life unbearable for the Palestinians so they will leave and of
stealing their land in order to make way for the construction of more
illegal Israeli settlements.
The policy of home demolitions as well as the construction of the hated
wall can only be understood within the context of Israeli expansion into
the West Bank, internationally recognized as Palestinian territory.
Indeed, the homes are often destroyed in order to facilitate
construction of the wall. In referring to the section of the Wall in
Abu Dis, Jeff Halper, a leading voice in the Israeli opposition notes
that “The
wall cuts off Arab from Arab here", Halper noted. "It's got nothing to
do with security, since there are no Jews living here. The route of the
wall doesn't follow the borders; neither does it provide security -
instead it's all part of putting so much pressure on the Palestinians
that they up and leave the area. It's the policy of the 'quiet
transfer'".
An example of the sort of settlement activity made possible by the
demolition of Palestinian homes is afforded my Maaleh Adumim, an opulent
and thriving city of forty thousand settlers deep in the West Bank. As
Halper notes "The Geneva convention states that an occupying power may
not make use of the area's natural resources, "yet look around you." He
was looking at swimming pools, fountains, and lush vegetation, all made
possible by water stolen from the Palestinians. Indeed, 85% of the
water in the West Bank is appropriated for use of Israelis.
All of us have watched the devastating impacts on people of having their
homes destroyed. Certainly homes are usually the major asset that
people hold, but they are so much more than that. They are the refuge
from the trials of the world; they are the physical representation of
the family. When we see a family whose home has been destroyed by a
natural disaster, we see a pain that goes beyond the loss of an
investment; how much worse is that pain and anger for those who witness
the intentional destruction of their home?
Palestinians know that Israel continues its policy of destroying homes
because it is approved and to a large degree paid for by the United
States. The anger and outrage engendered by this policy is directed not
just at Israel but toward those who not only allow but support the
continuation of the atrocities.
As long as the American government pours billions of dollars into Israel
and refuses to condemn its unjust behavior, hatred will continue to
grow. If we are to defuse this hatred and take a real role in reaching
a just conclusion of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, we must
immediately put pressure on Israel to stop the barbaric practice of home
demolitions. |
