Internationals here for ICAHD’s annual rebuilding camp heard another sad story when they visited Dahmash, an area located between Lod and Ramle within Israel. “The situation here is no different to that in the Occupied Palestine Territory,” said Arafat Ishmael, head of the Lod Popular Resistance Committee, when he described the racist policies that they… Read more »
An American rebuilding camp participant describes our visit to Tel Aviv/Jaffa when we were given a tour by Zochrot, an Israeli organsation that seeks to educate Israeli society about the Nakba. George writes: The most depressing thing for me was to see everybody enjoying the popular Jerusalem Beach spot in Tel Aviv, and all along… Read more »
One of the many ways in which the Israeli government controls the Palestinian population – alongside the Separation Wall, water shortages, the appropriation of Palestinian land and the segregation of Palestinians living in different occupied areas – is through house demolition. Approximately 46,000 Palestinian homes have been demolished since 1967 in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and around 52,000 within the… Read more »
With all the attention about the imminent threat of demolition of the village of Susiya that would result in the displacement of the residents, it was important for the ICAHD camp participants to travel to the South Hebron Hills to demonstrate our solidarity with the village. We arrived early in the morning and were welcomed… Read more »
We started this fortnight’s rebuilding camp by seeing pictures of Salim & Arabiya’s very first house demolition in 1998 whilst we were sitting in the remains of their current house at Beit Arabiya. This was painful to hear the story of how their home was first destroyed as the family looked on, being dragged out… Read more »
Today was the first full day of the ICAHD rebuilding camp. After a wonderful night sleeping out in the mountains of Palestine, the cool breeze mixed with the call of the muezin at 4 am, and a hearty breakfast of falafel, humus, eggs, cheeses, zatar, fruits and strong Arabic coffee, Salim, who is hosting us… Read more »
A phenomenon that is absent from much of Western Europe is a fear of bulldozers. A logical absence it would seem. Yet the story is somewhat different for Palestinians living in Israel and the West Bank. I am being driven to meet a Palestinian family, Atta Jaber and his wife and four children, whose home… Read more »
Award-winning Al Jazeera’s “Inside Story” series has broadcast an episode focussed on Palestinian home demolitions. Presenter Shiulie Ghosh talks to Jeff Halper, Director of ICAHD, Avi Bell, a professor of law at Bar-Ilan University and a specialist in international and property law, and Bill Van Esveld, an Israel and Palestine researcher at Human Rights Watch,… Read more »
ICAHD’s Director Jeff Halper has written a press release – below – in response to the outcome of the appeal brought by Rabbis For Human Rights, ICAHD, JLAC, St. Yves and the Palestinian village of Ad-Dirat-Al-Rfaiiya requesting that planning authority be returned to Palestinians living in Area C, the 62% of the West Bank under… Read more »
ICAHD, in conjunction with other human rights organisations and together with the Palestinian village council of Ad-Dirat- Al-Rfaiiya, near Hebron in the West Bank, has submitted a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court to remove the planning authority in Area C of the West Bank, including the authority to demolish Palestinian homes, out of the… Read more »
