BREAKING NEWS - Supreme Court hearing and MAP / ICAHD UK petition.
BREAKING NEWS - ICAHD appeals to the Supreme Court against House Demolitions plus news of an urgent MAP / ICAHD UK government petition that begins with 50 signatures from people of prominence. Umm Omar stands in the ruins of her demolished home in Anata. Photo by Lance Larson.
ICAHD JOINS APPEAL TO ISRAELI SUPREME COURT AGAINST MILITARY PLANNING IN AREA C OF THE WEST BANK
The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), in conjunction with Rabbis for Human Rights/Shomrei Mishpat, The Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center, and The Society of Saint Yves, The Catholic Center for Human Rights , and together with the Palestinian village council of Ad-Dirat - Al-Rfai’ya located in the southern district of Hebron, 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 hands of the Israeli military and restore it to the Palestinian Authority. The Court will hear the case this Monday, April 28, 2014.
Background: Palestinian planning commissions survived the 1967 war, but without warning or “immediate military necessity,” the Israeli Military Commander in 1971 issued Order 418, which abolished them and placed all planning in the hands of the military, where it remains today. During the Oslo peace process Israel agreed to restore that authority in Area C to the Palestinian Authority, but this was never done.
Our case argues that Order 418 created a separate but discriminatory planning regime that, by removing any representation of the Palestinian population, renders criminal almost all new building by Palestinians, who have no choice but to build without permits and thereby risk demolition. This stands in clear violation of Article 64 of Fourth Geneva Convention , which prohibits an Occupying Power from extending its legal system into an occupied territory. Moreover, the Respondents – the Israeli Minister of Defense, the IDF commander of the West Bank, the head of the Civil Administration and its High Planning Council – illegally took the planning authority and rights granted to the Protected Population by the Fourth Geneva Convention, transferring them to the military. What’s more, they formally brought Israeli settlers into the planning process and structure. Sixteen local committees exist in Area C for local settlement councils, but not one Palestinian village council in Area C has a local planning committee.
Our appeal raises for the first time before the High Court the issue of forced transfer of Palestinians within the Occupied Territories as a result of the planning failure and practice of house demolition – some 30,000 homes and livelihood structures demolished since 1967. The effects of demolitions or threats of demolitions are devastating, and the political agenda of “Judaizing” is blatant: Less than 1% of Area C is designated for Palestinian development, compared to the 70% of Area C for the settlements. Overall our appeal raises the fundamental question: Why does the Civil [Military] Administration interfere in the first place in the planning and construction issues of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories?
For more information, please contact: Jeff Halper, ICAHD Director, at +972-(0)54-303-9170 (tel:%2B972-%280%2954-303-9170) , or
Rabbi Arik Ascherman, President and Senior Rabbi; Rabbis for Human Rights, at +972-(0)50-5607034 (tel:%2B972-%280%2950-5607034) or
In preparation for Monday’s hearing, this morning (Friday, 25 April, 2014) ICAHD provided a short tour of demolition sites and a briefing at Beit Arabiya with Salim Shawamreh and other Palestinians who have experienced their home being demolished for members of the international diplomatic community based in Jerusalem.
Jeff Halper reckons that chaos might well follow the collapse of the Kerry talks and Hamas/Fatah reconciliation, and he fears that Israel may well move to clear Area C of Palestinians (a project almost completed at any rate) and annex most of it. ICAHD is positioning itself to respond with an international campaign about demolitions and displacement, and we hope that all our supporters in the UK will also want to join in the response. Follow us on Facebook for the most up-to-the-minute news on this.
The remains of a demolished home. Photo by Josh Hough. [1]cc
Join the Call for an Immediate End to Israeli Demolitions!
Our friends at Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)have invited ICAHD UK to partner with them in a very timely petition about house demolitions, which you can SIGN HERE . Kick-started with the signatures of 50 prominent people including artists, musicians, film-makers, writers and comedians (see below), we now need your help to spread the word and get as many people signing this as possible in order to have the most impact. We are calling on the UK government to take immediate action to end the demolition of Palestinian homes.
Please take a minute to sign the petition , and then pass on to 10 friends to do the same.
Bill Bailey, comedian - John Berger, writer - Jello Biafra, musician and political activist - Victoria Brittain, writer and journalist - Noam Chomsky, writer and academic - Julie Christie, actress - Caryl Churchill, playwright - Caledonia Dance Curry (aka Swoon), street artist and activist - William Dalrymple, writer - Angela Davis, human rights activist - Robert Del Naja, artist and lead singer with Massive Attack - Brian Eno, musician - Grant Fleming, photographer - Bella Freud, designer and activist - Lord Anthony Gifford, QC - Jeremy Hardy, comedian - Douglas Hart, founding member of Jesus and Mary Chain and video director - Dr Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief of the Lancet - Ghada Karmi, academic and writer - Aki Kauriskmäki, screenwriter - Peter Kennard, artist and activist - Peter Kosminsky, screenwriter and film director - Mike Leigh, film director - Ken Loach, film director - Michael Mansfield, QC - Miriam Margolyes, actress - Grant Marshall, lead singer with Massive Attack - Yann Martel, author - Karma Nabulsi, academic - Ilan Pappe, academic - Raoul and David Perré (aka How and Nosm), artists - Primal Scream, indie band - Hilary Rose, academic - Steven Rose, academic - Joe Sacco, cartoonist and journalist - Alexie Sayle, comedian and writer - Julia Salwaha, actress - Nadim Salwaha, actor - Nadine Salwaha, actress and presenter - Avi Shlaim, academic - Ahdaf Soueif, author and activist - Lord David Steele of Aikwood, Liberal Democrat politician - Juliette Stevenson, actress - Mark Thomas, comedian, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, social rights activist - Alice Walker, author - Roger Waters, musician, founding member of Pink Floyd - Irvine Welsh, author - Jodie Williams, activist. - For the latest news of our 12th REBUILDING CAMP and how to apply see here . - More summary information following our successful 10th anniversary conference a few weeks ago which will be posted shortly, along with further resources. Thank you to everyone who joined us to help make it such an inspiring day! Image: Rebuilding Camp 2012 http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=*|URL:ARCHIVE_LINK_SHORT|* Share http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=*|URL:MC_SUBJECT|*: *|URL:ARCHIVE_LINK_SHORT|* Tweet (http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=*|URL:MC_SUBJECT|*: *|URL:ARCHIVE_LINK_SHORT|*) *|FORWARD|* Forward (*|FORWARD|*)