Demolition Surges - The Occupation Deepens

Israel is increasingly targeting Israeli Arab citizens for house demolitions. This year has seen a tremendous surge in house demolitions in the southern Negev Desert, targeting the Bedouin communities who live there in poverty, without government services to their ‘unrecognized villages’. Just a few weeks ago the entire village of Twail Abu Jarwal was demolished for the tenth time.

ICAHD’s response is to help them rebuild - yet again. This time we will be purchasing sturdy tents that can be quickly dismantled should the bulldozers return. Our Constructing Peace Campaign has built almost 50 homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem this year, plus helped rebuild a Bedouin village of 25+ families. The 18,000 Homes Campaign (see right column) is disseminating information through viral marketing of the banner and web page (you can help). ICAHD Coordinator, Jeff Halper, is currently on a USA speaking tour and will reach thousands of people during October with the message. But is it all enough? The Occupation continues to deepen and strengthen. The ‘Security Barrier’ continues to be built and strengthened. Demolitions and other human rights violations continue unabated.

Are we merely like the anti-slavery activists who passed the torch to future generations to fulfill the mission, or can we effect change now, not tomorrow? If so, how? Keep in mind that despite all our efforts over the years, the Israeli Occupation machine rolls forward and has strengthened and consolidated its grip on the West bank while Gaza is now a giant prison. Do we have to wait until Apartheid is undisputed on the ground, or can we halt and reverse the process? If so, how?

House Demolitions Statistics in the Occupied Territories since 1967

These are figures for Palestinian homes. If approximately 120,000 Druze and Arabs were expelled from the Syria Golan Heights in 1967 and their villages (134 in number) were completely demolished, that makes about 20,000 additional demolished homes, assuming six people per family unit. The following sources are by year. In years without sources, the figures were arrived at through interviewing Israeli government or military personnel, or by collecting Palestinian testimonies.

compiled by Jeff Halper, Executive Director, ICAHD
(sources below)

• year - number of demolitions
• 1967 - 6,317
• 1968 - 140
• 1969 - 301
• 1970 - 191
• 1971 - 2,231
• 1972 - 35
• 1973 - 34
• 1974 - 61
• 1975 - 77
• 1976 - 24
• 1977 - 1
• 1978 - 2
• 1979 - 18
• 1980 - 30
• 1981 - 24
• 1982 - 35
• 1983 - 12
• 1984 - 2
• 1985 - 44
• 1986 - 49
• 1987 - 104
• 1988 - 587
• 1989 - 567
• 1990 - 306
• 1991 - 307
• 1992 - 193
• 1993 - 130
• 1994 - 153
• 1995 - 69
• 1996 - 168
• 1997 - 257
• 1998 - 180
• 1999 - 142
• (Intifada) - 4,747 (2,781 military, 1,966 administrative)
• 2005 - 290
• 2006 - 319


• TOTAL 18,147

Sources

• 1967: United Nations General Assembly (1967). “Report of the Secretary-General under General Assembly resolution 2252 (ES-V) and Security Council resolution ).” Retrieved 25 September 2006 from <http://www.domino.un.org>. Thomas Aboud (2000) “The Moroccan Quarter: A History of the Present.” Jerusalem: Jerusalem Quarterly. Retrieved 25 September 2006 from <http://www.jerusalemquarterly.org>. Palestine Remembered (n.d.) “Imwas”, “Bayt Nuba”, “Yalu”. Retrieved 25 September 2006 from <http://www.palestineremembered.com>. The UN Report refers to 850 houses demolished in Qalqilya and 360 in Beit Awa. It also states that the Beit Mersim (Beit Marsam) was entirely demolished and had an original population of approximately 500. We averaged just over 8 people per house to arrive at the figure of 60 houses for this village. Also quoted in the report is the demolition of 18 houses in Surif. Abowd’s articles states that 135 houses were demolished in the Moroccan Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City. The villages of Imwas, Yalu and Beit Nuba were entirely demolished in 1967. The website “Palestine Remembered” cites the 1931 British census listing 224 houses in Imwas, 245 in Yalu and 226 in Beit Nuba. According to the 1961 Jordanian census, the population of the towns increased by 91%, 70% and 43%. An extremely conservative estimate would be a 10% increase in the amount of housing by the 1961 census, adding a total of 69 more houses for a three-village-total of 764. This total does not include the numbers from the Jordan Valley villages of Nuseirat, Jiftlik, and Arajish, all of which were leveled.


• . United Nations General Assembly (1984). “Report of the Secretary-General, Living Conditions of the Palestinian People in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.” Retrieved 25 September 2006 from <http://www.domino.un.org>. This is the source for all statistics on demolitions between 1967 and 1982. In the actual report these are listed as punitive demolitions because all demolitions were classified as “Collective Punishment.”


• 1971. Human Rights Watch (2004). Razing Rafah. New York: Human Rights Watch. Jeff Halper (2005) Obstacles to Peace (Third Edition). Jerusalem: PalMap. This number is from a mass demolition that took place in the Gaza Strip in August. It happens that Ariel Sharon was the leader of that mission.


• 1983. Ronny Talmor (1989). Demolition and Sealing of Houses As a punitive measure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the Intifada. Jerusalem: B’tselem. This report is the source for the data on punitive demolitions from .


• 1987. B’tselem (2005). “Statistics on demolition of houses as punishment .” Retrieved 25 September 2006 from <http://www.btselem.org>. All the statistics on punitive house demolitions from come from this source. B’tselem (2006). “Statistics on demolition of houses built without permits.” Retrieved 25 September 2006 from <http://www.btselem.org>. All the statistics on administrative demolitions between come from this source.


• 1994. Meir Margalit (2006) Discrimination in the Heart of the Holy City. Jerusalem: IPCC. Also personal communication with Dr. Margalit, field researcher for ICAHD. B’tselem (2006). “Statistics on demolition of houses built without permits.” Retrieved 25 September 2006 from <http://www.btselem.org> . UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ). Weekly Humanitarian Briefings #s 86-178. All statistics about administrative house demolitions between come from these sources.


• . B’tselem (2006). “Statistics on houses demolished for alleged military purposes.” Retrieved 25 September 2006 from <http://www.btselem.org>. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ). Weekly Humanitarian Briefings #s 86-178

About House Demolitions in the Occupied Territories

Home demolitions in the Occupied Territories fall into three general categories:

Lack of building permits. The vast majority of home demolitions fall within this category. Until the Oslo Agreements of 1993 all Palestinians in the Occupied Territories had to apply for a building permit from the Israeli ‘Civil Administration’ in order to build or expand a home. Since 1993 Palestinians living in Jerusalem and area ‘C’ continue to fall under Israeli jurisdiction. East Jerusalem Palestinians apply for permits from the Jerusalem Municipality, while those living in area ‘B’ continue to apply to the Civil Administration. Permit applications are very expensive (over $20,000) and are routinely denied.

Clearing Operations. The clearance of houses for military purposes. Often the homes are too close to Israeli ‘security infrastructure’, Jewish roads, or provide cover for Palestinian military operations. Clearing Operations have continued to be conducted in all areas of the West Bank and Gaza, although to a lesser extent in Area ‘A’, and in Gaza since the 2005 withdrawal.

Punitive Demolitions. Homes of families or neighbors of Palestinians caught or suspected of carrying out attacks against Israelis. This collective punishment policy was ended in 2005 after the army issued a report declaring it counter-productive in reducing terror attacks.