Israeli surveillance, 100 demolitions, benefit postponed

Photo: Children play in rubble following home demolition. Anata- ICAHD June 2023 Actions Bulletin * Listen to Jeff Halper’s June update * Read the May Demolition & Displacement report * Write to your MP * See postponement of the benefit concert * Help us at the Greenbelt Festival * Note the dates for your diary

Listen to Jeff Halper's June update

Photo: Jeff Halper speaking in London

The theme for Jeff Halper’s June update (https://youtu.be/7CDT5khbhHs ) is Israel’s technologies of oppression. It has developed ground-breaking surveillance systems that it uses to track Palestinians, restricting their freedom of movement and controlling their lives. Within East Jerusalem alone there are surveillance cameras situated every five metres. This system is tested on Palestinians and then sold to other countries as a means of repressing unwanted populations.

Israeli technology collects and stores information about every single Palestinian to a chilling effect. It uses facial recognition systems so all a soldier has to do is hold a phone to a Palestinian face and immediately information about that person and his/her family is downloaded – the person’s name, age, home location, occupation, names of family members, vehicle, security information, etc.

Jeff wrote about this subject in his book War Against the People: Israel, the Palestinians, and Global Pacification (Pluto Press 2015) and he was consulted for Amnesty’s new report Automated Apartheid on this subject which it released in May and which Jeff encourages everyone to read.

The photo on the right shows Israeli surveillance cameras in Abu Dis, East Jerusalem - photo by ICAHD Watch Jeff Halper's June update here (https://youtu.be/7CDT5khbhHs ) May's Demolition & Displacement Report

Photo: Demolition in the south of the West Bank - MEMO

Within the first two weeks of May, nine of the buildings demolished by Israeli authorities were provided by donors as part of humanitarian aid, including a school. They were demolished on the grounds that they lacked permits issued by the Israeli authorities however these permits are rarely if ever granted to Palestinians despite Palestinians spending many thousands of dollars on legal and application fees when their plans are submitted for approval. With growing families, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem must either extend their homes or build new ones without firstly obtaining a licence, a chance they take to remain in their location.

In total, during the first five months of 2023 there have been 33 per cent more demolitions than the same period in 2022 across the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, the number of demolished structures was almost two times higher.

Jubbet Adh Dhib school demolition Photo: Jubbet Adh Dhiba schoo before demoition - Peace Now

Most of the demolitions were targeted in Area C, which is under full Israeli military control, including the donor funded Jubbet Adh Dhib school in the small Palestinian village of Bayt Ta’mar, to the east of Bethlehem. The school had five classrooms and more than sixty pupils between the first and fourth grades. The bulldozers, army trucks and vehicles arrived at 4am on 7^th May, and the sound of the bulldozers woke the villagers. Parents and school children rushed to the scene to try to prevent the demolition. Some stones were thrown, and the army retaliated with bullets, tear gas and sound bombs injuring 50 and with one person losing an eye when hit with a rubber bullet.

Following the demolition, villagers along with assistance from internationals, set up two tents to allow the children to continue their studies however on Wednesday, 10^th May, the Israeli army arrived to destroy the tents. It is now the summer holiday, so school is out, but the village is determined to find a way to allow the children to continue studying in the autumn.

This joint statement was released on 26^th May by the consulates general of Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the UK, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland and the Office of the European Union Representative to the West Bank and Gaza.

It also urged Tel Aviv to “return or compensate for all humanitarian items funded by the consortium of donors,” in reference to Israel’s demolition of buildings funded by the European Union since 2015 estimated at 1,291,000 euros (£1,106,186).

In addition, the ten countries “strongly condemned the recent demolition of the donor-funded school in Jubbet Adh Dhib” and expressed “their grave concern about the threatened demolition of another 57 schools in the West Bank.” We urge you to write to your MP stating that you were encouraged that the UK joined with nine other European countries in the call for Israel to halt demolitions of Palestinian homes and structures. However, the statement has not been enough because Israel continues with demolitions and displacement of the Palestinian people. With 100 demolitions happening within the month of May and ongoing now into June, it proves that Israel has every intention of removing the indigenous Palestinian people from their homeland in violation of international law. Send your MP the information from this bulletin along with links to our report for May and the maps accompanying it. Also remind your MP that Israel continues building its illegal settlements with the intention of doubling that population within the next few years. The UK must take decisive action to hold Israel to account as it simply ignores words of condemnation.

Help at Greenbelt

Photo: ICAHD UK stall during 2022 festival

Calling ICAHD UK members who plan to attend the Greenbelt Festival over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Let us know if you will be there and are able to give assistance on the ICAHD UK stall. This is a wonderful opportunity to engage with the public as you raise awareness about the reality of life today for Palestinians and ICAHD UK’s campaigns to help change history. Please notify director@icahduk.org to register your interest Dates for Your Diary

Saturday 30 September 2023 - ICAHD UK Annual Conference - Amnesty International UK, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EAhttps://www.greenbelt.org.uk/- Times and programme to be announced

From all at ICAHD UK. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Israeli-Committee-Against-House-Demolitions-UK/366423593418140 Facebook https://www.twitter.com/ICAHDUK/ Twitter http://icahduk.org Website mailto:info@icahduk.org Email