Thank you to the many members and supporters who lobbied their MPs ahead of the December 2017 debate in the UK Parliament Westminster Hall. ICAHD UK provided extensive briefing documents to help MPs and constituents formulate the key arguments against settlements and house demolitions. The full debate can be read online .
Stephen Kinnock MP, a seasoned advocate for Palestinian rights, led the debate, framing it around basic values of justice and human rights. In the debate he stated that: “It becomes increasingly difficult to see how a two-state solution could work with that level of occupation taking place.”
He summed up the debate well: “What I really hope is that the Government will close the gap between rhetoric and reality and follow up on the Minister’s statements. I am sure we can rely on the Minister’s belief in them, but we now need to turn that belief into concrete action and finally start to make progress on the desperate and challenging situation in the illegally occupied territories of the west bank.”
If your MP was one of those supporting Palestinian human rights please write to thank them. Find a summary of the debateand a full list of MPs taking part here>
https://vimeo.com/231850455 November's tour meet with Jeff Halper Another year of achievement with the extended study tours
During 2017, twenty-eight internationals participated in the eleven-day extended study tours that are grounded in ICAHD analysis.
Bernard Spiegel highlighted some of the tour visits from the November tour in his blog In it Bernard writes, “There is no question that Palestinians and the positive forces within Israeli society are active, resilient, courageous. They need, absolutely need, international support – voices must be raised in protest at the daily violations of human decency that Israel by its own free choice perpetrates on Palestinians. For their sake, most certainly, but also for Israelis, international opposition to Israeli policy must be mobilised. Perhaps you will be one of those voices?”
Our itineraries have been developed over many years of experience in introducing internationals to the reality today in Palestine/Israel and participants are full of praise for what we offer. Following the spring tour, Wilma Malik from Edinburgh commented that most memorable for her was the “variety and calibre of the people that were met who could never have been accessed if travelling on one’s own”. Following the November tour, Paul Neill from Hebden Bridge stated, “It was an outstanding itinerary, which provided an incredibly broad, and in-depth, picture of the situation in Palestine and Israel. The trip brought home to me that there really is no substitute for witnessing the situation on the ground. This is a must-do trip for any activists who want to deepen their knowledge about the situation on the ground. I came away inspired to do even more on my return to the UK.”
To gain insight on what happened when participants from the spring 2017 Digging Deeper extended study tour went to Hebron and Battir, see this reportwritten by John Garrett, which appears on our tours page .
Tours for 2018 will take place in March and November. Participants have over twenty encounters as they experience life in the Occupied Palestine Territory as well as in the state of Israel. Our itineraries are unique and the debriefing sessions in the evening add to the study tour experience. For more information see the tours page on the ICAHD website and contact tours@icahduk.org for an application form. Order ICAHD leaflets and postcards now!
Click herefor leaflets, and here for postcards.
Thank you for all your kindness and generosity in 2017, and we hope you will continue to support ICAHD's work in 2018. Is it in your 2018 diary?
The ICAHD UK conference in 2018 will be held on Saturday 19 May. With thanks for your continued support, 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
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ICAHD - on the ground, analysis and big picture thinking This year ICAHD enters its third decade of activity, pretty impressive for a grassroots, under-funded, politically cutting-edge organization. When it was established in 1997, ICAHD’s founders decided that our purpose and political focus would be nothing less than ending Israel’s occupation and helping to achieve a just political settlement between Israelis and Palestinians.
Now we face our greatest challenge. With the death of the two-state solution, ICAHD, like other Israeli and Palestinian organizations, must forge a new political vision and program. In this endeavor ICAHD is again taking the lead. Read the article>
Al Muntar school credit: Lys Arango AAH House demolition debate in Parliament
Read moreHouse demolitions on the ground
November has seen widespread demolitions throughout the occupied West Bank (including occupied East Jerusalem), with 33 structures demolished, 60 people displaced- 34 of whom are children- and more then 327 people affected by them. In the Naqab desert, Israel, 5 demolitions of residential structures were carried out. With most of the demolitions happening this month in Occupied East Jerusalem, the annual total of demolitions in the city alone has risen to 155, displacing at least 211 people. Read the full report> (https://icahd.org/2017/12/01/november-demolition-displacement-report/)
Season's greetings and a better New Year
We wish all our members and supporters season's greetings, and hope for a better New Year for Palestinians, Israelis and internationals working for peace and justice in the Middle East.