Ask your MP to take part in Wednesday's UK Parliament debate on house demolitions in the occupied Palestine territory Urgent! Your help is needed to stop demolitions Write to your MP NOW
Ask your MP to take part in the UK Parliament debate about house demolitions on Wednesday 6 December
Labour MP Stephen Kinnock has called for a parliamentary debate in Westminster Hall on ‘the effect of Israeli demolitions on Palestinian communities’ from 2.30 – 4.00pm on Wednesday, 6^th December.
Letter to send to your MP (find your MP)
In November, our government noted the “achievement” of the signing of the Balfour Declaration. However, given that the Declaration said that ‘nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine’, should we be celebrating the fact that it resulted in 600 Palestinian villages being demolished when the state of Israel was established and that since 1967 when the Occupation began, more than 50,000 Palestinian homes have been demolished in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza?
The effect of the demolition of a home is to demolish a family. Home demolitions have demolished communities. Has any possibility of a two-state solution to the Israel/Palestine peace process also been demolished?
Once again, I urge you to please attend this debate on Wednesday. For more information about Israel’s demolition policy and its effect on Palestinians, please see the link below: https://icahd.org/2017/12/03/comprehensive-briefing-home-demolitions/
Many thanks.
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
ICAHD demonstrates its solidarity with Susiya in the South Hebron Hills
ICAHD demonstrates its solidarity with Susiya in the South Hebron Hills *|IF:FNAME|*Dear*|TITLE:FNAME|*,*|ELSE:|*Dear supporter*|END:IF|* In an almost unprecedented move and with great determination, Israeli authorities have threatened several Palestinian communities with demolition and forced transfer before the end of 2017 or at the beginning of 2018. The communities are mentioned below and are ones that we have highlighted through our campaigns because of their strategic location and many of you have visited them while participating in the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions' (ICAHD's) extended study tours, day tours or during our rebuilding camps for internationals.
The demolition of a home is the demolition of a family (demolition location - Al-Khader)
Here follows a sample letter that we hope you will send to your MP; please feel free to adapt it as appropriate. We are also providing a link to additional information (https://icahd.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/1/2017/12/Comprehensive-briefing-sheet-on-demolitions-ICAHD-December-2017.pdf) in case you would like to refer to other aspects of this cruel policy in your letter and the link could also be forwarded to your MP (find your MP here (http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/) ). If you have visited the occupied Palestine territory with (ICAHD), don’t forget to mention it because it will strengthen your argument.
Many thanks
Linda Ramsden Founder, ICAHD UK Share ICAHD UK's comprehensive briefing (https://icahd.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/1/2017/12/Comprehensive-briefing-sheet-on-demolitions-ICAHD-December-2017.pdf) ahead of the debate with your MP
Dear xxxx,
I am writing to urge you to attend the debate on the ‘effect of Israeli demolitions on Palestinian communities’ in Westminster Hall on Wednesday, 6^th December, and to represent me by speaking out.
I support Jewish Israelis
I am a member of ICAHD UK which supports the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). Founded in 1997, ICAHD is based in Jerusalem and is led by Jewish Israelis dedicated to ending the prolonged Occupation and achieving a just and sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians. ICAHD’s activism focusses on Israel's policy of demolishing Palestinian homes. It believes that nothing demonstrates the existence of a state oppressing its subject population more than Israel’s policy of house demolitions, part of an ongoing process of ethnic cleansing that began in 1947/48 and continues until today on both sides of the “Green Line.”
Demolitions – a violation of the 4^th Geneva Convention
Of the demolished homes in the OPT, only around 1% have had anything to do with security reasons. These demolitions are in violation of the 4^th Geneva convention which prohibits an Occupying Power from demolishing homes, confiscating land in occupied territories, transferring its population into those territories or taking any steps that render its control permanent. Israel, since 1967, has systematically violated all these conditions. In addition, the 4^th Geneva Convention implores the Occupying Power to ensure the well-being of the populations under its control, a responsibility Israel has clearly not adhered to and has displayed nothing but contempt for human rights and International Humanitarian Law.
UN statistics and threatened communities
According to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, from 1 January 2017 until 2 December 2017, 410 structures have been demolished in the West Bank and East Jerusalem displacing 652 people, of whom 364 are children. 6,582 people, including 2,354 children, have been affected due to the demolition of structures such as animal pens, solar panels, cisterns and schools, which are essential for their livelihood. At present threatened communities include Susiya in the South Hebron Hills, Ein al-Hilweh and Umm Jamal in the Northern Jordan Valley and the communities of Jabal al-Baba and Khan al-Ahmar in the E-1 area between East Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement. Other communities are also slated for demolition as are schools, some that have been funded by the EU. In total nearly 1000 Palestinians could soon be homeless.
Legal channels and housing shortages
Palestinians have gone down Israel’s legal channels by applying for building permits, but rarely are they approved. At least 25,000 more homes are needed in East Jerusalem but on average at least 94% of the applications for Palestinians are rejected annually. Palestinians are left with no option but to construct a home for their families, even without a building permit. Currently 20,000 families in East Jerusalem hold demolitions orders in their hands living in fear, wondering if tomorrow the bulldozer will arrive to demolish their home.
Discrimination in planning and zoning
Within area C in the West Bank, building is allowed on only 1% of the land and Palestinians are prevented from being part of the consultation process. Those from herding communities in Area C are denied permanent infrastructure and are not allowed to construct block houses thus they are forced to live in primitive structures. Whether under the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem Municipality or under the military court in the West Bank, in both cases, Israel has one set of rules for the Jewish population and another for the Palestinians. ICAHD tested this twice in the Israeli Supreme Court and each time ICAHD lost the case. It was a clear demonstration that Israeli law deems itself above international law.
Best wishes,
xxxxx Share ICAHD UK's comprehensive briefing (https://icahd.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/1/2017/12/Comprehensive-briefing-sheet-on-demolitions-ICAHD-December-2017.pdf) ahead of the debate with your MP