Israel aims to “save souls” by making Palestinians homeless

ELECTRONIC INTIFADA – Less than two weeks after Israel’s high court lifted an injunction on punitive house demolitions, Israeli bulldozers arrived in Qabatiya in the occupied West Bank on Monday morning and razed three homes.

The houses belonged to the relatives of the young men accused of an attack at Damascus Gate in occupied East Jerusalem in early February that left an Israeli border police officer dead.

All three youths were shot to death at the scene of the incident.

By the end of Monday, 20 people were left homeless in Qabatiya.

Since last October, not a month has gone by without the Israeli army using Regulation 119, a British Mandate era ruling which says the army can demolish the family home of an alleged Palestinian assailant for deterrent purposes.

In total, 21 homes have been punitively demolished in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in the last six months. An additional 36 neighboring apartments and homes have been damaged in the process.

In each case, human rights organization HaMoked has filed a petition on behalf of the family asking Israel’s high court to halt the demolition.

HaMoked argues that the practice constitutes collective punishment and is a violation of international law.

The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits an occupying power from demolishing property “except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.”

Until last Thursday, the court had dismissed every petition, upholding its decades-old precedent.

In its decision regarding the homes in Qabatiya, the court’s vice-president, Elyakim Rubinstein, wrote that secret evidence provided by Israel’s security agencies supported the argument that home demolitions serve as a deterrent.

“We do not find pleasure in these cases,” Rubinstein wrote, “but the necessity cannot be denied and amidst our people and its pains we sit, and we must do the best we can to save souls.”

“It should be reiterated and emphasized: the use made by Regulation 119 for the sealing and demolition of perpetrators’ homes is for deterring purposes and not for punitive purposes,” Rubinstein added.

However, home demolitions are never carried out against the relatives of Israeli Jews who perpetrate violence against Palestinians, despite sharp increases in such attacks in recent years.

Punitive home demolitions have been condemned by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch as collective punishment.  CONTINUE READING