Friday, 30 October 2009
The PLO insisted on Thursday that Israel's ongoing demolition of Palestinian homes in Jerusalem "is a war crime and a deliberate affront to international resolutions and humanitarian law."
In a statement, the PLO's international relations department slammed what it termed Israel's "policy of expulsion and ethnic cleansing."
On Tuesday, Israeli forces and a demolition crew entered the East Jerusalem village of Sur Bahir, south of the Old City, and destroyed the two-story home of Nimir Ali Nimir. The 300 square-meter house was home to 11 people.
Israeli authorities said Nimir's house was built without a construction permit from the Israeli-controlled municipality. Palestinian residents of Jerusalem say the permits are nearly impossible to obtain.
But that home was the eighth in recent weeks, the PLO noted, adding that "the policy of home demolition, especially in occupied Jerusalem, has been ongoing since 1967 - carried out and deliberately approved by the [Israeli] political leadership."
"They have officially legitimized the expulsion of Palestinians from the holy city, placing them with settlers and changing realities on the ground," the statement added.
Since 1967, the department said, Israeli authorities have demolished more than 23,000 Palestinian homes in Jerusalem. "Around 11,000 more are at risk, as Israel is carrying out this policy in an escalating manner."
The department reiterated its calls that the international community support Palestinians, "who confront a racial policy against international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the occupying state from demolishing residents' homes or imposing collective punishment on them."
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said that "[t]hese actions, which reenforce the status quo in advance of a final-status agreement, put at risk a shared city and two-state solution."
Thus, Kouchner said, France and the European Union are calling for a settlement freeze that includes East Jerusalem.
On Wednesday, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband "expressed serious concern about the continued and unacceptable evictions of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem."
In a telephone call with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Miliband urged all sides to maintain calm, but "assured prime minister Fayyad that we would continue to press the Israeli authorities to desist from such provocative and illegal actions."
Also on Wednesday, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana issued a statement condemning the demolition.
"I am deeply concerned by the reports of recent demolitions of Palestinian houses located in East Jerusalem," Solana said. "Such actions further undermine the efforts of the international community to re-launch credible peace negotiations aimed at achieving a just and sustainable peace."
"I urge the Israeli authorities to end these discriminatory measures," he added.
