Build Houses, Build Peace: Stop House Demolitions!
ICAHD-USA is excited to announce the launch of the Constructing Peace Campaign. In this 40th year of Occupation, we plan to rebuild the home of every Palestinian family whose house is demolished by the Israeli government. We believe that the unprecedented scale of this opposition to the longstanding U.S. supported Israeli Occupation in the Palestinian Territories raises awareness about the devastating realities of Occupation and positively pressures the Israeli government to end their inhumane policy of house demolitions. It also demonstrates the U.S. public’s opposition to prolonged Occupation and desire for a just peace.
One of our strongest motivations for the Constructing Peace Campaign is our belief that the safety and security of one people, whether American or Israeli, can never be obtained by the systemic and oppressive treatment of another. These acts of rebuilding, of resisting Occupation, further the best interests of the region and all the peoples who live there, as well as our interests here in the U.S. Building houses builds justice, builds peace.
Why Does the Israeli Government Demolish Palestinian Homes?
During the 40 years of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli government, in violation of international law, has demolished over 18,000 Palestinian houses. The Israeli government offers a variety of rationales for destroying these homes. They claim the demolitions are necessary in order to enforce zoning and planning laws, because of military necessity, and/or to punish the families of Palestinians suspected of violence. None of these explanations has held up under the scrutiny of international legal, human rights, and humanitarian groups.
The demolition of Palestinian homes is bad enough as an isolated policy. However, this policy is implemented as part of a systematic plan to:
- make room for the rapidly growing encroachment of illegal Israeli settlements on land in East Jerusalem and deep into the West Bank, housing tens of thousands of people and looking like any rapidly growing urban development in the U.S.;
- make room for a vast network of Israeli-only bypass roads, built with U.S. funding solely to facilitate the travel of settlers to and from their illegal settlements on Palestinian land;
- “thin” Jerusalem of its Palestinian residents to perpetuate a secure Jewish majority; and
- make room for the Wall, or “Separation Barrier,” which follows the outline of the settlement boundaries, snakes deep into the West Bank and, in some cases, encircles towns. This is the case with Bethlehem today.
If you look at a map showing the footprint of the settlements, by-pass roads and the Wall, you see that together they begin to cut the West Bank into four isolated islands, or cantons, which establish “facts on the ground” making a two-state solution all but impossible. Add the web of checkpoints throughout the West Bank that prevent everyday travel to and from work, school, the market, the hospital, etc. and Israel’s continued control of vital infrastructure (water, roads, electricity); the result is a devastated economy, spiraling rates of malnutrition, and a deterioration of daily life that is both inhumane and insupportable.
Are These Demolitions Related To Terrorism?
Ninety-five percent of these house demolitions have absolutely nothing to do with terrorism or security. In fact, over two years ago the Israeli military put an end to their policy of demolishing the homes of the families of suicide bombers because their own internal investigation found that these demolitions do not deter violence but instead harm Israel’s interests.
The house demolitions that continue to take place by the hundreds every year are gross violations of international law, have a devastating effect on the victims, and have been condemned by everyone from the United Nations Security Council to Israel’s own former Chief Justice of the High Court, Aharon Barak.
How does ICAHD-USA rebuild demolished houses?
ICAHD-USA is working with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) in Jerusalem to help implement this Constructing Peace Campaign. ICAHD is the only organization in Israel/Palestine with a long track record of rebuilding demolished Palestinian homes. ICAHD was founded in 1997 to nonviolently oppose the demolition of Palestinian houses. As a direct-action group, ICAHD works collaboratively with many international and Israeli peace and human rights organizations. ICAHD-USA was founded in 2004 as an independent organization to offer ways for the U.S. public to challenge the Israeli Occupation. ICAHD-USA supports the rebuilding of houses demolished by Israel as both a humanitarian and political act.
