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Since 1967 and the beginning of the Occupation, now in its 40th year, the Israeli government has demolished over 18,000 houses belonging to Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. These demolitions are part of a web of policies designed to force Palestinians off their own land to make room for expanding Israeli settlements, construct a 26-foot high “separation barrier” that cuts deep into Palestinian territory, create a network of Israeli-only bypass roads, and generally “thin” Jerusalem of its Palestinian inhabitants. Ninety-five percent of these houses belong to innocent people and families and have nothing to do with terrorism or security; they are not charged with crimes nor detained as security risks. In 2005, the Israeli military admitted that their policy of punitive house demolitions was harmful to Israel’s interests and abandoned that practice.

These issues are largely obscured in U.S. politics and the media. ICAHD-USA works to educate the U.S. public about the realities of the Israeli Occupation. The fact-sheets, research papers, and FAQs (frequently asked questions) presented below offer information about the ways in which these Israeli government policies result in massive and illegal land confiscation, as well as intolerable living conditions, creating a formidable barrier to a just peace.