Beit Arabiya, located in the West Bank town of Anata (Area C) just to the northeast of Jerusalem, is a living symbol of resistance to Occupation and the desire for justice and peace. As its name suggests, Beit Arabiya is a home belonging to Arabiya Shawamreh, her husband Salim and their seven children, a Palestinian family whose home has been demolished five times by the Israeli authorities and rebuilt each time by ICAHD’s Palestinian, Israeli and international peace activists, before being demolished again this morning.

Arabiya and Salim have dedicated their home as a center for peace in the memories of Rachel Corrie and Nuha Sweidan, two women (an American and a Palestinian) who died resisting home demolitions in Gaza. In the past decade ICAHD has hosted numerous visitors at Beit Arabiya, and based its annual rebuilding camp at the house, rebuilding 186 demolished Palestinian homes.

Beit Arabiya was recently rebuilt during ICAHD’s tenth annual rebuilding camp that attracted more than thirty internationals, that stood side by side with Israelis and Palestinians who refuse to be enemies, demonstrating that there are partners for peace. Within two weeks, the pile of rubble left after the demolition of the house in the middle of night on 23 January earlier this year, was transformed into a fully functioning house with extensive terrace, made possible by nearly one hundred additional volunteers, including international youth, part of summer delegations to Palestine.

Every year hundreds of Palestinians are forced from their homes, homes built on land they own. Since 1967 Israel has demolished more than 26,000 Palestinian homes in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. ICAHD has rebuilt a total of 186 Palestinian homes illegally demolished by Israel and is determined to see this illegal policy stop.

In June 2012 the United Nations Human Rights Council received the annual report of Prof. Richard Falk, Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the OPT. Falk highlighted the disturbing case of Salim and Arabiya Shawamreh, and stated it was “illustrative of a common Palestinian complaint that their property rights are indirectly usurped through the denial of formal permits and the subsequent issuance and execution of demolition orders.” The UN expert further highlighted that “while it will be rebuilt once again next month, the family will live under the threat of having its home demolished at any moment. The ever-present threat of Israeli bulldozers perverts the sense of normalcy so essential for raising children.”

Former United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory Maxwell Gaylard visited demolished Beit Arabiya in January 2012, following its fifth demolition, and was briefed by ICAHD’s Jeff Halper and Itay Epshtain. Following his visit he called for an immediate end to the demolition of Palestinian homes by Israel in the occupied West Bank: “Israel as the Occupying Power has a fundamental responsibility to protect the Palestinian civilian population under its control and to ensure their dignity and wellbeing. The wholesale destruction of their homes and livelihoods is not consistent with that responsibility and humanitarian ideals. The current policy and practice of demolitions cause extensive human suffering and should end. Palestinians urgently require ready access to a fair and nondiscriminatory planning and zoning system that meets their needs for growth and development.”

The demolition of Palestinian homes and other structures, forced or resulting displacement, land expropriation, and settlement expansion, are politically and ethnically motivated. The goal is to limit development and confine the four million Palestinian residents of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza to small enclaves, thus effectively foreclosing any viable, contiguous Palestinian state and ensuring Israeli control, and the “Judaization” of the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian population in the OPT, including occupied and illegally annexed East Jerusalem, continues to endure violence, displacement, dispossession and deprivation as a result of prolonged Israeli occupation, in most cases in violation of their rights under international human rights law (IHRL), and international humanitarian law (IHL). As of October 23 2012, 472 structures have been demolished since the beginning of the year, including 140 family homes. As a result, 682 people were displaced and offered neither alternative housing nor compensation.

As the Occupying Power, Israel is bound by the provisions of IHL, namely the Hague Regulations of 1907, and the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 1949, both of which constitute binding customary international law. However, ICAHD firmly holds that Israel’s occupation can no longer be considered temporary, and that other obligations should be invoked, such as the right to self-determination. It is widely agreed that IHRL must be referenced in order to flesh out the notion of population welfare, and to delineate and set restraints on the occupying power’s actions. In particular experts refer to the rights to health, education, food and housing, codified, inter alia, in the conventions and covenants that comprise the human rights treaty system.

Read more: ICAHD.org

Read more on ICAHD’s Website.

• Meet with key leaders and experts in their field on both sides of the divide – Jews, Christians & Muslims
• Be guided by staff from the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD)
• Sit with local people – hear their stories and learn about their aspirations for the future
• Witness the situation in different geographical areas in Palestine & Israel
• Examine several aspects of life today & how they affect the wider region & beyond
• Help us strengthen the voice of the international community that works for a just peace

No amount of reading, attending lectures or watching films can convey an accurate understanding of the ‘facts on the ground’, which are crucial to any program of advocacy.

Cost per person includes the full tour programme and staying at good three star hotels at half board (bed, breakfast and evening meal), sharing a twin-bedded room with ensuite facilities, tour leader, guides and tips inclusive. Not included are: flights, lunches, travel insurance.

Preparation for the tour and follow-up provided.

Participants find the tours challenging and inspiring and for many, even life-changing.

“This tour is transformational. It is essential for those who wish to gain a deep and authentic understanding of what is actually happening in the Palestinian Occupied Territories and to act as ambassadors for developing real peace and justice in this region. It is also an opportunity to witness individuals demonstrate outstanding resilience and courage in the face of extreme constraints and harshness. I cannot recommend this tour enough”. Dr P de Zulueta, London, Nov 2011

For information contact tours@icahduk.org or phone the ICAHD UK office on 0044 33 000 11033.

The verdict on the 2003 killing of Rachel Corrie absolved Israel of any wrongdoing, essentially blaming the victim for her death. The trial revealed Israel’s approach to the most fundamental principles of international law, and especially to the duty to protect non-combatants.

For those who hoped for a just verdict on the death of Rachel Corrie, the American student and ISM activist killed by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza in 2003 as she was defending a Palestinian home about to be demolished, this is a sad day. Not surprising, but still sad and bitter. The judge who decided the case, Oded Gershon, absolved the army of all blame, despite massive and internally contradictory testimony to the contrary. Moreover, he essentially blamed Rachel for her own death, commenting that a “normal person” would have run away from the bulldozer rather than confront it.

Palestinians and Israel human rights activists have learned that justice cannot be obtained through the Israeli judicial system. The Haifa District Court, in which the trial was held, could not have ruled other than how the state wanted. For the past 45 years of Israeli occupation, the Supreme Court has excluded from its rulings all reference to international humanitarian law and to the Fourth Geneva Convention in particular, which protects civilians living in conflict situations and under occupation. Only Israeli law applies in the Occupied Palestinian Territories – military law and orders – and the courts have restricted even that form of law by declaring that in instances of “security,” they defer to the military. As in Rachel’s case, the IDF thus has carte blanche to commit war crimes with impunity, with no fear of accountability or punishment.

Sending IDF American-made Caterpillar bulldozers to demolish Palestinian homes in Gaza or anywhere in the Occupied Territories is a war crime. To what degree Israel ignores, violates and distorts international law was particularly evident in the testimony of Pinhas “Pinky” Zuaretz, the brigade commander who supervised the illegal “clearing” of Palestinian homes from that area of Gaza. “There are no civilians in military conflicts,” he testified, directly contradicting one of the most fundamental principles of international law, the duty to protect non-combatants.

When justice and law become separated as they have in Israel, the law is demeaned and becomes merely another tool of oppression. As a human rights defender, a status articulated and defended by the UN, Rachel Corrie had every right – even a responsibility – to intervene in the violation of universal human rights. It is incumbent on governments, courts and concerned individuals alike to ensure that human rights are enforced, especially when those being oppressed have no power to defend themselves. The attempt of this Israeli court to present Rachel’s death as the consequence of the irresponsible actions of a person who should not have been defending Palestinian human rights in the first place denies both the culpability of a state engaged in illegal activities and the duty of citizens to work for universal justice.

While we all would have hoped that Rachel and her family could have received justice from the Israeli legal system – something also denied to the other human rights defenders, including Israelis, who have been killed and injured in their battle against the Israeli occupation – the issue at stake is even larger: holding Israel accountable for its actions. But eliminating any reference to international law, the Israeli judiciary, all the way up to the Supreme Court, has helped construct a legal system in which justice is impossible.

Universal jurisdiction requires that state courts enforce the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The International Criminal Court could be an appropriate venue to try Israeli military officials and their civilian superiors, including the defense minister at the time of Rachel’s death, Shaul Mofaz; the Chief of Staff, Moshe Ya’alon (now Israel’s deputy premier); the commander who presided over Gaza, Doron Almog; “Pinky” and the driver of the bulldozer. But since Israel (like the United States and China) is not a party to the ICC, that will not happen.

Until such a time that international law, human rights and justice are genuinely incorporated into national legal systems, in Israel and internationally, the rights and lives of all of us, “normative” citizens as well as the oppressed, are in jeopardy. This is what Rachel and her family have shown us so clearly. This is their genuine contribution, even if justice has been denied them. It is up to all of us to join with the Corries to carry on Rachel’s struggle for a just peace between Palestinians and Israelis – and for a world based on human rights and universal principles of justice.

More than two hundred people gathered in the West Bank town of Anata to celebrate the rebuilding of Beit Arabiya, home of Salim and Arabiya Shawamreh family. Since 1998, this home has been demolished five times by the Israeli government but rebuilt each time by the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) as a political act of resistance to Israel’s demolition policies, which are illegal under international law.

The Shawamreh family stands in the rubble of their former home, Beit Arabiya, after its destruction at the hands of Israeli forces.

The home was rebuilt during ICAHD’s tenth annual rebuilding camp that attracted more than thirty internationals, as well as Israelis and Palestinians who refuse to be enemies, demonstrating that there are partners for peace. Within two weeks, the pile of rubble left after the demolition of the house in the middle of night on January 23rd of this year, was transformed into a fully functioning house with extensive terrace, made possible by nearly one hundred additional volunteers, including international youth, part of summer delegations to Palestine who worked with temperatures soaring over 85 degrees and with limited water supplies.

During the camp, ICAHD provided an extensive educational programme allowing camp participants to witness the situation on the ground and learn about the requirements for a just and sustainable solution for both Palestinians and Israelis. As the camp drew to a close, the internationals, ranging in age from 18-75, said that the camp far exceeded their expectations in every way. “It’s been the most positive two weeks of my entire life. I was so glad to see so many young people here; their commitment to peace with justice gives me hope for the future,” said Gordon from the USA. “This has been an intensely emotional experience. We’ve rebuilt a home, which is great – but knowing that we’ve rebuilt Beit Arabiya, the symbol of hope to all Palestinians, enabled us to participate in their steadfastness,” added Galen from the UK.

You can read more about the experiences of the participants by clicking here or here. You can also find some video of the camp by clicking here or here.

International volunteers helping to rebuild Beit Arabiya.

Every year hundreds of Palestinians are forced from their homes, homes built on land they own. Since 1967 Israel has demolished more than 26,000 Palestinian homes in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. ICAHD has rebuilt a total of 186 Palestinian homes illegally demolished by Israel and is determined to see this cruel policy stop. ICAHD Director, Prof. Jeff Halper, calls the rebuilding “an overtly political act of defiance. By rebuilding, we set alternative facts on the ground.” The Shawamreh family applied three times to the Israeli Civil Administration for a building permit and was refused each time, as were 94% of Palestinian permit applications since 1993. Having no other alternative, they proceeded, as have thousands of other Palestinian families, to build their home, in which they lived for five years despite having been issued a demolition order.

On June 27th, the United Nations Human Rights Council received the annual report of Prof Richard Falk, Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the OPT. Falk highlighted the disturbing case of Salim and Arabiya Shawamreh, and stated it was “illustrative of a common Palestinian complaint that their property rights are indirectly usurped through the denial of formal permits and the subsequent issuance and execution of demolition orders.” The UN expert further highlighted that “while it will be rebuilt once again next month, the family will live under the threat of having its home demolished at any moment. The ever-present threat of Israeli bulldozers perverts the sense of normalcy so essential for raising children.”

Beit Arabiya, rebuilt by ICAHD Summer Camp 2012.

Image credits to ActiveStills via +972blog; for their full photo gallery of the ICAHD Summer Camp, click here.

They said bulldozers, under Israeli police protection, demolished a building under construction in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina under the pretext it was built without a permit.

At the same time, Israeli bulldozers demolished a 700-square-meter barn in an area in Jabal Mukkaber, a neighborhood south of Jerusalem, damaging around 20 tons of barley, said the owner Aziz Jaabis.

He said he was also ordered to pay approximately $13,000 for the cost of the demolition.

Less than a week later, Israeli authorities forced a Palestinian man to demolish with his own hands his house and farm in Beit Iksa, a village northwest of East Jerusalem, according to a local sources.

Sharif Liqyanieh, the house owner, said the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem issued about a week ago a self-demolition order of his house and farm under the pretext of building them without permit, despite the fact that he obtained a perfectly legal permit from the Ministry of Local Government.

The Israeli authorities handed Laqyanieh the notice and gave him a three-day deadline to demolish his property, or else the municipality will demolish it and obligate him to pay the costs, which would amount to thousands of dollars.

Near midnight on Wednesday,  6 June 2012, Israeli authorities demolished five family homes in the Arab al-Jahalin Bedouin compound in Anata, northeast of Jerusalem. This displaced 30 people, including 14 children. Also demolished were five water tanks serving the community, and one other structure in the town of Anata.

ICAHD’s Salim Shawamreh and Itay Epshtain investigated.

Thusfar in 2012, Israeli authorities demolished 305 structures in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, of which 100 were family homes, resulting in 538 Palestinians displaced and an additional 1,826 affected. The Palestinian-Bedouin communities living in the hills to the east of Jerusalem are at a growing risk of forced ethnic displacement. Israeli authorities have declared that the Bedouin communities must leave the area. This is part of a larger plan to forcibly remove Bedouin communities living in Area C (Jerusalem periphery, Jordan Valley, and south Hebron Hills), where Israel retains control over security as well as planning and zoning. Coerced transfer such as this violates international law.

We, the 300 residents of Al Aqaba, owners of this village land for decades from even before the Israeli army entered the area, turn to you as a last resort. For tens of years Israeli soldiers have used our village as a military training base, a playground with live fire which has thus far resulted in training accidents and the lives of eight people whilst injuring 38, including head of the municipality, Hajj Sami Sadaq, who was paralysed in his lower body. With this we have never demonstrated violence, no terror ever came from here, no stone was ever thrown and we still call for co-existence and peace.

In 2003 the military training base was evacuated following a High Court petition, but in 2004 the Civil Administration distributed demolition orders for a majority of the village buildings, including a mosque, kindergarten and health clinic, with the claim these were built without permission.  For those of you thinking “well, we also did not receive permission to close our balcony”, please continue reading. Area C represents some 60% of the territory of the West Bank. From the year 2000, Israel has rejected 94% of all requests submitted by Palestinians for construction in this area, in contrast with the simultaneous meteoric increase in settlements.

In 2007 we petitioned the High Court demanding an annulment of the demolition orders and creation of a development plan for the village. In response, the Civil Administration offered to prepare a limited building site in the village centre, where all public buildings are located but less than half of the residential units. This offer further removes from the village area the remaining built-up area, in which a majority of residents reside, together with all of the village’s agricultural lands. This is, of course, in contravention of Israel’s duty as the occupying power to ensure public order and safety in accordance with Article 43 of the Hague Convention for occupied territory.

On 18 April 2012 at 11.00 a.m., Israeli soldiers and private contractors arrived with no previous notice to demolish the village’s two access roads, the “peace road” and the “uprooted road” which we built with our own hands to fulfil our right to freedom of movement and for transport of our means of livelihood, our agricultural produce. This is the third time that the peace road has been destroyed.

This time the demolitions were accompanied by threats. A vulgar first lieutenant in jeep number 655397 became angry as  we documented this event, and he shouted at the head of the village that he would “return and this time for massive demolitions”.  All of this occurred while the head of our village, from his wheelchair, defused a small group of angry people.

To our sorrow, the village children could easily see what was happening and we fear the results of this trauma for the future of all of us. We, the residents of the village and the international and Israeli guests in the area, call on you to come and visit and to see with your own eyes the difficult conditions in which we live each and every day. Please spread these words and help us to live in peace.

Source: AIC

Israeli army destroys the house and farm of the al-Rajabi family - photo by CPT

Two CPTers arrived at the main road near the house and saw six military jeeps, three police vehicles, and three intelligence service vehicles at the site. Initially, the Israeli authorities prevented CPTers from approaching the scene. When they asked soldiers why they were demolishing the farm, a soldier replied, “Because we are the army.”

From the place where they could view the demolition, the CPTers could see Caterpillar and Hyundai bulldozers destroying a farm building and a caravan (mobile home) in which the family lived. The children of the family came to the main road and one of the boys told them that he could take them through the fields to get a closer view of the destruction of his father’s farm.

By now, the two bulldozers had started to demolish a large corrugated iron barn where the family kept their cows; it destroyed milking machines and other equipment worth over 8000 USD in the process.

The farmer told CPTers, “Destroying my home…I can rebuild and while I am rebuilding I can stay with another family member but destroying my farm—it’s not only destroying my livelihood but also the livelihoods of three other families; our farm is our bread and butter.”

The farmer has two wives and fifteen children to support and now he is worried how he will manage financially. He was looking at his one hundred cows, who were sitting in the oppressive heat. The farmer said that if they were not milked soon, they would die.

On May Day, all Israeli government offices are closed; the Israeli military evidently was not observing this national holiday when it destroyed the livelihoods of these four families.

Source: IMEMC

Ehud Barak, Israel’s increasingly hawkish defense minister, approved an intelligence recommendation to demolish the houses of Hakim and Ajmad Awad, two cousins from the Palestinian village of Awarta.