Though they are very isolated, the villagers are determined to remain in the area where they have lived since long before the Israeli army occupied the OPT in 1967. They have welcomed international solidarity and pressure on the Israeli authorities to protest the demolitions. However, as international attention diminishes, the threat to the villagers' increases and renewed action now is crucial.
For years Israel has pursued a policy of discriminatory house demolition, allowing scores of Israeli settlements, illegal under international law, to be built on occupied Palestinian land, while confiscating Palestinian lands, refusing building permits for Palestinians and destroying their homes. The land vacated has often been used to build illegal Israeli settlements. International law forbids occupying powers from settling their own citizens in the territories they occupy. Palestinians, especially Palestinian villagers in the Jordan Valley, have suffered particular pressure. Most of the Jordan Valley area of the occupied West Bank has been declared a “closed military area” by the Israeli army or has been taken over by some 36 Israeli settlements.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English, Hebrew or your own language:
- condemning the demolition of the homes and animal pens and the confiscation of the villagers’ water tank and tractor in Ras al-Ahmar;
- urging that all pending demolition and eviction orders against Palestinians in Hadidiya and nearby areas be immediately rescinded;
- calling on the authorities to place a moratorium on house demolitions and forced evictions in the West Bank until the law is amended to bring it into line with international standards;
- calling for the restrictions imposed on the Palestinian villagers in the Jordan Valley to be lifted, in particular for them to have access to water, electricity and other essential services, and for them to be allowed to move freely within the Jordan Valley, and between there and the rest of the West Bank;
- calling for responsibility for planning and building regulations in the Jordan Valley and elsewhere in the Occupied Palestinian Territories to be removed from the Israeli military authorities and placed solely with the local Palestinian communities.
APPEALS TO:
Ehud Barak
Minister of Defence
Ministry of Defence
37 Kaplan Street, Hakirya
Tel Aviv 61909, Israel
Fax: +972 3 691 6940
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Salutation: Dear Minister
Brigadier General Avihai Mandelblit
Military Judge Advocate General
6 David Elazar Street
Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel
Fax: +972 3 608 0366, +972 3 569 4526
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Salutation: Dear Judge Advocate General
Major General Gadi Shamni
Commander, West Bank
GOC Central Command
Military Post 01149
Battalion 877, Israel Defense Forces
Israel
Fax: +972 2 530 5741, +972 2 530 5724
Salutation: Dear Major General Shamni
COPIES TO:
Tony Blair
Quartet Representative to the Middle East
The Office of Tony Blair
P.O. Box 60519
London, W2 7JU
United Kingdom
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Salutation: Dear Mr Blair
And diplomatic representatives of Israel accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 17 July.
-------------------------------------
East Mediterranean Team
Amnesty International, International Secretariat
Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street
London WC1X 0DW
United Kingdom
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel: +44 (0)20 7413 5500
Fax: +44 (0)20 7413 5719
Working to protect human rights worldwide
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