Ya'alon awaits two reports on house demolitions

[IndianaGreen]

Urban renewal in the Jewish State by the most moral army in the world!

Last Update: 24/01/2005 06:15

Ya'alon awaits two reports on house demolitions

By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent

In conversations with Haaretz, two officers involved in several Gaza operations paint a worrisome picture of unrestrained use of force, with authority to demolish homes residing in the hands of low-ranking officers.

It is difficult to estimate reliably the number of homes the IDF has demolished in four and a half years of conflict in the Gaza Strip. Gaza is densely populated: where the IDF counts a "site" of house demolitions, the Palestinians count 10 destroyed huts. When the army mentions "deserted structures," it means homes whose residents have fled earlier Israeli shelling.

Human rights organization B'Tselem counts 2,400 demolished homes in the Gaza Strip; Israeli military estimates are far lower. What is clear is that the destruction is part of planned policy.

Often, the already comprehensive and sweeping policy gets even more aggressive interpretation in the field. A Southern Command investigation of King's Court indicated that the Command authorized the demolition of two houses of known terrorists. Something happened that led to the destruction of 25 houses.

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/530947.html

Video of house demolitions from B'Tselem - The Israeli Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories:

http://80.179.108.02/betzelem/heb/movie_eng.html

[number6]

1. "Urban renewal"

Urban renewal in the Jewish State by the most "moral" army in the world!

[Scurrilous]

2. Israeli trench bid: security vs. homes

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0124/p07s01-wome.html

Israel has plans to build a security trench in the Gaza Strip that could demolish hundreds of Palestinian homes.

<snip>

"Even as it continues erecting a controversial security barrier in the West Bank, the Israeli army is pushing a plan to carve a trench along Gaza's border with Egypt to stop weapons smuggling through cross-border tunnels.
Digging the 2.5 mile-long trench promises to hit the Palestinian population hard. Israeli officials have given various estimates of the number of Palestinian homes that would be demolished for the project, ranging from a few dozen to as many as 3,000."

<snip>

"Israel says its troops come under more Palestinian attacks in the Rafah border area than anywhere else. And the army says it demolishes only buildings from which troops are attacked or which cover weapon-smuggling tunnels. Human rights groups, however, say the demolitions reflect a systematic effort to create and expand a buffer zone along the border.

Plans to dig in along Gaza's border are being discussed even as Israel prepares for its scheduled withdrawal, beginning in June, from settlements in the Gaza Strip. The proposal is raising questions about the scope of that pullback."

<snip>

"Palestinian Labor Minister Ghassan Khatib suggests the plan is ill-conceived. "It is another indication of Israel's intention to undermine Abbas politically and internally," he says. "Increasing the suffering of Palestinians doesn't enhance Israeli security."