Israel/OPT
22.05.02
Urgent Interventions
Israel and Palestinian Territory Occupied: Demolition of 3 houses in East-Jerusalem
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONCERN
Case ISR 220502. ESCRC
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Israel.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW), a member of the OMCT network, of the demolition of three houses in Beit Hanina, an area located in the Northern part of occupied East Jerusalem, on May 21 2002.
According to the information received, at approximately 8 o’clock in the morning on May 21 2002, more than 300 Israeli soldiers and Border Police surrounded the areas of Ashquaria and Kharayeb in Beit Hanina and allegedly sealed off the areas and prohibited any person, including relatives of the houses’ owners and foreign diplomats, from approaching those sites.
It is reported that four bulldozers were deployed and started to demolish the home of Hazem Abdel-Mu’ti Ja’abari, who lived there with his two wives and ten children. It is also reported that after the home was demolished, the bulldozers erected further road barriers around the area of Kharayeb in order to prevent anyone from accessing the site. Meanwhile, Israeli forces proceeded to demolish two other houses in the area of Ashquaria. One of the homes belonged to Nasser Nazmi Burquan, who lived there with his wife, six children and other four members of the family. The other home belonged to Jamal Eddin Mahmoud Ahmad Sandouqa, who lived there with his wife and eight children.
Background information
Since the beginning of the so-called Al-Aqsa Intifada, , Israeli policy of house demolitions has intensified, reaching an unprecedented scale and intensity, affecting mostly Palestinian civilians. Indeed, while the rationale behind the house demolitions differs in the different parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (East Jerusalem, Gaza Strip and West Bank) one can see a significant increase in the house demolitions be it for alleged “security reasons”, military necessity or on the ground of “illegal construction”, as it is the case in East Jerusalem.
Overall, the houses demolitions present the same pattern throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories: they leave the victims in serious destitution and deprive them from their means of subsistence and livelihood, with no available recourses. Moreover, the way demolitions and destructions are carried out, in many cases without prior notification, in the presence of military jeeps and armed Israeli soldiers and involving, sometimes, ill-treatment and humiliations constitutes in itself an additional factor of stress and suffering. These different elements highlight the degree of suffering, both physical and psychological brought by these policies.
House demolitions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are in clear violation of international human rights commitment freely undertaken by Israel. Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which forms a part of the International Bill of Rights and has been ratified by Israel, guarantees the right to adequate housing. The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which monitors compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, made it clear in the its General Comment No. 4 that the right to adequate housing should be seen as “the right to live somewhere in security, peace and dignity”, entailing, inter alia, “a degree of security of tenure which guarantees legal protection against forced evictions, harassment and other threats”.
It must also be recalled that the jurisprudence of the various United Nations treaty bodies has consistently reaffirmed that human rights covenant and conventions to which Israel is a party are applicable to the Palestinian Occupied Territories.
Moreover, in November 2001, the Committee Against Torture, in its concluding observations on the Report submitted by Israel, made it clear that “ Israeli policies on house demolition may, in certain instances, amount to cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” in relation to Article 16 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:
i. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
ii. guarantee adequate reparation to all victims and their families;
iii. put an end to the destruction of houses, land and other properties in the Occupied Palestinian Territories;
iv. guarantee respect for the economic, social and cultural rights throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories and in particular the right to adequate housing, in light of General Comment No. 4 of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and article 16 of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan Street Hakirya, Jerusalem 91007, Israel, Faxes: +972 2 566 4838 and +972 3 691 7915
Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, 29 Salah al-Din Street, Jerusalem 91029, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 2 6285 438
Minister of Defense, Ministry of Defense, 7 "A" Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel. Fax: +972 3 697 62 18.
Minister of Police, Ministry of Police, PO Box 18182, 3 Sheikh Jarrah, Kiryat Hamemshala, Jerusalem 91181, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 2 5826 769.
Please also write to the embassies of Israel in your respective country.
Geneva, May 22nd 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Case ISR 220502. ESCRC
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Israel.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW), a member of the OMCT network, of the demolition of three houses in Beit Hanina, an area located in the Northern part of occupied East Jerusalem, on May 21 2002.
According to the information received, at approximately 8 o’clock in the morning on May 21 2002, more than 300 Israeli soldiers and Border Police surrounded the areas of Ashquaria and Kharayeb in Beit Hanina and allegedly sealed off the areas and prohibited any person, including relatives of the houses’ owners and foreign diplomats, from approaching those sites.
It is reported that four bulldozers were deployed and started to demolish the home of Hazem Abdel-Mu’ti Ja’abari, who lived there with his two wives and ten children. It is also reported that after the home was demolished, the bulldozers erected further road barriers around the area of Kharayeb in order to prevent anyone from accessing the site. Meanwhile, Israeli forces proceeded to demolish two other houses in the area of Ashquaria. One of the homes belonged to Nasser Nazmi Burquan, who lived there with his wife, six children and other four members of the family. The other home belonged to Jamal Eddin Mahmoud Ahmad Sandouqa, who lived there with his wife and eight children.
Background information
Since the beginning of the so-called Al-Aqsa Intifada, , Israeli policy of house demolitions has intensified, reaching an unprecedented scale and intensity, affecting mostly Palestinian civilians. Indeed, while the rationale behind the house demolitions differs in the different parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (East Jerusalem, Gaza Strip and West Bank) one can see a significant increase in the house demolitions be it for alleged “security reasons”, military necessity or on the ground of “illegal construction”, as it is the case in East Jerusalem.
Overall, the houses demolitions present the same pattern throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories: they leave the victims in serious destitution and deprive them from their means of subsistence and livelihood, with no available recourses. Moreover, the way demolitions and destructions are carried out, in many cases without prior notification, in the presence of military jeeps and armed Israeli soldiers and involving, sometimes, ill-treatment and humiliations constitutes in itself an additional factor of stress and suffering. These different elements highlight the degree of suffering, both physical and psychological brought by these policies.
House demolitions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are in clear violation of international human rights commitment freely undertaken by Israel. Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which forms a part of the International Bill of Rights and has been ratified by Israel, guarantees the right to adequate housing. The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which monitors compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, made it clear in the its General Comment No. 4 that the right to adequate housing should be seen as “the right to live somewhere in security, peace and dignity”, entailing, inter alia, “a degree of security of tenure which guarantees legal protection against forced evictions, harassment and other threats”.
It must also be recalled that the jurisprudence of the various United Nations treaty bodies has consistently reaffirmed that human rights covenant and conventions to which Israel is a party are applicable to the Palestinian Occupied Territories.
Moreover, in November 2001, the Committee Against Torture, in its concluding observations on the Report submitted by Israel, made it clear that “ Israeli policies on house demolition may, in certain instances, amount to cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” in relation to Article 16 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:
i. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
ii. guarantee adequate reparation to all victims and their families;
iii. put an end to the destruction of houses, land and other properties in the Occupied Palestinian Territories;
iv. guarantee respect for the economic, social and cultural rights throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories and in particular the right to adequate housing, in light of General Comment No. 4 of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and article 16 of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan Street Hakirya, Jerusalem 91007, Israel, Faxes: +972 2 566 4838 and +972 3 691 7915
Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, 29 Salah al-Din Street, Jerusalem 91029, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 2 6285 438
Minister of Defense, Ministry of Defense, 7 "A" Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel. Fax: +972 3 697 62 18.
Minister of Police, Ministry of Police, PO Box 18182, 3 Sheikh Jarrah, Kiryat Hamemshala, Jerusalem 91181, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 2 5826 769.
Please also write to the embassies of Israel in your respective country.
Geneva, May 22nd 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.