Desert Peace
A Report
[Extracts from the report by Steve Amsel]
Today, June 2nd, marks the 41st anniversary of the Occupation of the Palestinian Territories. Known in Israel as ‘Jerusalem Day’, it is actually Phase Two of the Nakba. Recent developments have been:
* To date, more than 3,000 Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank have pending demolition orders, which can be immediately executed without prior warning. At least ten small communities throughout the West Bank at risk of being almost entirely displaced due to the large number of pending demolitions orders.
* During the first quarter of 2008, Israeli authorities demolished 124 structures due to a lack of permits. In 2007, 208 Palestinian-owned structures have been demolished under the same circumstances. Sixty-one of the demolished structures were residential and led to the displacement of 435 Palestinians, including at least 135 children. Most of these demolitions occurred in the Jordan Valley and South Hebron areas. This trend, however, was discontinued in the following two months (as of 20 May), when only one structure was demolished.
* Children are frequently disproportionately affected by the demolition of their homes and the subsequent displacement of their families. According to a recent study, children are separated from their parents and face gaps in access to education, health facilities and clean water in the immediate aftermath of a house demolition.
* Since the beginning of the occupation in 1967 Palestinian-owned structures lacking building permits have been demolished by Israeli authorities. However, following the division of the oPt into different jurisdictional areas in the framework the Oslo agreements, such demolitions have been restricted to areas classified as C, which cover approximately 61% of the West Bank territory. Demolitions are being carried out by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) also during military operations, including arrest operations, and due to proximity to the Barrier route.
The rest of the report those statistics came from can be read HERE.
Also from the report….. Just in recent months (months when negotiations were allegedly held between Israel and Palestinian officials [minus the Palestinians])
February 2008
The Israeli authorities demolished a total of 40 structures in Area C, 19 of which were inhabited. This led to the displacement of some 135 Palestinians, including more than 50 children. All of the displaced were Bedouin, not registered as refugees, who lived in Area C areas considered by the Israeli authorities to be “closed military zones.” The displaced include three Bedouin families in Al Hadidiya, four Bedouin families in Al Jiftlik, and eight Bedouin families in the Wadi as Sik area in Ramallah. They report that the areas from which they were displaced had been their home for many years, some for 20 to 30 years. In the case of Wadi as Sik, the eight families were still unable to pitch their tents four days later, which was due to the topography of the valley to which they were forcibly re-located. The families remain separated and the children are forced to seek shelter in nearby caves or with neighbours and friends.
March 2008
In March, 37 Area C structures were demolished, including 17 residential structures, due to lack of permit. This led to the displacement of 119 Palestinians (including 73 children). Twenty-four (24) structures, including nine residential structures, were demolished on 11 March alone. Twelve of these structures were located in Al Hadidiya in the northern Jordan Valley. The affected families had experienced an earlier demolition on 6 February 2008, when the same structures were demolished and later re-built. During the 11 March demolitions, the Israeli authorities brought a machine that crushed the structures after the demolition and removed them from the site. The February and March demolitions were preceded by earlier demolitions: on 13 August 2007, the Israeli army bulldozed the homes of at least 100 people from the Al Hadidiya community.
As you can see, the Nakba was not a ‘one time event’, it is a continuing process. A process aimed at destroying whatever is left of Palestine and its people. As was the case in the Nakba of 1948, the world continues, in the most part, to remain silent. That alone is a Nakba (catastrophe).
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© 2008 Steve Amsel
SOURCE: http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2008/06/02/phase-two-of-the-nakba-41-years-later/
URL: http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2008/06/02/phase_two_of_the_nakba_41_years_later
