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Stop razing homes, Israel told

- PHOTO: AFP

MOUNTING CRISIS: Palestinians build a house with clay, after their home was destroyed in Israel's last military operation in the Rafah refugee camp in April. Israel's blockade on Gaza does not allow construction material like cement into the Palestinian territory.

Jerusalem: The U.N. has called on Israel to end its programme of demolishing homes in East Jerusalem and tackle a mounting housing crisis for Palestinians in the city.

Dozens of Palestinian homes in Jerusalem are demolished each year because they do not have planning permits. Critics say the demolitions are part of an effort to extend Israeli control as Jewish settlements expand. The 21-page report from the U.N. office for the co-ordination of humanitarian affairs is the latest round in an intensifying campaign on the issue.

Though Mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, has defended the planning policy as even-handed, in March U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described demolitions as “unhelpful”. An internal report for E.U. diplomats described them as illegal under international law and said they “fuel bitterness and extremism”. Israel occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 war and later unilaterally annexed it, a move not recognised by the international community.

The U.N. said of the 27 square miles of East Jerusalem and the West Bank annexed by Israel, only 13 per cent was zoned for Palestinian construction and this was mostly already built up. At the same time 35 per cent had been expropriated for Israeli settlements, though all settlements on occupied land are illegal under international law.

Palestinians in East Jerusalem had found it increasingly difficult to obtain planning permits and many had built without them, risking fines and eventual demolition. As many as 28 per cent of all Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem were built in violation of Israeli planning rules.

“Throughout its occupation, Israel has significantly restricted Palestinian development in east Jerusalem,” said the U.N. report. It said 673 Palestinian structures had been demolished in the east between 2000 and 2008. Last year alone, 90 structures were demolished, leaving 400 Palestinians displaced, the highest number of demolitions for four years. Similar demolitions are carried out regularly by the Israeli military across the West Bank.

The U.N. said it was concerned about areas facing mass demolition, including Bustan in Silwan, just south of the old city, where the threatened destruction of 90 houses would lead to the displacement of 1,000 Palestinians. Families who lose their homes are faced with the choice of moving into crowded apartments with relatives or renting new homes. They face “significant hardships”, including having their property destroyed and struggling with debts from fines and legal fees, said the U.N. said The authorities in Jerusalem challenged the UN report and denied “the accusations and numbers throughout”. Israel’s Jerusalem municipality accepted there was a “planning crisis” but said it was “not just in eastern Jerusalem but throughout all of Jerusalem that affects Jews, Christians and Muslims alike”.— © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2009

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