House Demolitions
The Israeli military has been demolishing homes for decades ever since 1967 and way before the Palestinians began to resist. The Israeli military uses home demolitions now to impose collective punishment. Most of these homes are not "harboring terrorists" but are harboring regular people trying to get by with their occupied lives. Of course, when the military tanks and bulldozers approach the homes, the families will come out to defend themselves, to resist. Home demolitions are also used to make way for Israeli settlements or colonies, which upon completion become heavily guarded by the military and settlers armed. Uprooting trees and plowing farm land and orchards is also happening all the time in the occupied land. These attacks are also being used to build the Apartheid Wall in the West Bank.
"Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or co-operative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations." (Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 53).
Of course, you believe the destruction is 'absolutely necessary' but how can the destruction of all these homes be necessary? How can anyone see it necessary to make 1100 people homeless in ten days? Thousands have been made homeless for so-called security reasons.
Home demolitions have also been used for settlement expansion. Expansion takes place after expulsion. Kicking people out of their homes. Dispossession. The typical Palestinian claim of being "kicked out of our homes" since the 18th century hasn't changed. Zionism is still at work and hasn't changed one bit except that it must hide behind the pretense of 'security' to avoid international condemnation and action.
"It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as foodstuffs, agricultural areas for the production of foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies and irrigation works, ...whatever the motive, whether in order to starve out civilians, to cause them to move away, or for any other motive." (Protocol I of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 54).
"No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.
Pillage is prohibited.
Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited." (Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 33).
___________________
*** Sig will be edited -> see rule #5 regarding political/religious content
Theodore Herzl, founder of the World Zionist Organization: "Spirit the penniless population across the frontier by denying it employment... Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly."
|
131 more houses destroyed by Israel in 10 days
