UN, Palestinian ambassador: dozens of people displaced by the Israeli demolitions
In three months, the Israeli army and forces would have demolished at least 72 houses, causing the displacement of 78 Palestinians, including 15 women and 47 children. In total, over 350 people have been affected in various ways by demolitions. Another thousand awaiting court decisions on expropriations in a new demolition campaign.
Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Israeli forces and groups of Jewish settlers have increased "violent and racist" attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. This is the charge brought by the Palestinian United Nations ambassador Riyad Mansour, in letters sent to the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, to the rotating president of the Security Council (Estonia) and to the president of the General Assembly, the Turkish Volkan Bozkir.
According to Mansour, the "occupation forces" demolished 72 buildings in just three months, causing the displacement of 78 Palestinians, including 15 women and 47 children now homeless. In total, more than 350 people affected in various ways by the demolitions and another 218 Palestinian families, for a total of 970 individuals (including 424 children) are awaiting sentencing in an expropriation case pending in court.
For the Palestinians, Israel continues to use the pretext of security to demolish homes, expropriate land and pursue the policy of expanding settlements along the roads that connect them, effectively preventing the birth of a future united Palestinian state. They also point out that most of the buildings are located in areas designated for the control of the Palestinian civil authority, under the Oslo accords.
The Palestinian diplomat to the UN refers to the announcement made by the Jewish state of a new demolition campaign. Hundreds of demolition orders are expected in different parts of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, for homes that would be built "without permits". Mansour recalls the study prepared by the Israeli NGO Breaking the Silence, according to which the authorities reject almost 99% of the construction requests made by Palestinians, making it virtually impossible to build a home or develop a community under the law.
Finally, the Palestinian envoy to the UN recalls the violence of the armed settlers, who spread terror and attack the Palestinians, while benefiting from the protection of the army and the occupation forces. These groups are mainly active in Beita, near Nablus, where extremist settler groups operate including Lehava, La Familia, Price Tag and Hilltop Youth. Recently, in the violence between the parties, Ahmed Zaher Bani Shamsa, a 16-year-old boy hit by a bullet in the head fired by Israeli forces, died.
"Palestinian children - underlines Mansour - face a myriad of dangers and grave violations at the hands of Israel, as reflected in the successive reports produced by the Secretary-General". Depriving the little ones of the protection reserved for them under international law, he concluded, is an encouragement to "continue to commit crimes".
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08/01/2020 09:17
