UN report: Israeli demolition of homes displaced 1,100 Palestinians in 2011
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (BNO NEWS) -- The demolition of homes by Israeli forces in the West Bank in 2011 displaced nearly 1,100 Palestinians, over half of them children, and affected thousands more, according to a United Nations (UN) report released on Thursday.
The report, 'Demolitions and Forced Displacement in the Occupied West Bank,' which was released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), noted that the number of home demolitions last year increased significantly when compared to the previous year.
Overall, the report states that Israeli forces destroyed 622 structures owned by Palestinians in 2011, a 42 percent increase compared to 2010. Those structures include homes, animal shelters, classrooms and mosques, the UN reported.
The report underlined that the forced displacement of Palestinian families and the destruction of civilian homes and other property by Israeli forces in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have a "serious humanitarian impact," adding that the impact on families' psycho-social well-being can be "devastating."
In addition to the number of displaced people, the report showed that another 4,200 people were affected by the demolition of structures related to their livelihoods. Furthermore, over 60 percent of the Palestinian-owned structures demolished in 2011 were located in areas allocated to Israeli settlements.
The report added that about 90 percent of the demolitions and 92 percent of the displacement occurred in already vulnerable farming and herding communities in a territory known as 'Area C' - which represents over 60 percent of the West Bank where Israel retains control over security, planning and building.
The UN said at least 93,100 residents who live in structures built without a permit remain at a risk of displacement.
Valerie Amos, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and head of OCHA, urged Israel to end its evictions policy and to look carefully at the key humanitarian concerns of demolitions and displacement in the West Bank. Thursday's report added that Israel, as the occupying power in the West Bank, has the obligation to protect Palestinian civilians and to administer the territory for their benefit.
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Israel has stepped its “ethnic cleansing” of all non-Jews from the West Bank, Jerusalem and Israel
Each home, each family, each school and mosque destroyed by Israel adds to the tension and pours fuel into the already deep divisions that exist in the region. If Israel believes such actions enhance security, it is gravely mistaken. If Israel believes such actions are without consequences, it is completely delusional.
The foundations for peace are trust; equality; justice and tolerance toward everyone. Peace flourishes in “good relations” with ones neighbors, not poor ones. When there is no desire for peace or any effort to encourage it, no peace can exist. When the rights of one people supersede the rights of all others, only conflict results.
So Israel, when that match of war is finally lit, and the fuel Israel has poured into the divisions ignited and burning, please do not tell us about victim hood. A victim is someone who is innocent, not someone who has done whatever they could to encourage hatred, distrust, fear and conflict.
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