Call for Solidarity lauched by the ZEC for Palestinians
Zero Evictions for Palestinians, NOW!
The Israeli Ministry of the Interior demolishes hundreds of homes of its own Palestinian citizens every year under pretenses of “upholding the laws” of zoning and planning, as collective punishment, and during military and “land-cleaning” operations: a violation of international laws!
The inhabitants’ associations, international networks, voluntary groups, NGOs, public agencies, citizens of the world, express their indignation at and denounce Israel’s continual policies of eviction and demolition carried out against the Palestinian people, both Palestinians ’48 (citizens of Israel) and Palestinians ’67 (in the Occupied Palestinian Territory).
The Israeli Ministry of the Interior demolishes hundreds of homes of its own Palestinian citizens every year due to zoning and planning schemes intentionally insufficient for the needs of the communities. There are, in addition, dozens of villages not recognized by the government whose residents live in the constant instability that comes with pending eviction and demolitions. These evictions and demolitions are carried out under the pretense of “upholding the law” despite being in violation of international laws.
The Municipality of Jerusalem, the Civil Administration and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have demolished over 24,000 Palestinian homes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 1967 under pretenses of “upholding the laws” of zoning and planning (administrative), as collective punishment (punitive), and during military and “land-cleaning” operations. The administrative and punitive demolitions are clear violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and the IDF itself found that it would be “very difficult to justify from a legal perspective” much of the destruction carried out in the December 2008 and January 2009 attacks on the Gaza Strip. These three institutions also coordinate or facilitate the takeovers of Palestinian lands and houses by Israeli settlers in violation of international law.
The demolitions and evictions clearly violate the following international laws and covenants ratified by Israel:
- The Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilians During Wartime (articles 53, 147) (1949)
- The International Covenant Against Torture (art. 16), despite the Concluding Observations of the CAT (2002)
- The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (art. 11), despite the Concluding Observations of the CESCR (2003)
- The Convention on the Rights of the Child (art. 27), despite the Concluding Observations of the CRC (2002)
- The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (articles 7, 12, 17, 26), despite the Concluding Observations of the CCPR (2003)
- The International Convention on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (art. 14), despite the Concluding Comments of the CEDAW (2005)
- The International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (articles 2, 3, 5), despite the Concluding Observations of the CERD (2007)
Therefore the inhabitants’ associations, international networks, voluntary groups, NGOs and public agencies, have decided to launch a Zero Evictions for Palestinians, NOW!
Please subscribe to the solidarity call now!
Further translations of the appeal and this article: