Saturday, October 16, 2010

Illegal Israeli settlement plans threaten Palestinian human rights


Amnesty International
15 October 2010

"Amnesty International today urged the Israeli authorities to abandon plans to construct 238 new housing units in Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.

“The Israeli authorities must immediately halt expansion of settlements in East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied West Bank,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Not only does the building contravene international law, it also compounds the litany of abuses of the human rights of Palestinians living in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including their rights to adequate housing and water.”.....

Discrimination on grounds of nationality and religion is the dominant feature of Israel’s settlement policy,” said Philip Luther.

“The policy violates the rights both of Palestinians in East Jerusalem living under civil law and of those in the rest of the West Bank where they are subject to Israeli military law.”

Israel’s land grab and dissection of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have had a devastating impact on the lives of Palestinians....

According to the UN, in 2009 alone more than 600 Palestinians were displaced in East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, more than half of them children, after their homes were demolished under order from the Israeli authorities, often to make way for Israeli settlements.

Under Israeli military law, Palestinian families evicted from their homes are not entitled to alternative housing or compensation. The result is that many then face homelessness and destitution.....

“We have repeatedly documented the connection between settlements and the destruction of Palestinians’ homes, crops, agricultural lands, and livelihoods.”

Israel’s policy of settling its civilians on occupied land violates the Fourth Geneva Convention and is considered a war crime, according to the statute of the International Criminal Court."

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