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News :: Civil & Human Rights |
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Israel halts demoliton |
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by Karen Lamb |
18 Feb 2005
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I can't believe my eyes. Could it be true? |
Homes of Palestinian militants won’t be destroyed
JERUSALEM
Israel’s defense minister ordered a halt Thursday to the controversial policy of demolishing the homes of Palestinian suicide bombers and gunmen after an internal army review concluded it has not deterred attackers but has inflamed hatred.
Since the 1967 Middle East War, Israel has razed more than 2,400 Palestinian homes — leaving thousands of people homeless — including 675 houses destroyed in the past four years of fighting, according to the Israeli human rights group B’tselem.
Human rights groups have condemned the demolitions as collective punishment and a violation of international law, and long have demanded that they be halted.
The army review found the practice has inflamed hatred. The Haaretz newspaper said there were no more than 20 cases in which the threat of demolition deterred attackers or pushed their families to turn them in. Militant groups compensate families of attackers and help them rebuild, weakening possible deterrence.
House demolitions, along with other army practices, such as targeted killings of Palestinian militants, were suspended after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas declared a truce last week.
In announcing the halt to house demolitions, the military said in a statement that Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz decided to accept the recommendation of army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon to "stop exercising the legal right to demolish terrorists’ houses as a means of deterrence."
A military official said that while the practice had a deterrent effect in some cases, the army "weighed if the deterrent was strong enough in order to continue the policy of the demolition of houses, and the chief of staff ... concluded especially when there’s more quiet, it’s not the time to use this policy."
The Israeli human rights group B’tselem says the Israeli military has destroyed more than 4,000 Palestinian homes during the current conflict, most in operations to clear away buildings used by militants as cover for attacks or to widen security roads. Those practices were not included in Thursday’s decision. |
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