| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Anonymous Sender" |
| Date: |
14 May 2004 03:49:04 PM |
| Object: |
Israel Destroys HUNDREDS Of Palestinian Homes |
While Israel continues to destroy Palestinian homes with their
nazi-like collective punishment, the Jewnited States continues
to finance and support these policies. No wonder moslem militants
are coming from all over to go to Iraq just to kill Americans.
I dont feel like flying the American flag anymore, even on the
Fourth of July.
Israel to raze hundreds of Gaza homes
Posted Fri, 14 May 2004
The Israeli army has been authorised to demolish hundreds of houses in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, prompting warnings by the Palestinians and the United Nations of a humanitarian catastrophe.
The army was given the green light by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to destroy "hundreds of houses" and widen the so-called "Philadelphi" route, a buffer zone which runs along the Israeli-controlled border with Egypt, the public radio said.
Israel responsible for new housing
"The first houses to be destroyed will be empty buildings. Then inhabited houses will be demolished. Israel will be responsible for finding new accommodation for the evacuated people," the radio added.
An official from Sharons office confirmed that bulldozing would take place to widen the buffer zone after the search for the remains of five soldiers killed in an attack on Wednesday are over.
"Legitimate defensive measure"
"This is a legitimate defensive measure, which is aimed at ensuring better protection for our soldiers who shouldnt remain as sitting ducks and at preventing the smuggling of weapons, mortars, rockets and tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip," the official said.
Israels widening of the buffer zone which has ripped through the heart of Rafah and kept growing since the start of the intifada came two days after a military convoy was attacked there and five Israeli soldiers killed.
In his "disengagement" plan, Sharon proposes a withdrawal from most of the Gaza Strip but not from the border area, for fear that Palestinian militants would be able to stockpile weapons smuggled from Egypt.
Labour opposition leader Shimon Peres urged Sharon to extend any withdrawal to the border zone, which some military officials have warned could become a focal point for Palestinian attacks after a partial pullout.
"Its a war crime"
"Its a war crime, and the American support for this type of operation will not help us vis-a-vis the international community," said left-wing MP Yossi Sarid.
"Destroying these houses will be a major catastrophe for our people," Palestinian negotiations minister Saeb Erakat also said. "This shows Israel intends to stay in the Gaza Strip and not withdraw from it."
The Israeli army has been systematically bulldozing the refugee camps of Rafah since the start of the Palestinian uprising in September 2000, making more than 11 000 people homeless, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
Justification for demolitions challenged
UNRWA spokesperson Paul McCann challenged Israels justification for the demolitions.
"Its impossible to believe that every one of these houses shelters militants or the entrance to a tunnel," he said, also pointing out that occupants only abandoned the "empty buildings" because of the constant danger of being killed or wounded and eventually expelled by the Israeli army.
"When the house on your left has been blown up and the house on your right has been blown up, you know youre next, so families dont always wait until the last moment to find other housing," he explained.
"Rafah is a humanitarian catastrophe"
"Rafah is a humanitarian catastrophe," McCann said.
UNRWA, which condemns Israels policy as "collective punishment", also doubted that Sharons government would assist the Palestinians in finding new homes.
"Israel has so far been taking the view that it is not responsible for humanitarian issues inside the Palestinian territories," McCann said.
McCann said the agency had only managed to find new housing for 1000 people over those three and half years and complained that an emergency appeal for larger donations from the international community this year had not been met.
AFP
.
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
