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| PCHR Palestinian Centre for Human Rights PRESS RELEASE |
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Ref: 17/2005
Date: 15 January 2005
Time: 12:00 GMT
PCHR, Adalah and al-Haq Demand the Israeli High Court to Issue Temporary Injunction Stopping Wide Scale House Demolitions
PCHR, Adalah and al-Haq submitted an appeal to the Israeli High Court in May 2004 to define the legal term “military necessity” used by the Israeli military to justify house demolitions in Rafah. On 10 January 2005, the three organizations submitted a response in accordance with a decision by the court to provide specific cases.
In their response to the court’s decision, PCHR, Adalah and al-Haq, concerned at an escalation in the number of house demolitions in Rafah, especially in light of information unveiled by Israeli sources about Israel’s intention to demolish 3000 houses in the town, emphasized their previous demand to define the legal scope of “military necessity” in accordance with international law. The three organizations relied, in their response, on reports of Amnesty International and the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territory John Dougard, which concluded that house demolitions are unjustified acts which constitute a war crime.
The three organizations demanded that the Israeli High Court issue a temporary injunction stopping house demolitions in Rafah, which are carried out under the pretext of “immediate military necessity” They also highlighted house demolitions in Rafah by the Israeli military in the period of 17 to 25 May 2004, and in the period of 21 April to 29 May 2004, in addition to the Israeli military operation in Jenin refugee camp in April 2002.
In May 2004, PCHR, Adalah and al-Haq filed a petition at the Israeli High Court to define the legal scope of “military necessity” in accordance with international law, asserting that wide scale house demolitions constitute a war crime and a form of collective punishment and are prohibited under international law. In their petition, the three organizations cited three cases from International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, in which a politician and high-ranking military commanders were indicted and convicted, inter alia, for the extensive destruction and appropriation of property.
Public Document
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