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Press Release
PCHR Rejects Attempt by Israeli State Prosecutor
to Legalise House Demolitions
In a session of the Israeli Supreme Court today, PCHR rejected an attempt by the Israeli State Prosecutor to lay the legal groundwork for the demolition of Palestinian houses near Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza strip.
In a letter dated 20 February, the Israeli State Prosecutor claimed that Israeli occupying forces in the Gaza strip have no intention of demolishing the houses at this time and that if the Israeli army decides to do in the future it will allow the families the opportunity to appeal. The statement also said, however, that the Israeli army reserves the right to immediately demolish the houses if it believes there is any shooting by Palestinians in the area.
PCHR, which represents owners of 16 of the houses, rejected this final point through its Israeli lawyer, André Rosenthal. PCHR contends that the families living in the area cannot be held automatically responsible for any alleged shooting nearby and cannot have their homes destroyed without any judicial process. Rosenthal’s comments were noted in the minutes of the court proceedings, providing a minimal legal safeguard in the event that the houses are demolished without appeal. Although the justices admonished the State Prosecutor for the way in which the army had treated the families, they did not take any decision on the matter themselves.
On 19 February, Israeli occupying forces surrounded a group of houses near Deir al-Balah and ordered the families to evacuate their homes pending demolition. PCHR, acting through its Israeli attorney, filed an emergency appeal with the Israeli Supreme Court and persuaded the Israeli military legal advisor, David Benyamin, to visit the site personally and guarantee that the operation would not go ahead without a court decision, although at least one house had already been demolished by that time. During the afternoon of 19 February, the Court issued two order nisis temporarily halting the demolitions,
in response to emergency appeals filed by PCHR and the al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights.
PCHR rejects any attempt by Israeli occupation forces to provide legal cover for house demolitions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) and remains concerned that the Supreme Court has yet to issue an order definitively guaranteeing that the houses in question will not be demolished. PCHR will continue to pursue this case, as well as its international campaign to end Israel’s house demolition policy.
PCHR urges governments, non-governmental organisations, human rights groups, civil society, and individuals to immediately contact the Israeli government and demand an end to the policy of house demolitions, and to guarantee that the houses in question near Deir al-Balah will not be destroyed. Such appeals should remind the Israeli government that extensive, unlawful, and wanton destruction of private property not justified by military necessity is a grave breach under Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and thus constitutes a war crime. Moreover, reprisals against a civilian population are a form of collective punishment, in violation of Article 33 of the Convention. In November 2001, the UN Committee Against Torture also ruled that Israel’s house demolition policy constitutes cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment under certain circumstances.
