Life under occupation – 13

Press Release, 25 November 2010

Israeli Crimes of Destruction

Government Media Center Prime Minister’s Office, Palestinian General Delegation

We build roads of peace, the Israeli government destroys them. We plant trees to protect our environment, they uproot them. We send our young children to school and their soldiers bully them and beat them up. Our state-building efforts meet with state-destruction by Israel.

We note with alarm that Israel continues with its persistent policy of destroying infrastructure that we build for our people on our land, economic projects and private homes. Prime Minster Netanyahu is vociferously fighting for the rights of Israeli settlers to illegally build on Palestinian land while Israeli soldiers and settlers relentlessly attack, destroy, and violate Palestinian children, women, and the elderly within their own neighborhoods and homes. The unwarranted destruction of the ‘Freedom Road’ in the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan by the Israeli authorities is an affront to all countries that contributed to building this road for Palestinian families to access their homes, schools, agricultural land, and health clinics. We request donors to report back to their capitals on the unjustifiable destruction of this road that was paid for through the generous support of their tax payers.

Adam Mansour, a seven year old child from East Jerusalem, was taken to hospital following the brutal and criminal beating he received from Israeli soldiers yesterday. The Prime Minister has requested of the Minister of Health to provide all the necessary medical facilities and care for Adam and we pray for his speedy recovery. The Israeli government should take immediate action against their soldiers that perpetrated this crime and these acts will be addressed to the UN Secretary General as one more event in a continuing series of violations against Palestinian children that are in direct violation of international law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This is a hate crime against a defenseless child by well trained, armed Israeli soldiers and there should be no impunity.

Latest incidents of the Israeli destruction:

· Israeli bulldozers demolish the whole village of Abu Ajaj in the Jordan valley, and displace its 150 residents.

· Israel sweeps lands in Bani Hassan and destroys agricultural facilities there, also removing two agricultural projects created by the PA in area of Wadi Qana in the town of Dair Estia-Salfit.

· Israeli municipality of Jerusalem demolishes 6 nurseries and 3 stores in Hizma. And demolishes the house of Aziz Zblih in Al- Tur neighborhood and displacing his 7 family members, under the pretext of illegal construction.

· The occupation destroys a mosque, 2 residential structures and 4 barns in Khirbet Yasra- Tubas in the northern valley, displacing 2 families of 11 members. And destroy a house in Yatta- Hebron, leaving 25 people without shelter.

· Settlers take over an apartment in a building consisting of 3 floors in an Al- Tur neighborhood- Jerusalem.

· Israeli bulldozers demolish and sweeps Al- Nwetef road in Qarawat Bani Zaid, a road which PM Fayyad opened called the Freedom Road.

· Settlers began to raze more than 50 dunums of agricultural land in Jalud Village- southern Nablus.

· Settlers fence destroy tens of dunums of land in the village of Yasuf in Salfit.

· Israeli municipality of Jerusalem demolishes livelihood- related structures in Al Isawiya, which were partiality demolished on the November the 11th.

End