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The Israeli demolitions have "a disproportionate effect on women and on children and the elderly"
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GENEVA,
May 29 (IslamOnline.net) - U.N. rights experts vehemently condemned
Friday, May 28, Israel's "systematic" demolition of
Palestinian homes and destruction of water sources and livelihoods in
the southern Gaza Strip Rafah refugee camp.
The
U.N. Human Rights Commission Special rapporteurs on adequate housing
and the right to food, Miloon Kothari and Jean Ziegler respectively,
vocalized grave concern "at the scale and human consequences of
the recent destruction in Rafah."
In
a press release, the U.N. experts denounced "in the strongest
possible terms" the military operation in Rafah.
"The
razing of land, including olive groves, and the destruction of waters
sources and property, have similarly destroyed Palestinian
livelihoods," they averred.
On
Wednesday, May 19, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution condemning
Israel for killing Palestinian civilians and demolishing houses in
Rafah.
The
U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)
estimated Tuesday, May 25, that from 18 May through 24 "a total
of 167 buildings
in the Tel Sultan, Brazil and Salam quarters of Rafah were destroyed
or rendered uninhabitable. These buildings housed 379 families or
2,066 individuals.
"In
total, from 1 May until 24 May, 277 buildings, housing 641 families,
or 3,451 individuals have been demolished in Rafah."
Since
the start of the Intifada in September 2001, 1,476 buildings have been
demolished in Rafah, affecting 14,666 people, said the UNRWA report.
Rights
Violations
The
U.N. experts warned that the Israeli practices "exacerbate the
tremendous difficulties already being faced by the Palestinians
people, and have a disproportionate effect on women and on children
and the elderly."
They
dismissed the Israeli offensive as "amounting to serious
violations of international human rights and humanitarian law,
including obligations of the Occupying Power to respect the right to
adequate housing and food of the Palestinian population."
They
asserted that Israel is in breach of international human rights law
including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights on "the right of everyone to an adequate standard of
living, including adequate food and housing (article 11)."
Amnesty
described the recent Rafah offensive as a part of a "war
crimes" , while French daily Le Monde called it a
"dirty
war " launched by occupation forces against the
Palestinians.
Even
Israeli Justice Minister Tommy Lapid condemned the Rafah offensive as "not
humane", making Israel "looks like
monsters to the rest of the world".
"I
was in the United States last week, and I noticed that we look like
monsters to the rest of the world," said Lapid.
Protection
Force
The
U.N. experts also lambasted Israel's declared plans to demolish
another 2,000 homes in Rafah to widen the Philadelphia road which runs
the length of the international border between Gaza and Egypt.
They
warned that "depriving the Palestinians of international borders
will threaten the potential of any future viable Palestinian State to
have a functioning economy that will be able to realize the right to
food and housing of its own people."
They
urged the international community to "move beyond words to
action" by deploying an international observer or protection
force to the Occupied Territories.
"Such
an international force is urgently required to ensure that no further
demolition of houses and destruction of livelihood of the Palestinian
people take place."
On
May 22, Peter Hansen, the UNRWA chief, toured Rafah and said the size
of destruction "seems to be approaching Jenin," referring to
Israel's biggest
offensive launched in the Palestinian territories since
the 1967 war.
