Israel is fond of presenting itself as a liberal Western democracy, in fact the only democracy in the Middle East. What defines a democracy, however, is the rule of law, and this is routinely denied to millions of Palestinians living under Israeli control these past 47 years and counting. Israel’s policy of home demolitions – some 48,000 Palestinian homes demolished since the start of the Occupation in 1967 – represents the cynical distortion of the law for political ends. Israel’s “Civil” Administration, the term it disingenuously gives its military government in the Occupied Territory so as to give the impression of normal, proper, a-political administration, routinely sends out demolition orders that themselves constitute violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and while Palestinians may appeal them in Israeli courts, they never succeed in overturning them. When it comes to punitive demolitions Israel abandons all legal pretext, and we most clearly see the Occupation for what it is: pure repression with no relation to political policy intended to end the conflict, the demolition of homes of suspected lawbreakers and their innocent family members reduced to merely atavistic revenge.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 10:54:23 +0000
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