STOP DEMOLISHING PALESTINIAN HOMES, SAYS AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

DUBAI, June 17 (Bernama) -- Amnesty International has called on the Israeli
authorities to end house demolitions in Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT)
which leave thousands of Palestinians living in daily fear of eviction from
their homes.

Philip Luther, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa deputy
director, said Palestinians living under Israeli occupation faced tight
restrictions on what and where they could build so much so that their right to
adequate housing was being violated.

"The Israeli authorities are putting Palestinians in an impossible
situation. Whatever choice they make, they face homelessness," he said in the
human rights organisation's website.

Luther said the majority of people were denied building permits by Israel,
even after lengthy and expensive bureaucratic and legal processes.

"They have little choice but to go ahead without official permission. But as
they do so, they know that these buildings may soon be flattened by Israeli
bulldozers," he said.

Amnesty said demolitions were generally carried out with no warning of the
date, giving no opportunity for Palestinians to salvage their possessions or
find elsewhere to shelter.

It cited the United Nations' estimate that 4,800 demolition orders were
pending.

While homes were often targeted, the rights body said, Israeli authorities
had also issued demolition orders against Palestinian schools, clinics,
roads,
water cisterns, electricity pylons, sheds and animal shelters.

It also urged Israeli authorities to stop the construction or expansion of
Israeli settlements in the OPT as a first step towards removing Israeli
civilians living in such settlements.
-- BERNAMA