Demonstration in Haris against demolition of houses

Translator:  Charles K.

Seventeen women from the village gather in a room of the club along with three women from IWPS [International Women’s Peace Service] and ten member of Machsom Watch.  The reason for the demonstration:  three days ago two houses were demolished and 25 people injured.

H. joins us; the bulldozers had demolished his uncle’s house.  For 25 years the family had saved to fulfill their dream and build a home.  It took them three years to construct a building containing two apartments, a total of 300 square meters.  After they’d received a demolition order they contacted an attorney’s office in Ramallah to appeal.  While they waited for the court hearing that was supposed to take place that morning the bulldozers arrived without warning.

Soldiers arrived at 09:00, but the military man in charge of the “operation” did nothing until 13:00.  He didn’t want to demolish a home in which 13 people were living.  And then a representative of the Civil Administration arrived and without delay gave the demolition order.

The village, located in Area C, has 8,500 dunums and 4,000 inhabitants, but they’re only allowed to build on 400 dunums – because of an arbitrary decision by the sovereign.

A conversation with A., who talks to us while sitting in his car and tells his story:  During a demonstration on 15.3.01, in which Israeli organizations also participated, a dum-dum bullet fired by an IDF soldier injured his shoulder and spine, and since then he’s been paralyzed.  He was treated in Jordan and in England, but apparently his condition will not improve.

Despite his situation, he believes in non-violent protest, doesn’t hate Jews, hopes to live calmly and peacefully with Jews, Christians and Moslems.  He believes Palestinians are entitled to the same treatment as Israelis, that one law applies to them both.  He can’t understand how the same bulldozer that erects settlements demolishes their homes.