Demolition Watch
"Don’t Demolish my Future!”
For most children, the first day of school is a time of excitement and expectations, but for children of a Bedouin community in Khan al Ahmar, West Bank, the first day of school may not come at all.
Israeli settlers from the Kfar Adumim settlement petitioned to have the school suspend operations before students return from summer break as they push for a quick demolition of the school completely.
The school, made out of scrap tires and mud, serves 80 children from an overlooked and extremely vulnerable Bedouin community. If the school in Khan al Ahmar is destroyed, these children will have to walk nearly 19 miles to Jericho to attend school. Faced with such challenging obstacles, most children will drop out of school and miss out on an education altogether.
The Israeli practice of demolition, which has increased sharply in the first half of 2011, continues to devastate Palestinian families and communities in Area C – the 60 per cent of the West Bank controlled by Israel. Many of the people affected already live in poverty, and children are often the hardest hit.
Most demolition orders are issued because a home or structure has been built without an Israeli permit. However, the Israeli planning system, already condemned as discriminatory by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, makes it impossible for Palestinians to get a building permit.
The UN estimates that there are over 3,000 outstanding demolition orders in Area C alone. 18 of these orders are for schools.
UNRWA asks for your support against demolitions of Palestinian homes, businesses, and schools. You can help by spreading awareness about this startling and growing assault on Palestinian rights.
Join UNRWA as it calls on Israel to cease demolitions of Palestinian-owned property.
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Support West Bank communities affected by demolitions
We ask that you join our Change.org petition call or send a letter to your congressperson to let him or her know that Israel must meet its obligations under international law:
- Immediately cease demolitions of Palestinian-owned homes, schools and infrastructure, which cause displacement and dispossession, until Palestinians have access to a fair and nondiscriminatory planning system. This should include community participation in all levels of the planning process;
- Families that have been forcibly displaced must be allowed to return to their homes in safety and dignity, and be given compensation for any harm they have suffered, including the destruction of land, homes and property.
To show your support, we also ask that you post the following message on your Facebook and Twitter account:
"Don’t demolish my future!
Israel: Stop demolishing Palestinian schools.
http://bit.ly/nKDUN3"
If you want to show your support for the children and community, please write a short message on UNRWA’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/unrwa which UNRWA will print put up on the walls for the start of the new school year on the 5th September.
Click here to view/dowload AFU's Demolition Factsheet.
Click here to make a tax-deductible donations to communities affected by Israeli demolitions.
