ISRAEL DESTROYS SIX HOMES IN ONE DAY 12 March, 1999

On 9 March 1999, Israeli authorities demolished six homes and a number of other structures. The demolitions were carried out without warning and apparently in one instance in violation of a court order. The first home to be demolished, in the village of al-Jeep in north Jerusalem, was 150 square metres and owned by Issa Assaf. The house was demolished at 7:15am by Israeli bulldozers supported by around 50 soldiers. The family is currently in America.

In the village of Jaba' in the district of Ramallah, Maher Siweiti, owner of the 150-square-metre livestock shed, received a demolition warning two months ago, but was given no notice of the actual demolition The shed was valued at 3,500 NIS.

At the same time, in the Um Adalil area near al-Jiftlick another Israeli military force was demolishing seven structures. The two homes and five livestock sheds belonged to Abdil Mahdi Assalamine and his sons. The livestock was released before the demolition took place. Family member, Fatima Assalamine, said that Israeli forces refused to allow the family to remove their possessions and these were destroyed with their homes. The family had lived there for approximately 15 years. This is the second time the barracks have been torn down in the past three months. A water tank, the main source of drinking water for the family, was also damaged during the demolition.

Later in the day, the bulldozers arrived at the Um Assafa village on the outskirts of Ramallah. Two houses belonging to the brothers Ussama and Ghassan Hamad were torn down. The demolition took place during the funeral of one of the residents of the village. As the news spread, clashes broke out between villagers and Israeli troops. Many villagers were injured from chemical gas and rubber-coated metal bullets. The Hamad brothers received warning three years ago and an injunction was obtained against the demolition in return for not completing a two-storey, 200 metre-square house. The demolition may violate this order. In another incident, a wall owned by Kamal Abu Jaber was also demolished because he had not been issued with a licence for its construction.

House demolitions violate the right to shelter. Israeli actions have been condemned by the UN General Assembly for their illegality and for Israeli attempts at land control. The General Assembly has called for a conference on the Fourth Geneva Convention to stop these breaches. LAW is urging governments to call for action at the conference and asks for people to write to their governments urging the same. GRAVE CONCERN ABOUT HUNGER STRIKERS 12 March, 1999

On 11 March 1999, the political detainees Munir al-Hroub and Hisham Asharabati entered their forty-first day of hunger strike. Relatives of the detainees expressed grave concern over their rapidly deteriorating health.

In an affidavit given by al-Hroub's wife, Andaleeb, 21, said that on 7 March 1999 she travelled to the Jericho detention centre. She found her husband's heartbeat had become irregular and he had developed a painful stomach ulcer. When she telephoned her husband on 8 March 1999, he told her that both his health and that of Asharabati had been getting much worse and were almost incapacitated. They was unable to stand even when praying and have to be carried to perform basic functions. al-Hroub complained of continuous headaches and pain in his left eye and both ears.

Andaleeb added: 'During the first twenty days of the hunger strike, my husband and his inmate Asharabati were only taking salt and water. However, between the twenty-second and the thirty-fourth days, they drank half a litre of milk each day. During that time, he lost one kilogram of weight every day. On the thirty-fifth day, they decided to stop drinking milk.'

Andaleeb said that on the day she had called her husband, a doctor examined the men. Al-Hroub told his wife that the doctor had tried to convince them to end the strike.

In a statement by Ashrabati's wife, she said that she too had visited her husband on 7 March 1999. She had noticed that his hair had been falling out and that he suffered from muscular spasms in his right hand and leg, and was generally frail. He had also lost 20 kilograms in weight since the day he began the hunger strike. Ashrabati had rendered him unable to perform daily chores or event to pray. His wife had to visit him inside his cell because he was unable to move into the visiting room. He said that had not been seen by a doctor for five days and the prison administration have refused to transfer them to hospital.

Detention of persons for their political beliefs and without charge or trial is a violation of human rights. Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights condemns arbitrary arrest and detention. LAW asks that the PNA now immediately release political detainees and end the system of arbitrary arrest and detention.

LAW - the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human rights and the Environment ia a non-governmental organisation dedicating to advancing human rights through legal advocacy LAW is affiliate to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Federation Internationale des Ligues de Droits de l'Homme

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