From LAW

The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment

As the 17 May Israeli elections approach, settlement activity and the activities removing Palestinians and their institutions has increased, described as "ethnic cleansing". These efforts it seems are part of the election Netanyahu's Likud ruling party campaign to demonstrate their commitment to Judaise Jerusalem.

Likud is also using the cover of the elections to pursue these actions, knowing that the international community will be sensitive to Netanyahu's accusations of interference in the domestic elections. In particular, the 'Greater Jerusalem' plan is being pushed through. The plan was officially adopted by the Israeli Knesset in May 1997 to expand the borders of the city to retain a Jewish majority against a rapidly increasing local population.

On 19 April 1999, an Israeli Ministerial Committee recommended building an additional 116,000 housing units for Jewish settlers over the next twenty years. Preempting the approval, an estimated 900 dunums of Palestinian land in Jaba' and Hizm were confiscated in March 1999. Work has already begun on related projects, such as Bypass Road # 45 which will run around the Jerusalem border (also known as the Eastern Belt). This project will sever, seemingly intentionally so, many Palestinian villages, such as Abu Deiss, al-Izzariah, Anata, Hizma, al-Ziayem, Asawahra Asharqiya and Asheikh Sa'ed, from Arab East Jerusalem.

Israeli authorities continue to support violent attacks and evictions of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem. Extremist-Jewish American millionaire Moskovitch has made public his intention to obtain construction licenses for an additional 132 housing units in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Ras al-Amoud. Work has already begun on preparing the foundations on this land, which Moskovitch claims to be his own property. There are already 65 Jewish families living in houses in Palestinian areas of East Jerusalem. In addition, there are already 14 Jewish families living in illegally seized houses in the village of Silwan. A recent court decision on Silwan proved illegally collusion between extremist settlers and Israeli authorities, including falsification of ownership documents.

Yesterday, the Israeli Government sought to emphasise its desire to removal Palestinians by issuing an order closing much of Orient House. The target of the Government is to close the Palestinian institution's office involved in protecting local Palestinians from Israeli attempts at ethnic cleansing. It has been reported that the office of Khalil Tufakji, which researches illegal Jewish settlement expansion and the consequence on the Palestinian population, is one of the offices targeted.

LAW demands the Israeli Government immediately cease all land confiscation, and reopen all so-called military zones particularly those lands in the Jordan valley. The reasons behind the use of these lands for military training purposes have been annulled by the recent Jordanian / Israeli peace agreement. LAW also calls on the Israeli Government to bring to an end all settlement activities, and the further construction of by-pass roads at the expense of Palestinian land. LAW calls on the Security Council to issue a binding resolution demanding the immediate cessation of Israeli aggression in the Palestinians territories, and demand full compliance with Security Council resolutions especially 242, and 338. LAW calls on the States and the international community to take immediate action against Israeli violations of international law, Fourth Geneva Convention and for High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention to call for the conference as requested by the UNGA Emergency Special Session.

LAW, as part of the international campaign with MIFTAH, asks people around the world to demand their government call the conference of High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva

LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy LAW is affiliate to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Fédération Internationale des Ligues de Droits de l'Homme (FIDH)