RAMALLAH, October 13, 2009(WAFA)- Head of PLO Negotiation Affairs Department, Dr Saeb Erakat, today condemned Israel’s continued demolition of Palestinian homes, following the destruction of several Palestinian properties in occupied East Jerusalem, including the home of the At-Taleiqi family.
“These latest home demolitions in occupied East Jerusalem highlight the real source of growing tensions across the city, and reinforce why negotiations without any change in Israel’s policies on the ground offer Palestinians no hope of peace,” Dr Erakat said.
“These are the actions of an Israeli government that claims it is committed to peace, but does the exact opposite on the ground. It is a government that does whatever it wants because it believes it can get away with it, and so far, Israel has.”
“Israel’s escalation of tensions in Jerusalem last week reinforces the systematic violence and institutionalized discrimination that Palestinians continue to face, including home demolitions, forced evictions and Israel’s suffocation of Palestinian life and the Palestinian economy as it isolates East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.”
“This relentless assault on Palestinian life and Palestinian property in occupied East Jerusalem is part and parcel of Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise, and its determination to continue expanding and building settlements in direct violation of international law and existing agreements.”
Dr Erakat called on the international community to support the five members of the At-Taleiqi family who lost their home as a result of today’s demolitions, and to step up its pressure on Israel to stop all settlement construction and home demolitions in occupied East Jerusalem.
“Home demolitions are but one example of the way Israel’s occupation targets all Palestinians without exception. Today, another Palestinian family has been added to the growing list of those made destitute and homeless by Israel as it tries to force more and more of East Jerusalem’s majority Palestinian population from the city. It comes just a couple of days after Israel laid the foundation stone for yet another illegal Israeli settlement on stolen Palestinian land in occupied East Jerusalem,” Dr Erakat said.
“Jerusalem is becoming a disaster zone as Israel intensifies its occupation and the daily violence it employs against ordinary Palestinians, with more of our homes being bulldozed, more of our land being seized, more settlements being built, and as poverty among Palestinians reaches endemic levels.”
“The international community must hold Israel accountable to its purported commitment to peace in the same way that it does so of Palestinians. How can you talk of being a ‘partner for peace’ on the one hand, while demolishing the homes of those you say you want to make peace with on the other?,” Dr Erakat concluded.
