JERUSALEM, March 14, 2017 (WAFA) – Palestinian members of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, heads of Arab local councils, civil society leaders and political activists as well as people threatened with home demolition rallied on Tuesday outside the Israeli Ministry of Finance in Jerusalem to protest a proposed law that would accelerate demolition of thousands of Arab homes in Israel.

Mazen Ghanayem, chairman of the National Committee of Arab Local Authorities, told WAFA the rally comes concurrently with the meeting of the interior committee of the Knesset, which is expected to vote on what is known as the Kamenetz law, an amended planning and building law that aims at accelerating demolition of thousands of Arab homes in Israel under the pretext of construction without a permit.

The draft law also endeavors to impose higher fines against Palestinians who have no choice but to build illegally – given the Israeli restrictions on construction – to meet their housing needs.

Ghanayem said more than 50,000 Palestinian-owned homes in Israel are threatened with demolition at a time when the Arab population need more than 100,000 homes to solve their housing crisis.

He added that the Palestinian members of the Knesset had demanded to postpone approval of the draft law by two and a half years so as to have time to resolve the status of homes that were built without a permit and incorporate them into the structural maps of the Arab villages and towns.

He said nonetheless, the Israeli government and the director of the office of the Israeli prime minister, in addition to Israeli lawmaker Kamenetz who proposed the law, had not responded to their demands.

Ghanayem said the law would also ban courts from deciding on demolition cases and otherwise turn many of their powers to administrative authorities.

M.N./M.K.