Earlier today (Monday, January 30th) ICAHD submitted its parallel report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) to convene in Geneva next month.   The report, authored by Adv. Emily Schaeffer from the Michael Sfard Law Office and ICAHD Co-Director Itay Epshtain provides information for consideration by UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in advance of its examination of Israel's periodic reports. The report focuses on Israel's failure to comply with the Convention in relation to … Read entire article »

  Israeli authorities demolished Beit Arabiya – ICAHD Peace Centre on Monday night, January 23rd for the fifth time, along with the Abu Omar home rebuilt by ICAHD in the summer of 2011, and structures in the East Anata Arab al-Jahalin Bedouin compound.  A total of seven homes were demolished, with 52 people including 29 children displaced.    Beit Arabiya, Located in the West Bank town of Anata (Area C) just to the northeast of Jerusalem, is a … Read entire article »

  The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, published its concluding observations earlier this week, calling Israel to stop forthwith house demolitions, forced eviction and residency revocation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and East Jerusalem. After considering the state report by Israel on compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the ICAHD parallel report (found here…) the Committee recommended Israel reviews and reforms its policies, to align with recommendations … Read entire article »

  הוועד הישראלי נגד הריסת בתים הגיש לדווחים המיוחדים של האו"ם תלונות בטענה כי מדיניות ישראל במזרח ירושלים מפירה את המשפט הבינלאומי ועלולה להוות פשע מלחמה.   הוועד הישראלי נגד הריסת בתים הגיש ביום ב', 31 באוקטובר 2011 תלונות לדווח  המיוחד של האו"ם לנושא זכויות אדם של עקורים, לדווחית המיוחדת לנושא דיור הולם, ולדווח המיוחד למצב זכויות האדם בשטחים הפלסטינים הכבושים – בדרישה לחקור את מדיניות ישראל במזרח ירושלים.   התלונות מתבססות על דו"ח הקובע כי ישראל מבצעת הפרות … Read entire article »

  The Sumarin, a family of 12, including 5 children, are under an imminent threat of forced eviction, as the November 28th deadline for vacating their Silwan (East Jerusalem) home nears.   The Custodian of Absentee Property took control of the property, following the passing of the house owner Musa Sumarin in 1983. At the time, his sons resided in Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and according to the Abandoned Property Law (established to expropriate property from Palestinian refugees and … Read entire article »

  Overview of demolitions of Palestinan homes and other structures that have been (i) demolished by Israeli authorities or (ii) demolished by the owners following the receipt of a demolition order from Israeli authorities. All recorded incidents have been verified and documented by partners in the Displacement Working Group. West Bank (including East Jerusalem) Displacement     Total Structures Demolished Residential  Structures Demolished People Displaced 2009 275 116 643 2010 439 140 606 2011 (October) 486 171 887       October 2011 Displacement Trends       Total Structures Demolished Residential  Structures Demolished People Displaced Jordan Valley 173 74 366 East Jerusalem 22 12 67 Jerusalem Periphery 31 13 41 Hebron 92 50 280 Other 168 22 133     Bedouin/Herder Displacement       Bedouin/Herder Other Total Structures Demolished 310 176 People Displaced 782 105     Spotlight: Jordan Valley … Read entire article »

  The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) will submit complaints to the UN's Special Rapporteurs – claiming that Israel's policy in East Jerusalem violates international law and may constitute a war crime.   In a press conference held this morning (Monday, October 31st) ICAHD launched its latest report on illegal Israeli practices in East Jerusalem: 'No Home, No Homeland: A New Normative Framework for Examining the Practice of Administrative Home Demolitions in East Jerusalem". Speaking at the press conference were ICAHD Co-Founder and Director, … Read entire article »

  ICAHD Field Coordinator, Salim Shawamreh, joined the ICAHD UK Chapter at the annual Greenbelt Festival, where arts, faith and justice meet. Located at Cheltenham Racecourse over the August Bank Holiday weekend, Shawamreh spoke to the festival theme, ‘Dreams of Home’. Around 250 people crowded around the venue to hear his story of the of four house demolitions that his family have experienced by Israeli authorities, illegal under international law.  Salim also participated in the Amos Trust … Read entire article »

  ICAHD has submitted, earlier this week, a brief to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to hold its 47th session in November 2011. The committee will address the state report by Israel, and ICAHD will present committee members with a parallel report, providing information concerning the status of implementation of the economic, social and cultural rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).     The Brief covers the … Read entire article »

Itay Epshtain, Co- Director of ICAHD, travelled to Ireland earlier this month, at the invitation of partner organization Trocaire to tell the story of Palestinian communities facing illegal forced evictions and demolition of their homes in the West Bank, and to highlight recent trends of ethnic displacement in the Jerusalem periphery and the Jordan Valley. Epshtain spoke in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Derry and at Belfast Feile an Phobail, Ireland's biggest community festival.  Epshtain at the Huston Film School … Read entire article »