BROKEN HOMES
Palestinian boys search the rubble of dozens of houses demolished by the Israeli army on the border between Rafah and Egypt on June 2, 2004. PHOTO/ Apollo images.
Broken Homes: Addressing the Impact of House Demolitions on Palestinian Children & Families ©All rights reserved April 2009 Issued by Palestinian Counselling Centre Beit Hanina-entrance to the Garden of Eden P.O. Box: 17402, Jerusalem Telephone: 00972-2-6562272 or 00972-2-6562627 Fax: 00972-2-6562271 E-mail: pcc@palnet.com Save the Children UK P.O. Box: 18117, Jerusalem 91180 Telephone: 00972-2-5838594 Fax: 00972-2-5838595 www.savethechildren.org.uk Welfare Association P.O. Box: 25204, Jerusalem Telephone: 00972-2-2415130 Fax: 00972-2-2975984 www.welfare-association.org Cover image: A Palestinian child stands in a camp for Palestinians displaced in Gaza in Israel’s Dec. ‘08 - Jan. ‘09 offensive. Two hundred and fifty families live in this camp, where Save the Children established a childfriendly …show more content…
HOUSE DEMOLITIONS: A BACKGROUNDER Since Israel’s 1967 occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, it is estimated that Israeli civilian and military authorities have destroyed 24,130 Palestinian homes in the OPT. 4 The rate of house demolitions and evictions has risen significantly since the beginning of the second Intifada in September 2000. According to the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions (ICAHD), between 1994 and 2000 when Palestinians and Israelis were engaged in negotiations, 740 Palestinian homes were demolished in Israeli military operations. 5 By comparison, between October 2000 and 2004, 5,000 homes were demolished during military operations.