Amnesty said Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes constitute "collective punishment"

WORLD CAPITALS, May 18 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – A defiant Israel came Tuesday, May 18, under a barge of international criticism over its stepped up policy of demolishing Palestinians' homes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah .

Amnesty International joined the rest of the international community in slamming the mass demolitions and urging Israel to reverse its policy which has reached an "unprecedented level".

"In the occupied territories, demolitions are often carried out as collective punishments for Palestinian attacks or to facilitate the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements," the international watchdog said in a report called "Evictions and Demolitions Must Stop".

"Both practices contravene international law and some of these acts are war crimes.

"Forced evictions and house demolitions are usually carried out without warning with families given little or no time to leave their homes and salvage their possessions.

"Most cases of house demolition and destruction of land are not subject to legal supervision or appeal," it added.

Amnesty researcher Donatella Rovera, who had just returned from a trip to Rafah, said it was ridiculous to claim that so many of the houses were empty, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"This is a contention (by the Israelis) that goes back some time," she told AFP.

"It's almost become a joke among Rafah residents that they all must have a second home."

According to Amnesty, the fourth Geneva Convention specifically prohibits collective punishment.

"War crime is not a phrase that we use lightly but that is the conclusion that we have come to," Rovera said.

"Unacceptable"

As Israel continued its major crackdown in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah , British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw Tuesday dismissed Israel 's demolition of Palestinian homes as "unacceptable".

"The British government is wholly opposed to this policy and practice of demolishing houses in this way by the Israeli defense force," he said.

"It is unacceptable and it's also contrary to the roadmap," he told reporters at an E.U. meeting in Brussels , referring to the internationally-backed peace plan for the Middle East .

On Monday, May 17, E.U. foreign ministers issued a statement condemning the demolitions as "disproportionate" and called on Israel to stop them immediately.

"The Council condemned the large scale demolition of  Palestinian houses in Rafah as disproportionate and in conflict with international law," they said.

"The Council called on the Israeli government to cease such demolitions immediately."

"Civilized Pullout"

Destruction in Rafah

French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier also urged Israel to pull out of Gaza , as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has planned, but to do so in a civilized way.

"Withdrawal from Gaza is an important element which is part of the roadmap," he told a news conference.

"But withdrawing from Gaza after destroying Gaza doesn't seem to me to be the right path," said the top diplomat.

The Israeli Supreme Court on Sunday, May 16, rejected an appeal by Palestinians against the demolitions, which the occupation army argues are needed for self-defense and does not amount to collective punishment.

Israel has demolished more than 3,000 homes in the past three-and-a-half years, according to Amnesty, as the Israeli military again prepared to destroy hundreds more in the impoverished Gaza Strip.

Even Washington

U.S. National Security Advisor, Condolizza Rice, during a meeting with Palestinian Premier Ahmed Qorei Monday in Germany , said she had assured Qorei that Washington opposed the house demolitions.

"We have said to the Israelis that some of their activities don't create the best atmosphere for movement forward toward a two-state solution," she said.

"We've been particularly concerned that - we understand the need to fight terrorism, the need for Israel to defend itself - but we also recognize that Israel is going to have to live next door to the Palestinians."

"And so creating conditions which are not conducive to the emergence of peaceful, democratic Palestine is the problem. And we've talked to them time and again about demolition of housing ... about those kind of issues," Rice stressed.

U.S. Secretary of State Collin Powell said Sunday that the United States opposed the demolition of homes in the Rafah refugee camp and urged an end to what he termed "the cycle of violence."

"Against International Law"

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, for his part, said Israel must stop demolishing houses.

"I appeal to the Israeli government to stop this destruction, which is against international humanitarian law," he told reporters in New York .

Iran has also condemned the Israeli practice Sunday, saying it constituted a "war crime".

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said the demolition "blatantly violates all international laws as well as human values."

Despite the condemnations, Israeli forces continued Tuesday their practices in Rafah after completely sealing it off from the rest of Gaza Strip and the world.