RELEASE: Homes demolished in Beqa’a Valley
May 29, 2007
More photos of this demolition available at CPT Hebron Photo Gallery
On Monday, May 28th, bulldozers arrived at two homes in the Beqa’a Valley, just outside Hebron. When CPT arrived, several units of the Israeli Army and Border Police were on hand. When asked what they were doing, one answered that they were just ‘providing security,’ as the civil administration went about the destruction.
One home was under construction and nearly finished. The young man who was building the house was away at work. His extended family watched in horror as the bulldozer, and then a wrecker, crashed into the home destroying months of labor, years of savings and the priceless hopes and dreams of this young family.
At another home just to the south, the wrecker had already destroyed the addition to one family’s home. This family has three children and the mother is two months pregnant with their fourth child. As we sat in the garden drinking tea, pondering the reason for it all, we could see the remainder of the home, against which there was no demolition order, badly damaged by the demolition.
Both families were in the process of appealing the demolition orders against their property. At the time the bulldozers arrived, their cases were in appeal to the Israeli High Court. Family members and neighbors tried to reason with the drivers of the bulldozers and speak with the soldiers. They pleaded with them to allow them just one half hour to call the lawyers, to see if the court might respond. No delay was allowed. The demolitions were carried out quickly and efficiently. One home took just eight minutes to demolish completely. All that remains is an unrecognizable pile of concrete and twisted iron. Now any decision from the High Court is moot. The bulldozers have made final the decision that these families have no right to safe and secure homes.