Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal News Blogs -> JURIST - The Paper Chase

Legal News

: JURIST - The Paper Chase

Israel destruction of Palestine homes violates international law: Switzerland

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Switzerland's Federal Department for Foreign Affairs (FDFA) condemned Israeli destruction of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem as a violation of international humanitarian law in a statement Thursday and called on Israel to stop the demolitions. According to the FDFA, Israel is under a duty to protect the civilians in East Jerusalem as it is part of occupied Palestinian territory. A spokesperson for the FDFA added that the demolitions violate the Fourth Geneva Convention which forbids an occupying power from destroying property in an occupied territory. As a party and the depositary state for the Geneva Conventions, Switzerland has always regarded itself as having special legal obligations towards the monitoring of the Conventions and international adherence to them. AP has more. WAFA has additional coverage. Israel has been strongly criticized by the international community over its settlement and land appropriation activities, particularly in the West Bank. Since 2000 over 1,600 homes have been demolished in the West Bank, including 600 in East Jerusalem. In July, Israeli human rights group Yesh Din highlighted the lack of investigations and prosecutions of Israeli settlers in the Occupied Territories who commit crimes against Palestinians. In June, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that Israeli plans to expand settlements in the West Bank violate international law.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on November 14, 2008 (boomark / email).