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The European Union formally condemned the demolition of illegal Arab apartment buildings near Israel’s security barrier separating Jerusalem from Palestinian Authority-controlled areas, and demanded Israel halt its enforcement of demolition orders. In a statement issued Monday afternoon, the European Union’s foreign affairs department said the demolitions undermine the “viability of the two-state solution”. “Israeli authorities have proceeded with the demolition of 10 Palestinian buildings, containing some 70 apartments, in Wadi al Hummus, part of Sur Baher neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem. The majority of the buildings are located in Area A and B of the West Bank where, according to...

Hundreds of people have been flowing to the neighborhood of Givat HaUlpana in Beit El since the Knesset voted down a law that was intended to try to save it from destruction after the Supreme Court ruled that it should be demolished since the state prosecution did not present objections to an Arab's claim that the sale of the land to Jews was fraudulent. About 300 people came to the neighborhood on Sunday, to raise the residents' spirits and to join the struggle for saving the neighborhood. Most of the visitors came from outside Judea and Samaria (Yehuda and Shomron)....

Recent demolitions of outposts are part of psychological warfare to prepare the public for mass expulsions, warns a Yesha leader. Sarah Eliyash, deputy chairman of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria (Yesha), said she is calling for an urgent conference of Yesha leaders to break off relations with the government as a response to the recent wave of demolitions of Jewish homes and the expulsion of families, including women and babies, in the middle of the night. “We plan to break off all contact with Cabinet ministers and Knesset Members, the army and the Civil Lands Administration”...

Today I followed the installation procession from Remat Mamre to the tiny outpost of Mitzpeh Avihai on Hill 18. Accompanied by a throng of hundreds, we held a wedding canopy, or 'huppa' over the Torah scroll and walked into the night along the hilly, windy path down into the valley and up to the height of Hill 18, immediately opposite the exclusively Arab enclave of North Hebron. The procession was illuminated by torchlight, and accompanied by a guitar and flute duet as the revellers sang and danced along. In between the Remat Mamre and Hayekev communities, a high barbed wire...

Public Security Ministry backtracks after US intervenion. Demolition orders for illegally constructed Arab homes in east Jerusalem are highly unlikely to go ahead in the near future, it emerged on Thursday, despite a recent announcement to the contrary by Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch. The U-turn came after the US State Department sought clarifications over comments by Aharonovitch, who said on Wednesday that “police have no instructions to refrain from carrying out the demolitions. They will be carried out in the coming days.” The comments threatened to reignite a US-Israeli row over Israeli policy in east Jerusalem. “It’s not our...

YPRES, Belgium - The summer plowing season in Flanders Fields is a good time for Ivan Sinnaeve. Known as "Shrapnel Charlie," he keeps alive memories of one of history's bloodiest battles by melting down the World War I shells harvested by farmers and transforming them into toy soldiers which he calls "soldiers of peace." The 54-year-old Belgian history buff has a huge following among war pilgrims visiting Flanders Fields, the battleground of 1914-1918. Sinnaeve, a retired carpenter, is busier than usual this year, the 90th anniversary of the phase of fighting called the Battle of Passchendaele which saw some of...

Last update - 13:59 27/01/2006 High Court issues order banning Amona outpost demolitions By Nadav Shragai and Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondents and Itim High Court Justice Salim Jubran on Friday issued an interim order banning the demolition of buildings in the illegal outpost of Amona until another decision is given on the matter. Justice Jubran ruled that a panel of three justices would attend a hearing on the Amona outpost on Sunday. Right-wing officials expressed rage at the state's statement submitted to the High Court, according to which settlers fortified the buildings in Amona in order to prevent the Israel...

HARARE (AFP) - Two toddlers died when their homes were razed in a demolition drive targeting illegal buildings that has left hundreds of thousands homeless as the world's eight most industrialised nations warned Zimbabwe to stop the crackdown. Zimbabwe's state-run Herald daily Thursday quoted police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena as asking police and others taking part in Operation Murambatsvina, meaning "Get rid of trash", to be careful when demolishing shops and houses. One-and-half-year-old Terence Munyaka died Sunday from head injuries sustained when the walls of his house came crashing down in the town of Chitungwiza, outside Harare. Two-year-old Charmaine Nyika died...

The European Commission announced Wednesday aid of 1.35 million euros to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip whose houses have been demolished, and accused Israel of "reckless disregard" for civilian lives. The houses of more than 10,000 people were destroyed or damaged during Israeli army incursions into the Gaza town of Rafah in May and June, according to the European Union executive. The money will help repair homes, water infrastructure and two schools in Rafah, as well as to assist Palestinians buy replacement household goods, it said in a statement. "These funds do not absolve the occupying power of its responsibilities...

Men aged 15-50 are being rounded up The Israeli army has stormed into the West Bank city of Nablus, declaring it a closed military zone and rounding up Palestinian men. Two Palestinians were killed as soldiers, backed by more than 100 tanks, poured into the city in retaliation for Wednesday's bomb attack at a Jerusalem university. The BBC's Jeremy Cooke, who is in Nablus, saw men between the ages of 15 and 50 being blindfolded and bound by Israeli troops before being taken away in a waiting bus. He says the whole city is under Israeli control and the Casbah,...