Israeli court gives green light to destruction of Rafah homes

Left-wing Israelis demonstrate Saturday in support of a unilateral Israeli evacuation of the Gaza Strip in Tel Aviv. Tens of thousands took part in the demonstration on Rabin Square following a deadly week in the Gaza Strip, which left 13 Israeli soldiers dead. PHOTO: AFP

Judges ruled that the army could continue its demolitions, which it said have been carried out for justifiable "operational reasons" and were not a form of collective punishment.

Rafah residents were seeking a freeze to the demolition campaign, which according to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), has already left more than 1,000 Rafah residents homeless since late last week.

Tap Here to Add The Daily Star As A Trusted Source

Since the outbreak of the Intifada in September 2000, UNRWA statistics show more than 11,000 people have made homeless by Israeli house demolitions in Rafah.

The demolition policy was stepped up after militants killed five Israeli soldiers in a rocket attack near the border Wednesday.

The soldiers were killed when a rocket hit their armoured personnel carrier in the buffer zone between Gaza and Egypt.

Meanwhile, the United States opposes the destruction of Palestinian homes by Israel, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Shuneh yesterday.

"We oppose the destruction of homes, we don't think that is productive," Powell told a press conference with his Jordanian counterpart Marwan Moasher in this resort on the Jordanian shores shore of the Dead Sea.

His comments came as the Israeli supreme court rejected an appeal by Palestinians against the Israeli army's plan to destroy hundreds more homes in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rajah.