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Violence Flares in Jerusalem as Israeli Bulldozers Destroy Dozen 'Illegal' Homes - UN Security Council - Global Policy Forum Violence Flares in Jerusalem as Israeli Bulldozers Destroy Dozen 'Illegal' Homes
By Greg Myre
Independent
July 10, 2001Israel bulldozed a dozen Palestinian homes built without permits yesterday, provoking tears and stone-throwing at a refugee camp on the northern fringe of Jerusalem.
In the Gaza Strip, the explosives-laden lorry of a Palestinian suicide bomber disintegrated in a cloud of black smoke and flying wreckage shortly before reaching its target, a nearby Israeli military outpost. The bomber was killed, but no one else was hurt.
The events stoked anger on both sides and further undermined a ceasefire that was declared nearly a month ago, but has yet to quell the violence. The Palestinians said the home demolitions were part of Israel's effort to restrict their numbers in and around Jerusalem, which both sides claim for their capital. Israel said the homes, still under construction, were built illegally.
The Israelis, meanwhile, said they had given Palestinian police information on the suicide bomber before the attack. "The Palestinian police didn't do anything about it when they should have prevented it," said Israel's Cabinet Secretary, Gideon Saar. The militant Islamic group Hamas claimed responsibility for the bombing and released a videotape of the explosion, a day after warning that a new wave of bombers would be attacking Israeli targets.
The Hamas spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, said the bombing "shows there are many martyrs on call who are waiting to ... sacrifice themselves for Palestine".
In northern Jerusalem, the bulldozers and earthmovers, backed by hundreds of Israeli policemen, some on horseback, flattened 12 Palestinian homes in the Shuafat refugee camp. A further 13 properties in the area were due to be demolished by the authorities.
Some women screamed and others threw stones at Israeli policemen who pushed back an angry crowd. One Palestinian woman, dressed in black, sat cross-legged on the dusty ground near her home in a desperate attempt to block the path of a bulldozer. She began shouting, kicking and weeping until relatives moved her out of harm's way.
The homes were in various stages of construction, and no one was yet living in them. Jerusalem's Mayor, Ehud Olmert, said the houses were torn down because the builders had no permits. The houses were being built "lawlessly on public land, on pathways, on green areas, on areas that do not belong to them", the Mayor told Israel radio. "It is a total violation of the law."
Palestinians have said it is almost impossible to obtain permits, and that Jerusalem's zoning regulations are aimed at limiting Palestinian population growth in the city.
Yesterday an Israeli army officer, Captain Shai Shalom Cohen, 22, died of head injuries inflicted when a roadside bomb exploded on Sunday near his Jeep in the West Bank, near the town of Hebron.
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