- A Palestinian family home that was rebuilt and dedicated
to the memory of Rachel Corrie has been hit with a new demolition order.
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- Rachel Corrie was the heroic Jewish volunteer who was
crushed to death in Rafah, Gaza, in March 2003 as she tried to prevent
a bulldozer from demolishing a Palestinian home.
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- Her death brought shame on Israel and international condemnation
followed. Her violent end also put a spotlight on the large number of home
demolitions carried out by Israeli soldiers.
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- Now a huge wave of outrage is expected to erupt after
a demolition notice was slapped on the property of Bait Arabiya, dedicated
to American-born Rachel's memory.
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- The property is home to Arabiya and Salim Shawamrah and
their seven children who have watched Israelis demolish their house four
times before.
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- Last Monday, Israel's military administration in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories issued a summons to destroy their home
- built on privately-owned land - for a fifth time.
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- Home surrounded
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- Israeli military vehicles have surrounded the property
and are not allowing protesters to approach, according to information given
to Aljazeera.net on Thursday.
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- But many are expected to turn up at 04:00am local time
(01:00 GMT) to demonstrate against the demolition - as happened the last
time the house was destroyed.
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- "There are probably only a few hours left, but it
could be destroyed earlier as the Civil Administration tends to carry out
these things very early in the morning."
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- The official reason for demolition is there was no building
permit.
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- But when contacted by Aljazeera.net, the Israel Defence
Force Civil Administration and Central Command refused to comment on why
four applications for building permits were all turned down.
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- Israeli volunteers for rebuilding
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- Rachel Corrie's parents were
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- received by President Arafat
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- Rachel Corrie's parents have arrived from the US for
a visit, and have alr eady visited Bait Arabiya, rebuilt by volunteers
from the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD).
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- Craig and Cindy Corrie met Arabiya and Salim Shawamrah
to give their sympathy and support.
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- The house has been built for the fifth time on the same
scrap of land in Anata despite the fact that is was last destroyed as recently
as August.
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- ICAHD Coordinator Jeff Halper said that after volunteers
rebuilt the home, they dedicated it to the "memory of Rachel Corrie
and Nuha Swaidan".
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- Nuha Swaidan was a pregnant Palestinian woman who was
also killed by a bulldozer during a house demolition in Gaza at the same
time as Rachel.
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- Resistance symbol
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- The occupants of this home were
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- given a five minute warning
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- Since it was first demolished by the Israeli authorities
five years ago, Bait Arabiya has become a symbol or resistance not only
to occupation but to Israeli's sustained campaign to displace Palestinians
from their country altogether, said Halper.
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- Shawamrah applied for a building permit four times to
build a home on land he had bought outright but each time he was refused
for a different reason.
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- The Civil Administration ruled that Shawamrah had not
filled in the right forms. Then he was told the area was listed as an "agricultural
zone". Next the land was "too steep" and finally his plot
was deemed "too near" an Israeli highway.
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- Speaking to Aljazeera.net, the home owner said he would
not submit to occupation, violence, threats, intimidation or impoverishment.
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- "My family has withstood successive demolitions
and severe trauma, but by putting home demolitions on the international
agenda we are in fact celebrating the courage and solidarity of many thousands
of ordinary Palestinians," said Shawamrah.
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- The Israeli demolition programme has caused such an international
outrage that Shawamrah has been invited to tour America and highlight the
plight of Palestinians.
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- There were mixed emotions as he headed for the airport
and looked back on Bait Arabiya ... knowing it will probably be razed to
the ground.
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- Details of his speaking tour can be found at: www.icahd.org
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- "Many rabbis and professionals have told me recently
that they fear for their jobs should they even begin to articulate their
doubts about Israeli policy - much less give explicit support to calls
for an end to the occupation."
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- -- Rabbi Michael Lerner Published on Sunday, April 28,
2002 in the Los Angeles Times
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- http://english.aljazeera.net/Articles/News/ArabWorld/
Palestinian+home+destroyed+five+times.htm
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