Madam President, the destruction of their cultural heritage is an open wound which bleeds constantly for the Palestinians. Between 1948 and 1952, the Israeli Government destroyed 420 Palestinian villages, as documented by Israeli historians. Some of the Arab districts of Jaffa were destroyed. In 1967, after the occupation of East Jerusalem, the Moroccan quarter of the Old City was destroyed to make room for a large square in front of the Wailing Wall. Throughout these years of military occupation, permission was never granted for restoration of the historic parts of the various cities. After the Oslo agreement and the creation of the Palestinian Authority, a very enthusiastic start was made on restoring the Old Cities of Nablus, Bethlehem and Hebron. In the past two years, with the reoccupation of the autonomous territories, the destruction caused by the Israeli tanks and bombings has been huge. Sixty-six palaces built between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries have been destroyed, including the caravanserai, the Turkish bath and the old soap factories. Today, it is the turn of the Old City of Hebron, where the houses are next to the Tomb of the Patriarchs: Mameluk and Ottoman houses and houses from the British Mandate. This is more than just a question of preserving old buildings however: the Old Cities are inhabited by women, men and children, like those in the refugee camps in Jenin and Rafah who have no roof over their heads. Moreover, their numbers have risen to over 15 000 in the past two years. The official justification given by the Israeli authorities in the military decree providing for the demolition of the houses in Hebron talks of security and military grounds. Nothing could be further from the truth. Ariel Sharon has clearly said that there is a need to build a link between the settlement of Qiriat Arba and the Tomb of the Patriarchs. This is annexing of territory, for the Qiriat Arba settlements are illegal. It is true that the decision was taken to destroy the Old City, the subject of our resolution today, after an armed attack by a Palestinian group killed nine people, army soldiers and armed guards from the settlements. It is true that, in some cases, the houses destroyed in the West Bank belong to families in which a son, brother or cousin has taken the tragic, horrific decision to kill himself and Israeli civilians, but over 2000 houses have been destroyed in the past two years! This does not give the Israelis a licence to violate international law and the Geneva Convention, which clearly bans collective punishment, the destruction of property and the killing of civilians. Over 2000 houses have been demolished in these past 2 years and 20 000 people have been wounded. I am sad to say that there have been many Israeli deaths too – over 600 now. Israel is an occupying country which is violating the obligation laid down by the fourth Geneva Convention to move its people out of the occupied territories – there are over 400 000 settlers now – and should be ensuring the well-being and providing for the needs of the Palestinian people, whereas 72% of Palestinians are unemployed and confined in the villages. The first illegal fact is the military occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which has now been in effect since 1967. Israel can no longer be allowed to continue to violate all international legislation, inflicting pain and suffering not just on the Palestinians but on its own people too. We must send out a signal to the Palestinians to give them hope of justice and to enable them to prevent the growth of fundamentalism. We must send out a signal to the Israeli Government so that it knows that it cannot always act outside the law, playing on the threat of anti-Semitism and terrorism. Our only concern is for there not to be two sets of checks and balances: human rights and the right to life are equal for all people. Today’s resolution sets a limit: the demolition must stop. We must act alongside those Israelis who, together with the Palestinians, have appealed against the demolition of the homes in Hebron and are going to demonstrate tomorrow in Hebron, for the cultural heritage of Hebron and Palestine is part of the cultural heritage of mankind and must be preserved, not destroyed.

Political group: GUE-NGL