As terrifying and humiliating as it is to suffer this experience once in a lifetime, Salim and his growing family have seen their house bulldozed on two different occasions. Home demolition is not a cruelty of the far past, but is alive and well today in Israel, a country that American and Western officials describe as the only democracy in the Middle East. Our thanks to Anja Zueckmantel for transcribing the interview.
Any resistance is met with beating, kicking, shooting, and arrest.
A 16 year-old boy who came to help lost his left kidney to a rubber bullet, which also damaged part of his stomach. The law requires a 72-hour notification before demolishing an Israeli home. But, as a military operation in the West Bank, security considerations dictate the reaction, and any attempt to resist will be considered a threat to the safety of the soldiers. Repeated court appeals for an advance notification were rejected because they give the Palestinians a chance to defend themselves, which endangers the soldiers security. Sometimes, there is no notice at all.