Governments demand Israel immediately halt demolition of Palestinian homes

They need to stop sending Israel money. They must have a fortune saved up by now if they can invest in a venture that is supposed to make Dubai look tame by comparison.

It is that old idea that economic development will bring peace. It may do that but usually an autocratic few assume that they are the ones who have been chosen to govern by providence of their wealth. In this conflict it is Israel that wants to keep the upper hand in controlling the region. They are seemingly ruling with a fist of Iron over the Palestinian people in some weird way fulfilling Evangelical Christian interpretations of the Bible.

Stop the flow of money and unfettered political support for the state and it should bend to the pressure of international alliance or experience an internal melt down. There are many average people in Israel who have no real political power in the same way that the ruling coalitions have power, but they want to coexist with Palestinians in peace and work to see that dream come true in the face of very heavy pressure from the radicalized right wing factions of the Israeli political spectrum.

Let us hope that future elections will bring a more center or left of center presidents to Israel that will be more willing to make concessions, show mercy, compassion, and a return to humanity in their treatment of the Palestinians.

This is crazy, and the world continues, what will it take for Governments to intervene, many countries support Israel but why? This is supporting a Terrorist Activities as well as Human Rights Violations, They should face the same sanctions as Zimbabwe, this seems like similar activities just they are persecuting a different peoples and not their own.

B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, also has information about this:

http://www.btselem.org/English/

nothing says "love thy neighbor" like demolishing his house and occupying his land

Isreal reminds me of a twisted, spoiled, snot-nosed little kid punching bigger kids all day long while a very large, ignorant, muscle-headed United States stands behind him and says, "whuuut".

I am so tired of Isreal. Soooo tired.....

If you give a shit, boycott all Israeli products they can be identified by their barcode. it starts with the unique three digits 729.

Boycott 729 and remember the USS Liberty!

Hopefully the new Jerusalem Mayor will help.

I have Palestinian friends and first hand accounts of what its like over there... The treatment of the Palestinians is appalling and im glad someone is pointing it out... That being said the US needs to grow a pair and call it how it is... Im not asking for anything crazy or extreme- just make sure that one of our biggest allies does not also represent all the things we are against...

Perhaps if they get enough pressure from enough countries, they will get back to the negotiatins.
I would imagine if you asked the avergae citizen on the sreet about Palestine, they would probably say they just want peace between the peoples.

For years the Israelis have not taken notice of any governments requests to stop their murdering of the Palestinians so any pleas to stop them destroying their homes will fall on deaf ears

Here's more:
GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland accused Israel on Thursday of wantonly destroying Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem and near Ramallah in violation of the Geneva Conventions' rules on military occupation.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry demanded that Israel immediately halt the demolitions, which Israel has said are aimed at removing illegally constructed shacks.

An Israeli Embassy spokeswoman in the Swiss capital of Bern said the decision to remove the structures was "not an arbitrary decision," but was sanctioned by law.

"This demolition of houses was done under a court order," embassy spokes-woman Shlomit Sufa said Thursday.

Switzerland — as the guardian of the Geneva Conventions — can call meetings of the treaty's signatories if it finds problems with its implementation, but does not have any special powers to enforce the document.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lars Knuchel said the demolitions violated the 1949 Geneva Conventions, regarded as the cornerstone of international law on the obligations of warring and occupying powers. The Fourth Convention states that occupying powers must respect the property of civilian populations under their control.

Switzerland said it lodged a formal protest with the Israeli Foreign Ministry over recent demolitions, which now bring the tally to more than 600 destroyed homes in east Jerusalem and 1,600 altogether in the West Bank since 2000.

The Swiss statement, using unusually harsh language, said the neutral country "regards the recent incidents as violations of international humanitarian law" and notes "no military need to justify the destruction of these houses."

The Swiss statement called east Jerusalem an "integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory" — a phrase that could anger hardline Jewish groups that believe Israel should maintain control over the entire city. Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, but Palestinians claim the territory as the capital of their hoped-for state.

Sufa said the Israeli government "regrets" that phrasing in the Swiss statement, noting the status of east Jerusalem and other territories is still subject to a final peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian authorities.

The Jerusalem-based Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions said that so far this year dozens of Palestinian homes have been pulled down in east Jerusalem, and activists say the city has issued orders against 90 more homes

I hate to be one sided but tearing down houses? Enough...maybe the new Jerusalem Mayor will help change things.