B’Tselem has just released a new report entitled "Through No Fault of Their Own" revealing that the number of houses demolished as a punitive measure in the Occupied Territories is twice as large as Israeli officials claim. Ostensibly, the demolitions are aimed at Palestinians who carried out, or were suspected of carrying out, attacks against Israelis. In practice, the primary victims are family members who are not suspected of any wrongdoing.

Since the beginning of the al-Aqsa intifada, the IDF has demolished 628 housing units, which were home to 3,983 persons, for the purpose of punishment. There were 333 Palestinians who committed, or were suspected of committing, the attacks that led to the demolition of these houses. Thus, for every Palestinian assailant, twelve innocent Palestinians lost their home. Furthermore, 295 of the demolished houses (about 50% of the total), home to 1,286 Palestinians, were never inhabited by the Palestinian assailants, but rather were near the houses in which the assailants and alleged assailants lived. In statements filed with the High Court of Justice, the state contended that as a rule, prior notice of demolition is provided to occupants of the house scheduled for demolition. However, B’Tselem’s figures indicate that prior warning was given in less than three percent of the cases. Israel’s policy of punitive house demolitions flagrantly breaches international humanitarian law, and therefore constitutes a war crime. Since the beginning of the intifada, the High Court, with its tortuous legal reasoning, has refused to provide judicial review, and has given rubber-stamp approval of Israel’s illegal policy.

B’Tselem demands that the government of Israel cease punitive house demolitions and compensate families whose homes were demolished.