Thank you for Storer Rowley’s excellent article about the demolition of Palestinian houses by the Israelis (Main news, May 8).
Rowley’s fair and honest look at this aspect of life under military occupation was a much-needed examination of one of many Israeli policies designed to squeeze Palestinians out of their land and make room for ever-growing Jewish-only settlements.
What made Rowley’s article particularly notable was that it conveyed in a very personal way the experience of one Palestinian family whose house has been demolished twice–even though they have papers proving their ownership of their house and land since Ottoman times–while also including a multiplicity of Israeli views.
Mr. Rowley also discussed the often-ignored fact that Israel’s occupation, and its settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, are totally illegal under international law.
If I may correct one thing in the story: Mr. Rowley quotes the Israeli group Peace Now as putting the number of Jewish settlers in the occupied territories at 167,000. This number may be accurate for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but it excludes East Jerusalem, which, under the same international law, is considered occupied territory and an integral part of the West Bank.
In addition to the 167,000 settlers in other parts of the West Bank, there are some 170,000 Jewish settlers in and around East Jerusalem whose homes are built on confiscated Palestinian land. This means that the number of illegal settlers is closer to 340,000.
All in all, this was an excellent piece of reporting that really challenges many of the prevailing myths about the relationship between the Palestinians and the Israelis who occupy their land.
