10.05.2012|Other|Principal Correspondence
HaMoked's letter to the Attorney General requesting not to renew punitive house demolitions
HaMoked requests the Attorney General not to renew the policy of punitive demolition of the homes of assailants' families. HaMoked asserts that this is a cruel, inhuman and immoral practice; it is an act of deliberate harm to innocent people, and contradicts international humanitarian law, which prohibits collective punishment and needless destruction of property. The destruction of a home constitutes a critical violation of the family members' rights to housing, family life and dignified living; as such, it conflicts with Israel's Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. HaMoked also recalls that a military committee has recommended suspending the use of house demolitions as a deterrent.