Supreme Court okays Israeli destruction of homes

By: Ahmad Hammadi

HELD JERUSALEM: Israel's top general on Sunday threatened the demolition of hundreds of Palestinian refugee homes after the Supreme Court cleared the way for flattening in a flashpoint Israeli-held corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border.

“Hundreds of houses have been marked for destruction,” Israeli army chief Moshe Yaalon was quoted by a senior official as telling the cabinet at its weekly meeting without giving any timeframe for their demolition.

The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Palestinians against the army's plan to destroy hundreds more homes in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. Judges ruled that the army could continue its demolitions, which it said have been carried out for justifiable “operational reasons”.

Rafah residents were seeking a freeze to the demolition campaign, which according to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has already left more than 1,000 Rafah residents homeless since late last week.

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Pals mark Israel establishment anniversary as “catastrophe”

RAMALLAH, West Bank: Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on Saturday urged his people to “terrorize your enemy” as the nation marked the 56-year anniversary of Israel's establishment as the “catastrophe”.

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