In the evening hours of Tuesday 7 February 2012, a delegation from the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights met the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, Ms.
Raquel Rolnik.
  Representatives from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, the Women’s Affairs Technical Committee, the Women’s Center for Legal Consultation, and UNRWA attended the meeting.
 Samir Zaqout, coordinator of the field work unit, field workers Yamen Al Madhoun and Hussein Hammad, and Devin Kenney from the legal assistance program represented Al Mezan at the meeting.
  Al Mezan’s delegation welcomed the UN Special Rapporteur and expressed its happiness that she had come to learn more about the catastrophic situation with respect to the right to housing.
 Al Mezan’s delegation briefed Mrs.
Rolnik on the historic background of Israeli violations of Palestinians’ right to housing.
 The delegation pointed out Israel’s forcible campaign to evict the Palestinian people of Jerusalem and similar Israeli violations in the West Bank.
  The delegation then discussed the situation surrounding the right to adequate housing in the Gaza Strip.
 Al Mezan told the Special Rapporteur about the direct Israeli violations of this right as Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) systematically raze, bomb, and attack residential houses while they are still inhabited.
 The delegation also discussed IOF practices that contribute to making turn homes uninhabitable.
 The IOF destroys electricity and water networks, which has made residents’ living situation hell, particularly given the siege and Israel’s prevention of the entry of humanitarian assistance.
  Al Mezan’s delegation pointed out its previous urgent appeal dated 31 October 2011 to the Special Rapporteur.
 The appeal concerned the Israeli refusal to allow entry of construction materials and its effect in degrading enjoyment of the right to adequate housing in Gaza.
 The siege and specifically the Israeli refusal to allow entry of construction materials continue to be imposed on Gaza.
 Many houses have been destroyed and are in need of rebuilding.
 The rate of natural population increase in the Gaza Strip is the sixth-highest in the region.
 This means that people in Gaza are especially in need of construction, requiring the building of tens of thousands of houses over the last five years in order to meet humanitarian requirements.
  Al Mezan’s delegation noted that adequate housing requires provision of services to homes.
 In this context, Al Mezan’s delegation described the electricity cuts and their impact on the right to adequate housing, the availability of water, and the ability of residents to reach and leave their homes.
 In its talk, Al Mezan’s delegation focused particularly on the “access-restricted areas” and the IOF’s systematic procedures to destroy and demolish houses there, evident since 2000, eight years before such lands were officially declared a  “security buffer zone.
”   As part of its effort to demonstrate the failure of the Israeli justice system to ensure redress for victims, the delegation reported that Al Mezan had submitted 550 complaints over the years to Israel’s judicial consultant to the IOF.
 These complaints were sent within 60 days of the attacks in question and often dealt with the destruction and demolition of residential houses without reason.
 Al Mezan did not receive any reply save for acknowledgment of the complaints’ receipt.
 The delegation also noted that Al Mezan had filed ten cases relating to house demolitions and killing of civilians before the Israeli courts.
 However, no progress has been achieved to date.
  At the end of its presentation, Al Mezan’s delegation reiterated its welcome to the UN Special Rapporteur and expressed its hope that her report would describe the suffering of the population of the Gaza Strip.
 Al Mezan’s delegation also expressed its hope that her report would contribute to the lifting of the Israeli siege and to ending Israel’s human rights violations.
 Al Mezan added that Palestinians are not expecting much, as they are familiar with the failure of the international community to uphold its obligations, and also understand how human rights are made political.
 The delegation mentioned in this connection the United Nations votes of European states with respect to the Goldstone Report.
  Al Mezan’s delegation delivered some documentation and statistics on the number of houses damaged since 2000 to the Special Rapporteur, including houses damaged in Operation Cast Lead and houses damaged in the “security buffer zone” since 2000.
 It also submitted to her a report on forcible displacement of people in the Gaza Strip and a factsheet including the stories of such victims.
  Other attendees discussed additional issues related to the right to adequate housing, particularly the impact of the housing situation on women in the Gaza Strip.
 They also described the housing situation in marginalized areas and its effects on women.
 At the end of the meeting, participants and attendees restated their welcome to the UN Special Rapporteur and wished her success in her mission.
  End