Yesterday (Thursday), the Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing for the UN High Commission on Human Rights, Miloon Kothari, urged the international community "to act decisively to protect Palestinians by taking urgent steps to remove the impunity that Israel enjoys." Kothari’s comments were part of a public statement issued by the Special Rapporteur in which he condemned Israel for an "escalation of violations against the Palestinian people" over the past three years.
The UN representative’s statement focused on Israel’s mid-October counterterrorism operations in Rafiach, in southern Gaza, during which arms- and terrorist-smuggling tunnels from Egypt were uncovered and their exit points - inside Arab-owned homes and buildings - were demolished. According to the United Nations report, 100 residences were destroyed by the IDF between October 10 and 12, leaving 1,000 persons homeless.
Approximately 36 such tunnels - used for smuggling dozens of RPG launchers, hundreds of kilograms of explosive material, hundreds of rifles, tens of thousands of bullets, thousands of magazines, stolen property and other contraband - have been destroyed by IDF forces so far in 2003. IDF sources indicate that the PLO is attempting to smuggle anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles through the tunnels, as well.
As reported at the time of the intensive Rafiach operations, each family whose home serves as an end-point for a tunnel receives $1,000 a month from Arab criminal gangs, and homes that are destroyed are rebuilt elsewhere by the Palestinian Authority, with generous compensation. Some residents had even spread rumors, designed to reach Israeli ears, of tunnels in their homes, in order to "start all over" with PA reparations and a new house. Israeli military sources were quoted as saying that Iranian elements are actively involved in the arms-smuggling from Egypt.
The UN representative’s statement focused on Israel’s mid-October counterterrorism operations in Rafiach, in southern Gaza, during which arms- and terrorist-smuggling tunnels from Egypt were uncovered and their exit points - inside Arab-owned homes and buildings - were demolished. According to the United Nations report, 100 residences were destroyed by the IDF between October 10 and 12, leaving 1,000 persons homeless.
Approximately 36 such tunnels - used for smuggling dozens of RPG launchers, hundreds of kilograms of explosive material, hundreds of rifles, tens of thousands of bullets, thousands of magazines, stolen property and other contraband - have been destroyed by IDF forces so far in 2003. IDF sources indicate that the PLO is attempting to smuggle anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles through the tunnels, as well.
As reported at the time of the intensive Rafiach operations, each family whose home serves as an end-point for a tunnel receives $1,000 a month from Arab criminal gangs, and homes that are destroyed are rebuilt elsewhere by the Palestinian Authority, with generous compensation. Some residents had even spread rumors, designed to reach Israeli ears, of tunnels in their homes, in order to "start all over" with PA reparations and a new house. Israeli military sources were quoted as saying that Iranian elements are actively involved in the arms-smuggling from Egypt.