Israel's plan to demolish some 20 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem is illegal and reflects its systematic bid to drive Palestinians out of the holy city, a UN human rights expert charged Tuesday. Richard Falk, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967, said its separate intent to forcibly transfer four Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem to the West Bank could constitute a war crime. In addition to the planned demolitions in the Silwan area of East Jerusalem, Israel is considering revoking the residency permits of four Palestinians, all current or former members of the Palestinian Legislative Council and long-time residents of the city, he said. “Forcibly transferring these individuals would constitute serious violations of Israel's legal obligations. At the same time, the current threats should be viewed as part of a larger, extremely worrying pattern of Israeli efforts to drive Palestinians out of East Jerusalem -- all of which are illegal under international law,” Falk, who is Jewish, said. “These actions, if carried out, would violate international law, with certain actions potentially amounting to war crimes under international humanitarian law,” Falk said in a statement. He named them as Muhammad Abu-Teir, Ahmad Attoun, Muhammad Totah and Khaled Abu Arafeh. Araheh is a former Hamas cabinet minister and the other three were lawmakers elected in 2006. “Israel, as an occupying power, is prohibited from transferring civilian persons from East Jerusalem and is prohibited from forcing Palestinians to swear allegiance or otherwise affirm their loyalty to the State of Israel,” he said. Israel has sought to drive Palestinians out of East Jerusalem, Falk said.
