Julie Bishop - help save Susiya

image of Julie Bishop - help save Susiya

The strong Palestinian community of Susiya are in the fight of their lives to save their homes from demolition. Watch it here.

Susiya is a village in the Occupied Palestinian territories which has faced severe restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities for years. These restrictions have stopped Susiya’s people from building permanent structures to live in or work out of. They've had barely any access to essential services, such as water, electricity, health and education.

Life’s been tough.

And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the people of Susiya could soon see their village demolished ...

The strong Palestinian community of Susiya are in the fight of their lives to save their homes from demolition. Watch it here.

Susiya is a village in the Occupied Palestinian territories which has faced severe restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities for years. These restrictions have stopped Susiya’s people from building permanent structures to live in or work out of. They've had barely any access to essential services, such as water, electricity, health and education.

Life’s been tough.

And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the people of Susiya could soon see their village demolished by the same Israeli authorities. Everything could go: homes, livelihoods, land.

Susiya has received international aid to establish basic infrastructure, including electricity and water. Through ActionAid, the Australian Government has supported the community to construct a kindergarten and a health clinic in Susiya to ensure the construction of a school and health clinic in Susiya to ensure that the community has access to the most basic of services. This investment is being compromised by the impending Israeli demolition.

The people of Susiya are strong. They’re standing up and demanding their rights to live in their own village. They’ve called upon the international community for help, and the response has been overwhelming. Over the past weeks, there have been marches by hundreds of supporters from Palestine and Israel, volunteers have flown in from different countries to stay in the village and offer protective presence, and diplomats (including Australians) have visited the community to show their support.

Susiya’s situation is intense right now, but is far from unique. Demolitions happen around the West Bank regularly. On Wednesday this week, Israeli authorities demolished seven Palestinian-owned homes and structures in the Jordan Valley, leaving families, including three children, homeless. More than 500 structures have already been destroyed since the beginning of 2015.

Now is our chance to stand in solidarity with the women, men and children of Susiya.

On August 11, members of the community met with Israeli authorities to hear their proposal of an alternative plan. The villagers again, presented their long-standing demands that their homes should not be demolished and that their village plan should be approved, enabling them to stay on their land.

We know there is strength in numbers. So the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) have partnered with Action Aid Australia to build this campaign. We are asking you to email Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, and ask her to tell the Israeli authorities that Australians will not stand for the demolition of Susiya.

As Jihad Nawaj’a, the Susiya village council head, told ActionAid, “This is not about politics. This is about being human. This is about our basic human rights.”

Want to know more?
Read story "Israel don't level my village" from one of the residents of Susiya
Watch 7.30 report featuring Susiya
Read more about Susiya
Read more about the history of Susiya

The strong Palestinian community of Susiya are in the fight of their lives to save their homes from demolition. Watch it here.

Susiya is a village in the Occupied Palestinian territories which has faced severe restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities for years. These restrictions have stopped Susiya’s people from building permanent structures to live in or work out of. They've had barely any access to essential services, such as water, electricity, health and education.

Life’s been tough.

And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the people of Susiya could soon see their village demolished by the same Israeli authorities. Everything could go: homes, livelihoods, land.

For a number of years, ActionAid has been supporting the community. We supported the community to construct a kindergarten and a health clinic in Susiya to ensure that the community has access to the most basic of services. We have also supported women to manage livelihood activities and to advocate for improved health and education.

The people of Susiya are strong. They’re standing up and demanding their rights to live in their own village. They’ve called upon the international community for help, and the response has been overwhelming. Over the past weeks, there have been marches by hundreds of supporters from Palestine and Israel, volunteers have flown in from different countries to stay in the village and offer protective presence, and diplomats (including Australians) have visited the community to show their support.

Susiya’s situation is intense right now, but is far from unique. Demolitions happen around the West Bank regularly. On Wednesday this week, Israeli authorities demolished seven Palestinian-owned homes and structures in the Jordan Valley, leaving families, including three children, homeless. More than 500 structures have already been destroyed since the beginning of 2015.

Now is our chance to stand in solidarity with the women, men and children of Susiya.

On August 11, members of the community have been told to meet with Israeli authorities to hear their proposal of an alternative plan. The villagers will, again, present their long-standing demands that their homes should not be demolished and that their village plan should be approved, enabling them to stay on their land.

We know there is strength in numbers. So the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) have partnered with Action Aid Australia to build this campaign. We are asking you to email Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, and ask her to tell the Israeli authorities that Australians will not stand for the demolition of Susiya.

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Email our Foreign Minister

Please send an email to the Foreign Minister (and cc'ed to some other interested members of the Government), asking them to join the international calls on Israel to not demolish the Palestinian West Bank village of Susiya.

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Dear Minister,

We ask you to join international calls on Israel to not allow the demolition of the village of Susiya in the West Bank.

The people of Susiya have experienced repeated expulsions from their homes at the hands of Israeli authorities and settlers. The old village swelled greatly in numbers in 1948 when Palestinians had to flee their villages during the establishment of  Israel.  Following the building of a settlement nearby in the 1980’s, they were forcibly removed from their ancestral village, where Israel has set up an archaeological site. Since that time mothers and fathers in Susiya have never been able to build permanent homes for their children. This community, including the most vulnerable women and children, are compelled to live in tents because Israel refuses to issue permits to them to build permanent houses, clinics, animal shelters or other livelihood structures on what is undisputedly their privately-owned land.

Susiya has received international aid to establish basic infrastructure that Israel has denied them, including electricity and water.  The Australian Government, ActionAid, has supported the establishment of a health clinic and kindergarten, and this investment is being compromised by the impending Israeli demolition.

The settlements are severely affecting Palestinians’ security within the West Bank.  Besides the risk of demolitions of homes and in this case an entire village, acts of settler violence have increased exponentially in recent years.  The UN has reported over 120 incidents of settler violence this year, include attacks on people and the destruction of many thousands of olive trees.  Most horrifically, this month an arson attack on a home killed a toddler and left her parents in hospital with severe burns. And in over 90% of cases, attacks by settlers on Palestinians are not prosecuted.

Israel has indicated that it intends to demolish the whole community of Susiya. The community has fought a case for many years, with legal counsel from Rabbis for Human Rights, in the Israeli High Court to get approval for its outline plan, which would allow them to apply for building permits. A hearing on the village’s appeal against the rejection of its plan was scheduled for August 3. This hearing did not take place and the case is not moving ahead. Instead, members of the community have been told to meet with Israeli authorities to discuss an alternative plan. The villagers are determined to push for their demands that their homes should not be demolished and that their village plan should be approved.

We ask you to join your international counterparts, including the USA to call on Israel to halt the demolition of Susiya.

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