1. Introduction

Since the beginning of the al-Aqsa Intifada on 29 September 2000, Israeli forces have killed nearly 1700 Palestinians, shelled civilian and Palestinian Authority compounds from land, air and sea, imposed military closure on cities, towns and refugee camps, and demolished dozens of civilian homes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.  One of the areas most severely affected by house demolitions has been the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip.

On 10 January 2002, Israeli tanks entered block C of the Rafah camp and demolished 73 homes, leaving 120 Palestinian families homeless. (Statistics taken from al-Quds newspaper, on 12/1/2002)  Many of the families involved were involuntarily expelled from their homes for the third time since 1948.  During the operation, the Israeli army also destroyed local infrastructure including water networks, greenhouses and agricultural equipment.