According to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions,182,000 Palestinian homes have been demolished in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem, since 1967 (see http://www.icahd.org). Nearly half of those demolitions have taken place since the beginning of the Second Intifada in 2000. Under international law (Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention), the Israeli army’s practice of demolishing Palestinian homes is illegal. The Israeli army and government cite security and the lack of building permits as their justification for demolishing homes. On the security front, the Israeli army claims that it has demolished Palestinian houses (also factories and shops) either to prevent their use by Palestinians in attacks against Israelis, or as a punitive measure against families from which a member is suspected of planning or carrying out attacks against Israelis. Most of the Palestinian homes destroyed in East Jerusalem, certain parts of the West Bank and in Palestinian cities and towns within Israel are destroyed because they lack a building permit from the Israeli authorities. Building permits are extremely difficult and at times impossible for Palestinians to obtain. The Israeli army has also demolished structures constructed by Jewish Israeli settlers who did not obtain building permits, though these instances are few and far between. For information on Israel’s building permit and demolition practices toward Palestinians, as well as its favored treatment of Jewish Israelis, see “Separate and Unequal.” 19 December 2010. Human Rights Watch. 6 July 2011. http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/12/19/separate-and-unequal. For an Israeli government rationale for the demolition of Palestinian structures, see “The Demolition of Palestinian Structures Used for Terrorism - Legal Background.” 13 July 2005. Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 16 July 2011. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Terror+Groups/Demolition+of+Palestinian+Structures+Used+for+Terrorism+-+Legal+Background+-+May+2004.htm.  http://www.justvision.org/glossary/house-demolitions