Defense Minister Moshe Dayan disclosed in the Knesset today that Israeli authorities demolished 516 buildings owned by Arabs in the occupied territories and East Jerusalem between June, 1967 and Dec. 1, 1969. Gen. Dayan said the demolitions were carried out for security reasons and were authorized by him as Defense Minister on the recommendations of General Headquarters.
Gen. Dayan said the demolitions had a deterrent effect on the population regarding aiding terrorists and saboteurs. He made the disclosure in reply to a question by Yosef Tamir, a Knesset member representing the Free Center faction, an opposition party. In reply to another question, he said that to the best of his knowledge there was no truth to reports that the heads of the Arab states have created a special fund to compensate householders for the destruction of their property by Israel.
Gen. Dayan said houses were confiscated and demolished, or in a few cases in Jerusalem shut down, under 1945 British Mandatory emergency regulations. The regulations were promulgated by the British in Palestine as a counter-terrorist measure and were retained by Israel after 1948. Gen. Dayan submitted a numerical break-down of the buildings demolished as follows: In 1967, 51 in the West Bank, 59 in the Gaza Strip and five in Jerusalem; in 1968, 59, 69 and five; in 1969, 155, 99 and 14.
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