The Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer is the number one tool used to demolish homes and agricultural farms in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Manufactured by Caterpillar, Inc, the D9 stands thirteen feet, one inch tall and is more than twenty-six feet long, including ripper and front blade. With armored plates, it weighs roughly sixty-four tons. On D9s modified for use by the Israeli Defense Forces bulletproof glass surrounds the operator and heavy armor protects the external hydraulics.

Based out of Peoria, Illinois, Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of earthmoving equipment, selling more than $22.7 billion worth of product in 2003. The company makes construction, mining, and logging machinery; diesel and natural gas engines; industrial gas turbines; and electrical power-generation systems.

CEO and Vice Chairman, James W. Owens (not surprisingly a donor to the republican party and both Bush election campaigns) has neglected to take responsibility for how his company's equipment is used. In response to complaints by organization Jewish Voices for Peace, Owens wrote that Caterpillar has “neither the legal right nor the ability to monitor and police individual use of that equipment." The company's statement on the Middle East similarly shirks responsibility, claiming "We believe any comments on political conflict in the region are best left to our governmental leaders who have the ability to impact action and advance the peace process."

For more information on Caterpillar and it's involment in the demolishing of Palestinian homes visit:

CatDestroysHomes.org