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By Implementing a Comprehensive Double Siege and by Giving Settlers a Free Hand to
Carry out Aggressive Acts Against Palestinian Civilians, the Israeli Occuppying Forces
Threaten Palestinians Right to Live in Peace and Security with Dignity.
The living standards of Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinians Territories continue to
deteriorate due to the Israeli imposed double siege, both internal and external, of the Occupied
Territories. All international borders that lead to areas under the control of the Palestinian National
Authority including the Rafah Border Crossing, the Gaza Airport, and the King Hussein Bridge
leading to Jordan are closed preventing Palestinians and Palestinian products from entering or
leaving the Occupied Territories. With in the West Bank and Gaza Strip almost every main or
side roads have been blocked by Israeli Forces, and either by tanks, trenches, or cement blocks.
This has resulted in the total separation of Palestinian cities and villages from one another. Due to
the siege, Palestinian areas are also deprived of fuel, gas, food, and medical supplies. In addition,
Israeli soldiers have delayed ambulances and medical relief teams at the military checkpoints
denying Palestinians urgently needed medical attention.
These policies are not new, but were pre-existing and were merely intensified following the June 2
suicide bombing in Tel Aviv that killed 20 Israelis and injured many more. Following this incident,
the Israeli security cabinet took several decisions that led to the application of a number of
restrictive administrative and economic measures in the Occupied Territories. These measures aim
at pressuring the Palestinian people and the Palestinian National Authority to end the Intifada and
cease all further acts of resistance. Hence, the cabinet decisions included closing all international
borders that lead into Palestinian controlled areas, intensifying the sieges already imposed over
Palestinian cities and villages, preventing Palestinian fishermen in Gaza from catching fish, and
stopping supplies of gas, oil, fuel and food some supplies from entering PNA areas.
The above-mentioned measures were implemented on the morning of June 2, 2001. Al-Haq field
workers documented the following road closures later that day:
· Israeli forces blocked Salah Ed Din Street, the only main road connecting the northern and
southern portions of the Gaza Strip · The Hebron area, home to approximately one-half million Palestinians, was divided into 5
separate areas completely isolated from each other. Road 32 which connects these areas was
blockaded with rocks, soil, and cement blocks · All the entrances of dirt roads surrounding many villages were closed
· Wadi al-Nar (Valley of Fire) Road, which has connected the north of the West Bank with
the south since 1993, was blocked · Jerusalem was isolated from all other Palestinian areas by check posts placed across roads
at its entrances. All Palestinians except those holding Jerusalem identity cards were prevented
from entering the city
In order to strengthen the siege, Israeli forces established new permanent checkpoints near many
of the closed roads, while other areas are being controlled by military patrols. These forces also
prevented Palestinian vehicles from using settler by-pass roads, further depriving Palestinian
residents from traveling between the towns of the Palestinian districts in the West Bank.
In addition to the measures taken by the Israeli authorities, Israeli settler rampages also continued
unabated. Al-Haq fieldworkers gathered the following information.
· On June 6, 2001, settlers raided Sawyeh village destroying and burning crops, several
stores, and the village school. Sawyeh has been under curfew since June 5,2001. They also
raided one private home in the village. At almost the same time, Israeli settlers raided Lubban
Sharqiyeh village where they burned tens of dunums of wheat fields and the village school.
· On June 6, 2001 in Hebron approximately 70 Israeli settlers raided the Palestinian
vegetable market in the center of Hebron, destroying carts and vending stalls, and brutally beating
several Palestinian venders and four journalists. These actions were carried out in the presence of
Israeli forces.
The repressive practices of the Israeli authorities and of Israeli forces have affected all aspects of
Palestinian social and economic life. Other violations documented by al-Haq fieldworkers include:
Attacks Against Ambulances/Medical Relief Teams: Eyewitnesses stated that at around
12:30 am on June 3, 2001, soldiers at the checkpoint near the Kiryat Arba' settlement in Hebron
stopped a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance that was transporting a Palestinian in critical
condition. After a thorough search of the driver and the persons accompanying the patient, the
ambulance was allowed to pass. When the ambulance moved, a soldier put a pointed metal block
in front of the back wheel of the ambulance, which tore its tire. The ambulance was forced to
continued driving the remaining four kilometers to the Alia Hospital in Hebron without changing
the torn tire. Also due to the restrictive closure, in many cases it is necessary to transport the sick
in more than one ambulance, in stages, wasting valuable, often life-threatening time.
On June 6, 2001 Bajes Abdl Hamed Slamieh from Idna near Hebron died of a Heart Attack
while trying to reach the Alia Hospital in Hebron. Slamieh suffered a heart attack shortly before
6:00 pm, and his family quickly tried to rush him to the hospital. All of the roads in to the village
were closed so his family took him to an ambulance waiting a short distance from the village. He
was then transported via back roads to Hebron. Shortly before Hebron they were stopped at a
roadblock where they were delayed for one-half hour by Israeli soldiers. The road was blocked
at this point, and Slamieh had to be carried by hand approximately 15 meters to another waiting
ambulance. The ambulance finally reached the hospital at 7:40, but Slamieh had died only ten
minutes before. The trip to the hospital from Idna usually takes 10 minutes, and information
received by al-Haq from doctors present indicates that Slamieh might have been saved had he
arrived at the hospital sooner.
Preventing Supplies from Reaching the Occupied Territories: Trucks, including those with
Israeli license plates, carrying food supplies have been prevented from entering the Palestinian
towns and villages. In some cases, soldiers at checkpoints have destroyed produce that
merchants were trying to transport. Eyewitnesses stated that on June 4, 2001, the soldiers at the
checkpoint on Road No 60 in the Beit Ainoon area near Hebron forced two of the grocery
owners from Sa'ir and Shuyoukh villages to place the boxes of fruits and vegetables that they
were carrying by hand around a barricade between Hebron and Sa'ir next to each other in the
road. The Israeli officer then emptied the boxes on the road and ran the wheels of his military
vehicle over them. On June 6, 2001 an al-Haqs fieldworker in the Hebron area was at the same
checkpoint and witnessed Israeli soldiers forbidding Palestinians to bring food supplies across the
checkpoint between 7:00 and 10:00 am. After that, they allowed some supplies to enter and
refused entry to others.
The Israeli Defense Ministry also decided to stop providing the Palestinian areas with fuel, oil, and
gas. As a result, some gas stations ran out of gas and some businesses stopped working due to
the unavailability of fuel including about 30 quarries in the Hebron area, and several water
pumping stations in the Gaza Strip. Israeli occupying forces also stopped providing the areas of
the Palestinian National Authority with fuel supplies in March 2001.
Preventing Students from Reaching Schools: Soldiers at the checkpoint on the main
Ramallah Birzeit road refused to allow many of the 5,000 students who attend Birzeit University
to reach the school on June 5-6, 2001.
Denied Access to Shipments at Israeli Ports: The Israeli authorities prevented Palestinian
merchants from clearing imported goods through Israeli ports. They have been forced to keep
them in Israeli warehouses and to pay fees for keeping them. Many of the products, especially
food supplies, will be spoiled due to the delay in clearing them.
Al-Haq once again warns the international community and all relevant actors of the devastating
impact of Israeli practices on all facets of Palestinian life. Al-Haq views with deep concern the
actions taken by the Israeli authorities in the Occupied Territories, including: land confiscation,
forced eviction, building Israeli settlements, closures, curfews, harassment, and the bombardment
of civilian Palestinian areas. Al-Haq calls on the international community to bear its responsibility
by carrying out the following:
1. Implement UN resolutions including 2649, 2672, 2963, 3236, and 3382, and
formulate a solution to the Palestinian problem that is based on the Palestinians' return to
their homeland and properties in Palestine based on the principles laid out in these
resolutions. Any solution to the Palestinian question must respect the Palestinian peoples
right to self determination without foreign interference, their independence and national
sovereignty, and their right to establish an independent sovereign state.
2. All United Nations Resolutions related to holding an international conference on
peace in the Middle East should be implemented in an attempt to bring about a just,
comprehensive, and permanent solution to the struggle in the Middle East that is based on
other United Nations Resolutions including Res. no. 2628 (d - 25) issued on October 4,
1970, Res. no. 2949 (d- 27) issued on December 8, 1972, Res. no. 29/32 issued on
December 7, 1978, and Res. no. 2/7-dit (the extraordinary seventh session) issued on July
29, 1980.
3. The high contracting parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention should convene a
conference on the basis of Resolution No A/ES-10-6 issued on February 8, 1999 to
discuss measures to be taken to ensure the application of the Fourth Geneva Convention in
the Occupied Territories. The conference should address the issue of how to prevent
further violations committed against Palestinian civilians and their properties, including the
ongoing Israeli violations of Articles 33, 49, 53, 55, and 147 of the Convention.
4. The United Nations Security Council should fulfill its legal obligation to intervene
in order to guarantee the protection of civilian residents of the Occupied Territories. |