Press Release

9 August 1999

On 3 August 1999, following an armed attack by unknown assailants on two Israeli settlers, while in their cars, the Israeli Occupying Authority imposed a strict military closure on the city of Hebron and a complete curfew on the Old City of Hebron, known as H2.

Following the imposition of closure and curfew, demonstrations erupted in Hebron protesting the measures and harsh living conditions. The Israeli Occupation Authority utilized excessive force against the protestors, including the use of live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas, leading to the severe head injury of 13 year old Fadi Farajallah Mreish. Mreish was taken to Alia Hospital in Hebron and later transferred to Al-Maqassed Hospital in Jerusalem as his condition deteriorated into a critical state.

While the closure and curfew were lifted on 8 August 1999, al-Haq demands that the Israeli Occupying Authority immediately cease such practices as they represent serious violations to rules of international humanitarian law, specifically, Article 50 of the Hague Convention (1907) and Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (1949), which prohibit the use of collective punishment against civilians. Furthermore, these illegal practices result in the breakdown of the social and economic fabric of the West Bank. The five-day around the clock closure and curfew, in the H2 area, effectively placed the Palestinian population of Hebron under house arrest while Israeli settlers remained free to move around the city. Such measures bring economic, social and other aspects of life in the area, like schools and human services, to a standstill.

Israel's actions stand in direct contradiction to the legal duties of an occupying power as set forth in customary international law. According to Article 43 of the Hague Regulations Addendum to the Hague Convention of 1907, Israel, as an Occupying Power, is under a legal obligation to maintain normal life in the territory it occupies. Al-Haq notes, and the Israeli authorities concede, that the Hague regulations constitute customary international law and they are applicable to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian Territory.

According to al-Haq's documentation, this is the second violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention since the convening of the special conference of the High Contracting Parties on 15 July 1999 to discuss the means and measures of the Israeli application of the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Furthermore, on 20 July 1999, the Israeli Knesset undertook the first reading of the draft law regarding renewal of the applicability of the British Defense (Emergency) Regulations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in spite of the fact that these laws represent clear violations of the rules and principles of the Convention.

The July Conference of High Contracting Parties "was adjourned on the understanding that it will convene again in the light of consultations on the development of the humanitarian situation in the field." Given continued Israeli violations of the Convention, al-Haq calls on the HCPs to convene a conference on measures to enforce the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, and to ensure its respect in accordance with common Article 1.