Al-Haq here presents to the Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories a summary of the types of violations of international law which have been committed by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) during 1996 and January 1997. In this summary al-Haq concentrates on new developments during 1996. Al-Haq believes that the human rights situation in the OPT should continue to be a matter of grave concern to the international community. Al-Haq is therefore extremely anxious to see that the UN Commission on Human Rights renews the mandate of the Special Rapporteur.
Right to Life and Security of Person: 78 Palestinians were killed by Israeli military forces during 1996. The Israeli military killed 65 Palestinians and wounded hundreds of others during confrontations which took place at the end of September 1996. The vast majority of persons injured were civilians. September’s clashes were generally characterized by heavy and indiscriminate shooting by the Israeli security forces, who on many occasions were acting in clear breach of international standards on the use of force. In Ramallah, Rafah, and Khan Younes refugee camp Israel used helicopter gunships to fire live ammunition on Palestinians. Al-Haq’s documentation revealed that many persons were injured in the head and the chest, a clear indication that Israeli soldiers deliberately used lethal force. In a number of incidents Israeli soldiers fired on medical staff and journalists. Al-Haq’s research coordinator was hit by Israeli fire and injured on 26 September while he was documenting events.
On 12 January 1997 Palestinian prisoner Riad Mahmoud Hammoudeh ‘Odwan, aged 44 years, died after suffering a heart attack at Beir Saba’ Prison. The prison administration only transferred him to the prison clinic approximately two hours after the attack. The Israeli authorities’ failure to secure any form of medical treatment for Riad ‘Odwan for approximately two hours was a clear case of incompetence and may have caused his death.
In addition four Palestinians were killed by Israeli settlers during 1996. Hilmi Shawasheh, aged 10 years, died after being severely beaten on 27 October by a Jewish settler.
Torture: Israel continued during 1996 to use torture and ill-treatment systematically in the interrogation of Palestinian detainees. On 11 January and 14 November the Israeli High Court of Justice effectively sanctioned the use of torture and ill-treatment against two Palestinian detainees, ‘Abd al-Halim Belbaysi and Muhammad ‘Abd al-Aziz Hamdan. On both occasions the Israeli High Court lifted its interim injunctions prohibiting the use of physical force by the General Security Services (GSS) in the interrogation of the detainees. In the Belbaysi case, the court was not even prepared to issue an injunction prohibiting the GSS from the use of "shaking".
Prisoners: There are currently about 4,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and military detention centers. As a consequence of Israel’s redeployment in the West Bank in 1995, all Palestinian prisoners are now detained inside Israel, in violation of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 which stipulates that Protected Persons must not be detained outside occupied territory. Israel has also failed to release Palestinian female prisoners, in breach of its obligations under the Oslo II Agreement.
At least 270 persons are currently held in administrative detention without charge or trial. 145 of these detainees have had their administrative detention renewed on at least one occasion. Some detainees have been under administrative detention for more than a year. Al-Haq’s paralegal Sha’wan Rateb Jabarin, who served as the coordinator of al-Haq’s election activities, was arrested shortly after the Palestinian elections and has been under administrative detention ever since.
House Demolitions: In 1996 the Israeli authorities destroyed or sealed at least 14 Palestinian homes on the basis of orders issued under the British Defense (Emergency) Regulations of 1945. Israeli policy allows the destruction or sealing of a family’s home if any member is awaiting trial, under interrogation, or merely suspected of having committed any of a broad range of security offenses. Such forms of collective punishment contravene Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. Further, according to Article 147 of the convention, the destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity, constitutes a grave breach of the convention.
Freedom of Movement inside the OPT: Israel continued to maintain the military closure, introduced in 1991 and intensified in March 1993, of Israel and Jerusalem from the Gaza Strip and the rest of the West Bank. For several months in 1996, a complete closure was in force, and no permits were available to Palestinians. Al-Haq regards Israel’s continued maintenance of the closure as a violation of Israel’s obligation under Article XXXI(8) of the Oslo II Agreement to maintain the territorial integrity of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The closure not only separates the Gaza Strip and the West Bank from each other, it also cantonizes the West Bank into three separate areas: Jerusalem, the northern West Bank and the southern West Bank. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the rest of the West Bank cannot access major medical, educational and other national institutions located in Jerusalem.
The closure continued to have severe detrimental effects on all aspects of Palestinians’ lives, as in previous years. The closure was one of the main reasons for the high rate of unemployment in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during 1996 since many Palestinian families are dependent on wages earned inside Israel and in Jerusalem. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Labor, unemployment rates currently stand at 40 percent in the Gaza Strip and 30 percent in the West Bank. The closure also severely restricted the movement of products between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as well as within the West Bank.
Members of the Palestinian Legislative Council experienced difficulties on a number of occasions in traveling between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to attend sessions of the Legislative Council and its committees.
Internal Closures: In 1996 Israel developed a new type of restriction on movement through use of "internal closure". Israel’s redeployment at the end of 1995 and beginning of 1996 has made it easy for Israeli military forces to restrict or prohibit entry or exit from Areas A, which are under the control of the Palestinian National Authority. In March and September 1996 Israel declared the whole of Area C, which amounts to about 70 percent of the total area of the West Bank, a closed military area, thereby isolating all population centers located in Areas A, B, or C. The major towns of the West Bank were inaccessible between 27 September and 12 October 1996 (inclusive), with the exception of Nablus where the closure was not lifted until 15 October 1996. Individual towns were also on occasion placed under siege by the Israeli authorities during 1996. For example, the Israeli authorities severely restricted movement in and out of Ramallah between 11 December and 16 December (inclusive).
These restrictions on movement severely disrupted the daily lives of Palestinians living in the areas affected. Many persons were unable to reach their places of work and educational institutions. Access to health services, many of which are located in the principal towns of the West Bank, was also severely impeded.
As a result of the military closure and the internal closure imposed in February 1996 at least six persons died due to denial of access to medical treatment.
Restrictions on Travel outside the OPT: Israel continued to prevent large numbers of Palestinians from traveling abroad during 1996, even in cases where persons needed to travel to receive medical treatment or to pursue their education. Since the end of 1995, Palestinians resident in the OPT (with the exception of Jerusalem) have been entitled to hold the new Palestinian passport. Theoretically Palestinians can use the Palestinian passport to travel either via Israel, Egypt or Jordan. However, Israel has introduced a new permit system for travel through Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport and regularly refuses to grants Palestinians such permits. Therefore most Palestinians travel via the Rafah Crossing to Egypt or via the Allenby Bridge to Jordan. Israel, however, regularly denies Palestinian travelers the right to leave the OPT through these crossings "for security reasons", claiming that their travel "jeopardizes the security of the State of Israel."
Palestinian residents of Jerusalem are not entitled to apply for Palestinian passports. They continue to travel on Israeli-issued laissez passers. During 1996 the Israeli authorities continued to refuse to issue travel documents to some Palestinian residents on "security grounds".
Education: During 1996 Israel implemented serious restrictions on the right to education. On 6 March 1996 the IDF’s Military Commander of the West Bank ordered the closure of the College of Technology and Science and the al-Da’wa wa Usul al-Din college in Abu Dis, as well as Hebron University and the Hebron Polytechnic. Hebron Polytechnic was closed until 12 December 1996 and Hebron University until 28 December 1996.
Israel continues to deny hundreds of students from the Gaza Strip the right to education by denying them permits to study in institutions of higher education in the West Bank. Israel last granted permits to some Gazan students at the end of 1995. These permits were canceled in March 1996 and no permits for study in the West Bank have since been issued by Israel.
On 28 March 1996 Israeli military forces raided the town of Bir Zeit and surrounding villages and arrested at least 280 Bir Zeit University students. Following these arrests a military siege was imposed on the area, preventing university students from reaching the campus on that day. In the following days, most of the arrested students were released, a clear indication of the arbitrary and illegal nature of the arrests.
Family Reunification: Israel continues to deny non-residents who are married or related to Palestinian residents of the OPT the right to reside in the OPT. Israel continued to apply a quota system during 1996 to family reunification applications, thereby failing to respect the fact that the right to family life is an internationally recognized human right. The situation for families seeking reunification worsened in 1996 as Israel refused to receive new applications on the grounds that it was still handling applications submitted in previous years.
In addition, a number of Palestinians who were accepted during 1996 by Israel for family reunification were never granted an identity card.
Elections: The Israeli authorities in East Jerusalem disrupted the campaigning activities of a number of candidates seeking election to the Palestinian Legislative Council in January 1996. In two separate incidents the Israeli police arrested and detained for several hours one candidate and three campaign workers on the grounds that they were displaying election materials on their vehicles. Israeli officials also attempted to disrupt various meetings held by candidates in private homes. On election day itself the Israeli police were deployed in heavy numbers around the post offices where voting took place in East Jerusalem, in what appeared to be a deliberate attempt to create a barrier of intimidation between Palestinian voters and the ballot box. The Israeli police imposed tight security cordons outside post offices, particularly at Salah al-Din Street post office, making it very difficult for voters to enter the stations. In a further act bound to intimidate voters, Israeli officers photographed and videotaped persons entering Salah al-Din Street post office and the surrounding areas.
The Israeli authorities also severely impeded the activities of domestic election observers by refusing to allow them to enter Jerusalem or to travel between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip without a permit during the election period. However, even some of the domestic observers who received the necessary permits had problems. Naseef Muallem, the Chairperson of the Palestinian Domestic Monitoring Committee, and several of his colleagues were prevented from entering Jerusalem on 7 January 1996, despite their possession of a valid entry permit and official domestic monitor identity cards.
On election day itself the Israeli authorities in East Jerusalem arrested at least seven Palestinian local election observers and detained them for several hours.
Settlement Expansion: The Israeli government has escalated settlement expansion in the OPT, despite the fact that the occupying power is prohibited from transferring its population to occupied territory, according to Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. On 2 August the Israeli Cabinet lifted "the freeze", imposed by the Israeli government in 1993, on construction of Jewish settlements in the OPT. It is anticipated that the adoption of an official decision by the Cabinet to lift the building freeze on settlements will result in a construction boom and a massive expansion in the number of settlers in the OPT. On 13 December the Israeli Cabinet adopted a decision to provide additional subsidies to Jewish settlements in the OPT, including various types of tax subsidies and financial aid, to encourage Jews to move to settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The construction of thousands of housing units in settlements was approved during 1996 by the Israeli authorities.
Thousands of dunums of Palestinian land in the West Bank were confiscated during 1996 in order to construct bypass roads serving Israeli settlements.
Jerusalem: During 1996 the Israeli authorities continued their attempts to alter the character and status of occupied East Jerusalem in violation of international law and the resolutions of the UN Security Council and General Assembly.
Confiscation of Identity Cards: During 1996 the Ministry of the Interior intensified its attempts to deprive Palestinians holding Jerusalem identity cards of their residency rights in the city. The ministry is now applying a new policy, endorsed this year by the Israeli High Court of Justice, whereby it confiscates Jerusalemites’ identity cards if the ministry considers that their "center of life" is outside Jerusalem. This policy has been used against Palestinians who are temporarily residing abroad or elsewhere in the West Bank.
In certain cases the Israeli Ministry of the Interior has also refused to issue Jerusalem identity cards to residents reaching the age of 16 on the grounds that they are living outside Jerusalem or abroad or on the grounds that the father holds a West Bank identity card. The ministry has also refused to register babies on their parents’ Jerusalem identification cards or to issue birth certificates if the children were born outside the country or outside the Israeli-defined municipal borders of Jerusalem.
Demolition of Palestinian Homes: 32 Palestinian homes in Jerusalem were demolished by the Israeli authorities during 1996 because they were built without a construction permit. This was a marked increase on previous years. Many Palestinians construct homes in Jerusalem without permits because permits are prohibitively expensive and, due to zoning restrictions in East Jerusalem, are extremely difficult for Palestinians to obtain from the Israeli-run Jerusalem Municipality.Settlements: The Israeli authorities also moved ahead with plans for the construction of new settlements and the expansion of others in East Jerusalem, in violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. In December 1996, the Jerusalem District Planning Committee approved the construction of a Jewish settlement in the heart of the Palestinian neighborhood of Ras al-Amoud.
Changing the Physical Character of Jerusalem: On 23 September the Israeli authorities opened up an entrance to the Western Wall Tunnel beneath the steps of a school located on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem’s Old City. The opening of a tunnel connecting the Western Wall to the heart of the Muslim Quarter was a radical alteration in the geography of the Old City of Jerusalem, another in a long succession of attempts by the Israeli authorities to change unilaterally the character of Jerusalem.
Hebron City: Towards the end of 1996 there was a marked increase in attacks by settlers, as well as Israeli soldiers, on Palestinians and their property in Hebron city while Israel was attempting to renegotiate the terms of its redeployment from Hebron with the PLO. Al-Haq documented incidents of beatings and criminal damage perpetrated by Jewish settlers. Some of these attacks were perpetrated whilst Israeli soldiers looked on and failed to intervene. On 1 January 1997 an Israeli settler wearing IDF uniform opened fire using live ammunition in Hebron’s old city, injuring six Palestinians. There is a serious problem of impunity with regard to settler violence. Generally complaints lodged by Palestinians against settlers are not followed up by the Israeli authorities. In the rare cases in which settlers are convicted for crimes against Palestinians, sentences imposed are so light that they do not constitute a deterrent.
At the end of 1996 al-Haq documented several cases in which Israeli female soldiers strip searched and humiliated Palestinian women in Hebron without justification.
Members of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) monitored incidents of harassment and attacks by Israeli soldiers and settlers in Hebron but was unable to intervene in such cases due to limitations on its mandate.
(presented to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories during his visit to the West Bank in January 1997)