18 March 1996
HUMAN RIGHTS UPDATE
16 - 18 MARCH
Land and Water Establishment
PO Box 20873
Jerusalem
Tel: (972) (2) 812364/824559
Fax: (972) (2) 811072
email: lawe@netvision.net.il
Despite the recent easing of the internal closure of the West Bank on Saturday, 16 March, the human rights situation in the West Bank remains critical. Hospitals and clinics have been unable to resume badly needed treatments for lack of medication and supplies, military checkpoints remain throughout the West Bank, and several villages remain under curfew. In addition, it has become clear that settlers have used this period of siege on Palestinian towns and villages to carry out acts of aggression against Palestinian land. Finally, the witch hunt continues against Islamic institutions, with two additional charity organizations shut down by the Israeli army.
In economic terms, the past two weeks have taken a devastating toll, as the siege not only prevented workers and goods from entering Israel, but prevented internal travel as well. Even with the easing of restrictions inside the West Bank, the sealing off of the West Bank and Gaza from Israel continues to cripple the Palestinian economy. President Arafat has stated that this type of total closure represents a daily loss of about 6 million dollars, and approximately 70,000 workers from the West Bank and Gaza are unable to reach their places of work in Jerusalem and Israel.
Health and medicine:
Hospitals and clinics still await badly needed medication, as supplies have still been held up at the military checkpoints into the West Bank. Advanced treatments like chemotherapy have had to be suspended due to the lack of supplies. Two days after the easing of the internal closure this situation remains critical.
Arrests and Closures
On the day after the easing of the internal closure, Israeli military checkpoints remained in place between Areas A, B and C, hindering movement between these Areas.
On 16 March, the Israeli army entered Rumana village near Jenin and arrested three men. The figures for the total arrested by the Israeli army in the West Bank varies widely, partly because due to the internal state of siege, family members were not able to go to the Red Cross offices and report missing or arrested family members. Some estimates put the number as high as 1000.
On 17 March, two additional Islamic charity institutions were closed by the Israeli army. Israeli army and police raided the Holy Land Fund in Jerusalem, confiscated documents, and ordered the office closed for 14 days. Even more serious, army and police forcibly entered the Islamic Relief Committee in Nazareth, and confiscated money, checks, documentation, fax machines, computers, disks and other office equipment. The office was then closed and welded shut.
On 17 March, Israeli Prime Minster Peres again went on record as supporting the expulsion of HAMAS members.
On 17 March, in Walja village near Bethlehem, curfew was imposed for the second time since 5 March, 20 men were arrested and many houses raided. By 18 March, total curfew remained in effect for the third straight week in Rafat, Burqa and Qariut villages near Nablus and in al Fawar refugee camp near Hebron.
The Israeli army set up a new military checkpoint at the entrance to Habla village near Qalqilya, and soldiers stopped all cars and residents entering and leaving the village. No reason for this additional checkpoint was given.
Confiscation and Demolition:
Efrat settlement took advantage of the internal siege of the West Bank to seize land belonging to El Khader residents. Settlers have begun excavating the land in preparation for the building of new housing units on the land. Residents were only able to seek legal advice after the easing of the internal closure.
The Jahalin Bedouin tribe continues to receive eviction orders and house/tent demolition orders from the Israeli government to make way for the continuing expansion of Ma'aleh Adumim settlement, located between Jerusalem and Jericho in the West Bank.
On 16 March, a resident of Fardes village, near Bethlehem, received a warning of demolition against their home.
On 17 March residents of Tamoun village, between Nablus and Jenin, discovered that during the siege, settlers from Beqa'ot and Roi settlements had seized and destroyed 1500 dunums (375 acres) of land cultivated with wheat. Residents put the loss of this land, some of the richest agricultural land in this area, at approximately one million dollars. This represents a massive economic loss for this village.
On 18 March, the Israeli army demolished a house in Shoqa, near Tulkarem, for having no permit. This brings to 62 the total number of houses demolished since the signing of the Oslo Accord in September 1993. Since the Tel Aviv bombing on 4 March, four houses have been demolished, and another seven have received demolition orders and have been sealed.
Land and Water Establishment is a non-governmental organization based in Jerusalem, dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy. Your comments on the above are welcome. Please do not hesitate to contact us.