On the Fifty-Second Anniversary of the Adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, al-Haq urges the International Community to Ensure Respect for the Human Rights of the Palestinians living under Israeli Military Occupation
On this day, the fifty-second anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly, the Palestinian People living under Israeli Military Occupation continue to be denied their right to live in peace, security and dignity. The Israeli Occupying forces continue to act in complete contravention of numerous international instruments that Israel has ratified, to the detriment of the Palestinians people’s rights. What have become common practices of the Israeli Occupying forces - population transfer, willful killing, and the excessive use of force - constitute grave breaches as defined by the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, yet continue, with no effective form of intervention by the international community.
On this day, we at al-Haq salute all of those struggling to advance respect for human rights all over the world. Al-Haq wishes to express its thanks and gratitude to all of those defenders of the human rights of the Palestinian people. Unfortunately, on this day, the Palestinian people have no cause for celebration. The Israeli Occupying Forces continue to act with chilling brutality - launching missiles into Palestinians civilian areas, placing the West Bank and Gaza Strip under military siege, allowing Israeli settlers to continue to terrorize Palestinian civilians, and denying Palestinians the right to urgent medical treatment, to name a few.
Al-Haq calls upon all of those defenders of human rights to pressure their governments and the decision-makers in their countries to put an end to the Israeli Military Occupation. It is time for the Palestinian people to finally begin to realize their human rights as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and not wait until another generation of Palestinians have been denied their right to live in peace security and dignity by the Israeli Military Occupation.
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Report on Settlers' Attacks on Palestinians During the al-Aqsa
Uprising
Dec.7-Dec.10,2000.
Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip have been steadily increasing in the past few weeks.
These settlers have generally acted with impunity, as the Israeli
military and court system historically have been reluctant to arrest,
try, and punish settlers for violence they commit against Palestinian
civilians. As a result, settlers are virtually free to carry out
intimidation, assaults against people and property, and even murder
against the Palestinian population.
The existence of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories
violates both international law and particular international
agreements Israel is signed on. According to Article 49 of the fourth
Geneva Convention it is prohibited to transfer civilians of an
occupying power to the territory occupied.
Since the Oslo accord in 1993, the number of settlers in the West
Bank and Gaza has doubled to 200,000, not including approximately
200,000 settlers now living in East Jerusalem. The building during
Barak's government has actually escalated, with 14,000 settlers
added and tenders issued for building 4,000 units last year alone,
compared with 3,000 units a year built under Netanyahu. Compared
to 1999, in the year 2000 there has been a 96% increase in
settlement building.
Israel has continually expropriated large amounts of land from
Palestinians for the settlement of Jewish civilians, in order to
change the demography of the area and create irreversible facts on the
ground.
The AIC has been monitoring settler violence, and now introduces a
regular updated report.
Report XI,
December 7 - December 10, 2000
On 7 December:
In the West Bank district of Salfit, Israeli settlers and soldiers
attacked the village of Merda by opening fire at houses and firing
tear gas bombs.
Settlers attacked Palestinian youth in the West Bank towns of
Alkhader and Nablus. The attack resulted in the injury of 8
Palestinian young men, five in Alkhader and three in Nablus.
On 8 December:
At around 8.30 a.m. settlers tried to occupy three houses in Banidar
and Musharqet Al Fawqan belonging to the Sharibati, Natsha, Al Dweik
and Abu Makhya families.
Ali Al- Damouni (aged 28) from Nablus suffered a serious head injury
after being stoned by settlers. Ali's car was attacked on the Borin
junction while on his way to Ramallah. According to eyewitness Walid
Amer who was in the car with Ali; "when we reached Borin junction we
saw a GMC van following us. When it came very closed to our car I saw
four settlers sitting inside and immediately one settler threw a
bagged stone at us. The stone entered the car through the window and
hit Ali's head". Ali was taken to hospital and his condition is very
serious.
At around 1.00 p.m. a group of armed settlers from Qiryat Arba and
Giv'at Harsina near Hebron occupied the home of Atta Abdel Jawad Jaber
in the Baq'a valley. They removed some of his furniture, moved in
their own, and raised an Israeli flag on the roof. After the
occupation a troop of Israeli soldiers arrived to guard the house and
its environs. The occupation of the house was accompanied by violent
assaults and stone throwing by the settlers. At least one child was
injured, a 6 year old member of the Sleima family. He was hit with a
stone and needed eight stitches in his mouth. The child's father had
to carry him in his hands for hundreds of meters on the road before he
could find a car to take them to a clinic.
Armed settlers from Otniel in the Hebron area closed the main road
between Hebron and Al-Zaheria. Tens of settlers stoned the passing
Palestinian cars.
Settlers from Gush Katif in the south of the Gaza Strip closed Salah
El-Deen road near the Al-Qareara area. Tens of settlers gathered in
the area in an attempt to establish a new settlement near an Israeli
army outpost. Moreover, settlers, protected by several army vehicles,
stoned the passing Palestinian citizens and smashed the windows of
many of their cars.
On 9 December:
The occupation of Atta Jaber's home by settlers from Qiryat Arba near
Hebron continued. The settlers proceeded to spread around the hills,
throwing stones at Palestinian houses and terrorizing the helpless
residents. At about midday, a settler shot and seriously injured
Mansour Naji Jaber, a 13 year old Palestinian boy. Mansour was shot in
the arm and abdomen, and transferred to Hadasah hospital where he
remains. The shooter, a 37 year old resident of Qiryat Arba, turned
himself over to the police. All throughout the day settlers kept
swarming to the house and were not prevented from doing so by the
army, who was present in small numbers, nor by the police, who were
also present but under IDF orders. Armed settlers were allowed to
pass, even after the child Mansour was shot. According to the IDF
soldiers on the site, they were given orders to allow the settlers to
stay. The settlers were eventually forcibly evacuated late in the
evening but left the house burnt and severely damaged from the inside.
The house has now been declared a closed military zone and no one is
allowed to enter it until March, including Atta Jaber and his family.
Atta's home has been demolished twice before, and his father's house,
adjacent to Giv'at Harsina, has been under continuous settler attacks
for months. Settlers have broken all the windows in his house (as well
as in about a dozen more houses nearby), have uprooted grapevines,
trees, and destroyed agricultural equipment. A member of the Jaber
family said "we faced such violations that we were forced to leave the
site in order for the settlement to expand".
At 9 p.m. settlers from Qiryat Arba attacked Al- Eddasa village east
of Hebron. Around 40 armed settlers tried to enter the village, threw
stones on the houses and fired live ammunition in the air. No one was
injured and the army evacuated the settlers after an hour.
Arafat Ahmad Daghamin (aged 17) from the village of al-Samou' south of
Hebron was seriously injured after a settler opened fire at him.
Arafat was taken to Al-Ahli hospital in Hebron where three bullets
that were lodged in his body were taken out in a surgical operation.
The assaulting settler escaped to a nearby settlement immediately
after the shooting.
On 10 December:
Hundreds of settlers from Gush 'Etzyon and Efrat gathered at the two
junctions near the settlements and closed the main road between Hebron
and Bethlehem. They attacked Palestinian vehicles, smashing the
windows of at least seven cars, and prevented them from passing
through. The settlers kept the road closed from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m.,
remaining the whole time under the protection of the army who was
present in large numbers.
Settlers from settlement sections inside down town Hebron attacked
Palestinian residents during a brief suspension of the curfew, lifted
for the purpose of renewing food supplies. The settlers forced the
residents to close their stores and market. As a result of the
physical clashes instigated by the settlers the curfew was renewed. A
number of foreigners who were on a solidarity visit to the city were
also attacked by the settlers. The journalist Hussam Abu Ala' was
severely beaten. Two settlers were arrested following the incident.
Settlers and Israeli soldiers shot at children at the entrance of Beit
Furiek and Beit Djan Villages. One child, Hamada Afeef (aged 15) was
wounded in the neck and right shoulder.
Following demands by the Jewish Settlements Council, the Israeli chief
of staff Shaul Mofaz has decided to impose more restrictions on
Palestinian vehicle movement between areas A, B and C.
Alternative Information Centre
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Continuing Attacks on Palestinian Civilians
15-year-old Ahmad Qawasmi dies from his
injuries
Today, Monday December 11, 15-year-old Ahmad Qawasmi was
pronounced
dead at the al Ahli Hospital in Hebron. Ahmed Qawasmi had been
shot on
Friday, December 8, by an Israeli soldier. According to information
gathered by LAW, on 8 December five Israeli soldiers entered H1
area
in Hebron, which is under Palestinian control, and chased a
number of
children. One of the soldiers reportedly stepped on Ahmad’s neck
while
he was lying on the ground and shot him in the head.
In the West Bank village of Hussan near Bethlehem, three pupils named
Safwat Afeef, Abdul Kadir Shakarni and Muath Najajra were arrested by
the Israeli security forces and taken to the Kfar Etzion settlement
and subsequently to Meggido prison in Israel. All three pupils
arrested are 17 and come from Nahaleen, one of Hussan’s neighboring
villages. LAW’s field researchers were told that the pupils at the
Husan School have suffered repeated harassment by Israeli soldiers who
regularly stop and arrest some of them when they leave the school.
At about 12.30, Israeli settlers from the Ofra settlement blocked the
way of 21-year-old Tha’ir Nasri, from Sinjil and smashed the
windshield of his car with stones. The Palestinian driver reported the
incident at the Israeli roadblock at Uyoon al Haramiye but the
soldiers ignored his complaint. Two of LAW’s field researchers, who
happened to be at the scene, took photographs of the damaged car in
order to document the incident but they had their film confiscated and
were dragged away.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli tanks positioned near Rafah shelled nearby
residential areas at about 5 p.m. and caused intensive damage to seven
houses. The occupants of the houses had apparently evacuated their
property some weeks ago in response to previous Israeli fire.
Yesterday, at 9.30 a.m., Israeli soldiers positioned at al Mintar
(Karni) crossing fired a missile at a Palestinian truck which was
unloading chemical fertilizers. The driver managed to escape but the
truck was destroyed.
According to press reports, the Israeli army has issued an order
banning travel on West Bank roads by Palestinian men in private cars,
apparently under pressure from the Yesha council representing Jewish
settlers in the Occupied Territories.
LAW demands a thorough investigation into the killing of Ahmad al
Qawasmi as well as legal proceedings against those found responsible
for his death. Ahmad al Qawasmi was a 15-year-old child who did not
pose an imminent threat to the soldier who shot him.
LAW is concerned at continued settler attacks carried out against
Palestinian civilians and the lack of protection afforded to them by
the Israeli security forces. Moreover, Palestinians are being
subjected to restrictions of movement and curfews for the sake of
Israeli setters, who are an illegal presence in the Occupied
Territories.
LAW is appalled at the number of daily acts in the Occupied
Territories carried out by the Israeli security forces and settlers,
which constitute systematic violations of international humanitarian
law and in many cases may well be war crimes.
LAW
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LAW’s Position on the State Security Court Sentence
on
Alan
Bani Audi
On 7 December 2000, the State Security Court in Nablus,
sentenced
24-year-old Alan Bani Audi, from the West Bank village Tammoun
near
Jenin, to death by hanging. Alan Bani Audi was found guilty of
treason
and espionage as well as being an accomplice in the murder of
Ibrahim
Bani Audi. The latter was assassinated on 23 November 2000 in
Nablus
by a bomb planted in his car by the Israeli security services with the
collaboration of Alan Bani Audi, a relative of Ibrahim Bani Audi. The
trial did not meet minimum standards for fair trial.
The court was headed by Judge Fat’hi Abu Srur with the
assistance of
Major General Abdul Kareem el Masri and Captain Ayman
Math’har. Bassam
Darwish Jaber, the State Security Court prosecutor, stood for
prosecution and attorneys Nihaya el Saqa and lieutenant Shahir
Dwaikat
stood for the defense.
The court examined the case over a period of two hours and seemed
determined to hand down a sentence the same day. The defense
attorneys, who were appointed by the court and are not practicing
lawyers, were given 15 minutes to look at the case file during an
adjournment of the court session. Witnesses were not summoned by the
court and could not be questioned.
Alan Bani Audi was sentenced by the court to life imprisonment and
hard labour for being an accomplice in the murder of Ibraheem Bani
Audi, according to articles 328 and 76 of the 1960 Jordanian Penal
Code No 16. He was, furthermore, convicted of treason and sentenced to
death by hanging on the basis of article 153 of the 1979 PLO
Palestinian Revolutionary Code.
The 1979 PLO Revolutionary Code, which was formerly used by the PLO
for trying dissident fighters, has never been incorporated into
domestic law and is as such of dubious legality in itself.
The State Security Court was established in 1995 as a special court
outside the Palestinian civil court system with jurisdiction over
security offences. As such it functions outside the Palestinian civil
court system in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which has
jurisdiction over criminal offences, as well as outside the military
court system. The State Security Court provides no rights of appeal
and operates thus in contravention of international fair trial
standards. Sentences issued by the State Security Court, including
life imprisonment and death penalties, are only subject to
ratification by the President of the Palestinian National Authority.
LAW opposes the death penalty as the ultimate violation of the right
to life guaranteed under article 3 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. According to the preamble of the second optional
protocol (1990) to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, “the abolition of the death penalty contributes to enhancement
of human dignity and progressive development of human right.”
LAW calls for the abolition of the State Security Court and all
legislation allowing the issuing of death sentences.
LAW calls on President Arafat not to ratify any of the death sentences
issued by Palestinian courts.
LAW urges President Arafat to order a retrial for Alan Bani Audi
within the ordinary Palestinian court system, and with a trial that
meets international fair trials standards.
LAW
On the Occasion of the 52nd Anniversary of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194:
THE RIGHT OF RETURN Joint Statement Issued by Palestine Right-of-Return Initiatives in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Canada-USA, London
On 11 December 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted in its third session Resolution
194, whose Paragraph 11 clearly states the right of Palestinian refugees to return
to their original homes and villages from which they were displaced during the
war. The Resolution does not only affirm this right, but also establishes the
mechanism for its implementation. Paragraph 2 established the United Nations Conciliation
Commission for Palestine - UNCCP, which - based in the city of Jerusalem, was
to carry the responsibility for the implementation of the right of return. Moreover,
Paragraph 11, also emphasized the necessity to assist those refugees until they
return. This task was to be carried by the United Nations Relief for Palestine
Refugees - UNRPR, a commission which preceded UNRWA, established a year after
the adoption of Resolution 194 by General Assembly Resolution 302 (4th session
on 8-12-1949).
Resolution 194 was adopted only six months before Israel's admission
as a member of the United Nations (GA Resolution 273, 11 May 1949).
Israel's admission was conditioned by an Israeli commitment to carry
out the obligations under the UN charter and United Nation
resolutions, including Resolution 194.
Since then, Resolution 194 has been reaffirmed more than one-hundred
times by the General Assembly. It has been included in subsequent
resolutions, such as Resolutions 513 (1952), 2452 (1968), and 2936
(1972), and in General Assembly resolutions that consider the refugee
problem caused by the denial and the neglect of the inalienable rights
defined under the UN charter and the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. These resolutions link the right of return with the right to
self-determination and establish the right of return as a condition
for the implementation of the right to self-determination. In this
context, we particularly point at Resolution 3236 of 1974, which is
called by some international legalists "the bill of rights of the
Palestinian people."
It a paradox, and ironic, that Israel - which was established by one
of the UN resolutions - has refused implementation of all resolutions
issued by the same international body, especially Resolution 194
adopted 52 years ago.
This year's anniversary of UN Resolution 194 coincides with the
blessed al-Aqsa Intifada, which has continued for more than two
months. Now that it is clear, based on the results of the latest Camp
David summit, that negotiations over the issues pertaining to the
final settlement of the conflict (e.g. Jerusalem, Israeli settlements,
refugee question) have failed, we wish to re-affirm here that the
right of return is one of the Intifada's national aims.
In this context, we confirm that the provocative visit of the
terrorist Sharon to Al-Aqsa Mosque represented the spark which set the
whole region on fire. It was an opportunity imposed by necessity -
the necessity to rise up against the logic of Oslo and its
destructive results, among them the by-passing of the legal framework
of Palestinian rights as enshrined in international law and UN
resolutions.
ON THE OCCASION OF THIS ANNIVERSARY, WE REAFFIRM:
* The Palestinian people's right of return and restitution is a
sacred historical right, based on the principles of justice which were
valid, even before they were anchored in international law. We
therefore affirm that our right of return is not only based on UNGA
Resolution 194, but also on our historical right in Palestine. In this
sense, our inalienable right is non-negotiable and not a subject for
opinion polls. Along this same line, all suspect calls for refugee
resettlement, migration, absorption, and even calls for compensation
as an alternative to return are in contradiction with this historical
right. * Refugee rights are indivisible. This principle is expressed
in the international legal framework of Palestinian national rights on
the one hand, and in the unity of the land and its people in occupied
Palestine since 1948, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and in the
near and distant exile. We therefore reject any type of division of
this issue under any circumstances. * We strongly oppose all plans
aimed at the liquidation of UNRWA's role, whether via gradual
reduction of its services, or via attempts to transfer these services
to the responsibility of donors or the Palestinian Authority. This
because UNRWA embodies the moral, legal and political responsibility
of the international community for the creation of the Palestinian
refugee issue, in addition to the international obligation to enforce
implementation of the Palestinian refugees' right of return to their
homes and properties expropriated from them in 1948. UNRWA's
establishment is part of the political context of the Palestinian
issue, because the text of UNGA Resolution 302 (1949; UNRWA
establishment) includes explicit reference to Paragraph 11 of
Resolution 194 (right of return). In this context, we emphasize the
necessity for the continuation and expansion of UNRWA services, until
the refugees return to their original homes. * As Paragraph (1D) of
the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention and Paragraph 7 of the Statutes of
the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) have been
interpreted to exclude Palestinian refugees from the international
protection scheme provided to other world refugees, and because
UNRWA's mandate does not include the provision of the political and
legal protection provided by the Convention and UNHCR to other world
refugees, we demand from the international community to provide and
facilitate temporary, international protection for the Palestinian
people based on international refugee law, and without preempting
UNRWA's role and mandate. * The urgency of the above demand, and our
insistence, are heightened in the time of the current Intifada and the
savage policy of repression applied by the Israeli military machine
against the unarmed Palestinian people.
The UNDERSIGNED CALL UPON:
- All Right of Return committees, groups, and centers in Palestine and
in exile to raise the level of coordination among them, in order to
strengthen the unity of the return movement especially in this stage
of the Palestinian struggle; to unify our speech which must raise the
right of return as part and parcel of the framework of Palestinian
national rights and avoid the creation of contradictions between the
various forms of struggle carried out by the different groups of the
Palestinian national movement, now or in the future. - All national
and Islamic forces involved in the Intifada to work together, in order
to resist all attempts at liquidating the Intifada, as well as
pressure aimed at forcing the Palestinian people to get involved again
in a vain and useless negotiation process, which tries to replace our
legitimate rights with so-called "possible" or "realistic" solutions
and will finally release - based on the terms and expressions of the
Oslo culture - the international community and Israel from their
moral, legal and political responsibilities for the creation of the
Palestinian problem and provide international legitimacy for the
crime of the century committed by the Zionist movement against the
Palestinian people.
Lets work to build the Return Intifada in the exile and Al-Aqsa
Intifada in Palestine, all of Palestine, an Intifada which will
ultimately achieve the implementation of the national rights of the
Palestinian people, foremost the right of return and the right of
self-determination.
Glory, Honor and Eternity to our Brave Martyrs -
WE WILL RETURN!
A'idoun Group, Lebanon;
A'idoun Group, Syria;
Al-Awda Committee, Jordan;
The Society of Internally Displaced in Palestine 1948 (Israel);
Union of Youth Activity Centers in Palestine Refuge Camps-Gaza South,
Palestine; Popular Service Committees-Gaza South, Palestine; Popular
Committees of 'Aida, Beit Jibrin ('Azza), Deheishe, al- Arroub,
al-Fawwar camps, Palestine; Youth Activity Centers of 'Aida, Beit
Jibrin, Deheishe camps, Palestine; Shahida Amal Cultural Center, 'Aida
camp, Palestine; Palestinian Prisoners' Society, West Bank; Palestine;
Al-'Oud Sports Union, 'Aida camp, Palestine; Al-Rowwad Theater, 'Aida
camp, Palestine; BADIL Resource Center, Bethlehem, Palestine; Awlad
Albalad; Ebal for Arabic Affairs; Canada; Aidoun Group-North America;
Al-Awda London;
The Israeli occupation forces shell Rafah and Khan Yunis:
The child Al-Qawasmi, shot by a settler after being caught and thrown
to the ground, dies
This morning, the child Ahmed Ali Darwish Al-Qawasmi, 14 years old,
from Hebron, was pronounced dead from a wound with a live bullet in
the head that was shot by an armed settler on December 8, 2000.
According to eyewitnesses, an armed settler pushed the child, threw
him down, and placed his foot on the child’s neck. Then, the settler
shot directly at the head of the child, wounding him critically. The
attack took place 100 meters inside Area H-1, which is under
Palestinian control. The child was evacuated to Al-Ahli hospital in
Hebron where he was pronounced dead this morning. This is a new crime
to be added to numerous other crimes and willful killings committed by
the Israeli occupation forces and armed settlers, who act under the
protection of these forces, against Palestinian civilians.
Yesterday afternoon, the Israeli occupation forces shot at Palestinian
civilians who were demonstrating in the village of Beit Fourik in
Nablus. As a result, Hekmat Abdel-Hadi Hanani, 22 years old, was
killed with a live bullet in the chest.
Today, at about 12:30 local time, Israeli occupation troops attacked
field officers of the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human
Rights and the Environment (LAW). PCHR learned that these field
officers were near a military roadblock of the Israeli occupation
forces on Nablus-Ramallah road, photographing a Palestinian civilian
car that was hit with stones thrown by settlers of Ofra settlement
near Ramallah. Israeli occupation forces attacked field officers
A’amer El-A’arori and Thurayya Oleyan, confiscating their videotapes
and wounding El-A’arori in the hand.
Yesterday afternoon, at about 15:00 local time, the Israeli occupation
forces positioned at the borderline near Salah El-Din Gate in Rafah,
shot at Ahmed Suleiman Abu Jazar, 17 years old, wounding him with a
live bullet in the chest. These forces also shot at an ambulance of
the Palestinian Red Crescent Society when it came to provide
assistance for the wounded boy. In his testimony to PCHR, the driver
said that he moved towards the wounded boy when the Israeli occupation
forces shot at the vehicle, which was 200 meters to the north of the
military post of the Israeli occupation forces. He stated that two
live bullets hit the right side of the ambulance. Nevertheless, the
medical staff managed to evacuate the boy to Al-Joneina hospital in
Rafah. He was in moderate condition.
Shelling of Rafah and Khan Yunis
This morning, at approximately 5:00 local time, the Israeli occupation
forces positioned in a military post near Salah El-Din Gate on the
borderline in Rafah fired 11 artillery shells at houses in Qeshta
neighborhood, 30-120 meters away from the mentioned military post.
The shells hit houses whose owners had left them in recent weeks due
to frequent shelling by the Israeli occupation forces. Damage to
these houses and a commercial store are detailed in the following: 1)
The house of Yusri Hamad Hamdan Qeshta, a two-story house in which
five people live, 100 meters away from the military post of the
Israeli occupation forces near Salah El-Din Gate: The southern façade
of the second floor was hit with three artillery shells that
penetrated walls, exploded in the bedroom and burned furniture. 2) The
house of Kamal Mahmoud Hassan Qeshta, a one-story house in which five
people live, 90 meters away from the military post of the Israeli
occupation forces near Salah El-Din Gate: The house was hit with three
artillery shells that penetrated the walls of the kitchen and the
living room, making large holes in the walls. 3) The house of Jalal
Hamdan A’wwad Abu Zuhri, a one-story house in which seven people live,
50 meters away from the military post of the Israeli occupation forces
near Salah El-Din Gate: A shell hit the veranda of the house, causing
severe damage to walls. 4) The house of Jamal Hamdan A’wwad Abu Zuhri,
a two-story house in which eight people live, 50 meters away from the
military post of the Israeli occupation forces near Salah El-Din Gate:
The western façade of the house was hit with an artillery shell,
making large holes. 5) The house of Hamdan Hamad Hassan Qeshta, a
two-story house in which five people live, 120 meters away from the
military post of the Israeli occupation forces near Salah El-Din Gate:
The western façade of the house was hit with two artillery shells, one
of which penetrated a glass window and exploded in a room, while the
other penetrated the wall of an external veranda. 6) The house of
Yousef Mahmoud Hassan Qeshta, a two-story house in which five people
live, 120 meters away from the military post of the Israeli occupation
forces near Salah El-Din Gate: A wall of the second floor was hit with
an artillery shell which did not explode. 7) A sewing store, owned by
Abdel-Karim Abdullah Khalifa El-Fere’, 300 meters away from the
military post of the Israeli occupation forces near Salah El-Din Gate:
A shell penetrated the door and exploded inside, causing severe damage
to cloth and a steam iron.
Last night, at approximately 00:30 local time, a tank of the Israeli
occupation forces positioned at Al-Tuffah roadblock moved 40 meters
forward inside the refugee camp of Khan Yunis, and fired 20 artillery
shells and a hail of bullets at houses in the refugee camp. Artillery
shells hit the electricity network, cutting electricity to the area.
In addition, a number of houses were severely damaged as follows: 1)
The house of Nayef Mosalam Abu Obeida, a 250-square-meter house in
which 20 people live: Shells made holes 20-30 centimeters in diameter
in walls and the asbestos roof and a water storage tank were
destroyed. 2) The house of Suleiman Mousa Abu Mousa, a
170-square-meter house in which seven people live: The asbestos roof
was destroyed and holes made in walls. 3) The house of Hussein Ahmed
Abu Khoreis, a 140-square-meter house in which 20 people live: Shells
made holes 20-30 centimeters in diameter in walls and the asbestos
roof and a water storage tank were destroyed. 4) The house of Khalil
Atteya Abu Namous, a 120-square-meter house in which 12 people live:
The asbestos roof and a water reservoir were destroyed. 5) The house
of Kamel Mohammed Abu A’kar, a 400-square-meter house in which 12
people live: Shells made holes 20-30 centimeters in diameter in walls
and the asbestos roof and a water storage tank were destroyed. 6) The
house of A’adel Abu Obeida, a 130-square-meter house in which 11
people live: For the second consecutive day, the house was shelled.
Shells made holes 20-30 centimeters in diameter in the roof and walls.
This was referred to in yesterday’s press release.
More sweeping of agricultural land
This morning, the Israeli occupation forces swept more areas of
agricultural land along the road between Al-Shuhada’ (Netzarim)
junction, to the south of Gaza City, and Al-Mentar (Karni) Outlet, to
the east of Gaza City. PCHR’s field officer in the area reported that
the sweeping included: 1) A five-donum area of agricultural land
planted with citrus, owned by Hammad Ahel. In addition, a well was
destroyed. 2) Continued sweeping of a three-donum area of agricultural
land planted with olives, owned by Ali A’yyad. 3) Continued sweeping
of a three-donum area of agricultural land planted with olives, owned
by Yousef El-Serhi. *** PCHR reiterates its call for the international
community to immediately intervene to stop the killings and criminal
acts perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian
civilians. PCHR calls in particular for:
1. Establishing without delay an independent commission of inquiry, in
accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1322 (2000), to carry
out a thorough and comprehensive investigation into the abuses and
killings perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces against
Palestinian civilians. 2. Convening a conference of the High
Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to ensure
Israel’s compliance with its obligations under the Convention. 3.
Immediately providing international protection for Palestinian
civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories in the face of the
killings and criminal acts perpetrated by the Israeli occupation
forces and groups of Jewish settlers who move under the protection of
these forces. 4. Use by the EU of effective political and economic
measures with reference to Article 2 of the Euro-Israel Association
Agreement, which calls for the respect of human rights. 5. Providing
humanitarian and medical assistance for the Palestinian people whose
living conditions are increasingly deteriorating because of the
continued total siege imposed by the Israeli occupation forces on the
entire occupied Palestinian territories. 6. Use by the international
community and relevant bodies, including ICRC, of necessary measures
to ensure the access of medical supplies and equipment and other
humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians. The Israeli
occupation forces have continued to deny entry of this material
through Rafah Border Crossing (into the Gaza Strip).
PCHR calls for boycotting the U.S.-sponsored fact-finding committee
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights calls on Palestinian civil
society organizations and the political spectrum to boycott the
fact-finding committee established by the U.S. and headed by Senator
George Mitchell. The committee’s mandate lacks the minimum standards
that must be found in an international, independent, neutral and
objective commission of inquiry to investigate human rights violations
and crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against
Palestinian civilians since September 29, 2000. PCHR regards the
formation of the committee as a dangerous maneuver to undermine UN
Security Council Resolution 1322 of October 7, 2000, which clearly
provided for “establishing a mechanism for a speedy and objective
inquiry of the tragic events.”
Instead of honestly implementing the Resolution, the U.S. made a
concerted effort to undermine it and to form a political fact-finding
group, rather than a truly independent investigation committee. The
U.S. managed to do this through the understandings reached at Sharm
El-Sheikh on October 17, 2000. PCHR strongly criticized these
inadequate understandings at the time. The committee established will
not publish its report except upon the agreement of the parties,
including Israel, and then under the auspices of the U.S. President
personally.
PCHR reiterates its call for establishing an international,
independent, neutral and objective investigation committee directed by
the UN and not by the U.S. Only a committee of this sort would be
able to carry out an objective and professional investigation into the
flagrant human rights abuses committed by the Israeli occupation
forces, to listen to eyewitnesses, to visit the affected areas, to see
all documents and data and to meet relevant parties. The Israeli
government strongly rejects the establishment of a UN-directed
international investigation committee as it fears the legal
consequences, the possibility that the Israeli occupation forces would
be charged with committing crimes and the possibility that
perpetrators of these crimes would be brought before a tribunal of
international justice.
PCHR
PCHR