Al- Haq Urges States not to Abandon International Law
Al-Haq Calls Upon the International Community of States to Enforce International Law and International Humanitarian Law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Urges them to Take Immediate and Effective Measures Against the Government of Israel to Ensure Compliance.
Al-Haq is deeply disturbed by the inaction of the international community of States as regards Israel's ongoing violations of international humanitarian, customary and treaty law, and Israel's flagrant and continued disregard for UN Resolutions.
Al-Haq's concern stems from the deafening silence of States in the face of Israel's continued use of excessive and indiscriminate force and collective punishment against the Palestinian civilian population of the Occupied Territories.
The Israeli Forces continue to enforce complete closures on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, bomb civilian areas, carry out willful killings and use excessive force against Palestinian civilians.
All of these policies and practices constitute gross violations of numerous international instruments that Israel has ratified including the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Covenant on the Rights of the Child, the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, and the Hague Regulations of 1907.
Evidence of these violations has been communicated on a regular basis to the International Community and relevant UN bodies.
The military closure imposed on the Occupied Territories has now entered into its third month. Placing a nation under siege and cutting villages and towns off from one another and the outside world is a clear violation of international human rights and humanitarian law.
The closure severely disrupts the economic, social, religious and cultural life of the Palestinian community.
The denial of Palestinians’ right to freedom of movement violates Article 13(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. As an occupying power, Israel has failed to perform its duty under international customary law to balance its security measures against the welfare of the occupied population (Hague Regulations Article 43).
The Israeli military is permitted under International Law to impose restrictions on the freedom of movement of a local population, but only to the degree that the restrictions limit military actions.
Blanket restrictions that restrict all movement for extended period of time and that are implemented to punish the population are illegal.
Israeli leaders have openly stated that they are using these measures as a form of collective punishment against the Palestinian population in response to acts of resistance against the occupation.
Israel continues to refuse to abide by its obligations under international law. By its consistent disregard for the will of the international community, including UN Security Council resolutions, Israel has become a legal renegade, placing itself above international responsibility.
The failure of the international community of States to act decisively and effectively to halt Israel’s violations of international treaties, customs and humanitarian and human rights law threatens to undermine the very basis and credibility of these laws and treaties, which must be applied impartially and non-selectively.
Unless this trend is reversed, the Occupied Territories, and indeed, international peace and security, will continue to be held hostage to Israel’s unilateral action, and to international inaction.
Al-Haq therefore urges the international community to fulfill its international legal responsibilities.
Al-Haq also calls upon the UN and its member states to work to restore respect by Israel for the Provisions of the UN Charter, UN Security Council Resolutions and international human rights and humanitarian law. return to top
ISRAEL CONTINUES TO EMPLOY WAR METHODS AGAINST PALESTINIANS
The excessive and indiscriminate use of force and firearms employed by the Israeli security forces against Palestinian demonstrators resulted in several injuries and destruction of property. Today, 26 November 2000, Assad Shaghnobi (22) died from wounds suffered earlier this week.
During demonstrations at the Al Muntar checkpoint in the Gaza Strip on 21 November 2000, Assad Khalil Al Shaghnobi (22) from Al Sabra neighborhood in Gaza City was hit by Israeli live ammunition in the head. Despite intensive medical surgery Shaghnobi died today.
Today, Israeli soldiers shot three Palestinian children with live ammunition at the Al Muntar checkpoint. Ahmed Shehadah (16) from Jabalia refugee camp was hit in the head. 15-year-old Bassam Al Ta’aban from Al Shajiah was shot in the eye. The third child, who has not been identified yet, was hit in the face.
Israeli tanks, stationed at the Tufah checkpoint in the Gaza Strip, fired rockets at houses in Khan Younis refugee camp. The house of Adel Salim Abu Oubeid was hit by a rocket and caught fire. It was the second time that Oubeid’s house was hit. Reportedly, some Palestinian families from Khan Younis, who live close to the Tufah checkpoint, are leaving their houses. Last night shots fired from the Dogid settlement and rockets launched from Israeli military ships attacked the Al Saifa neighbourhood north of Beit Lahia. Five Palestinian houses were hit and the water pump of the local well was damaged.
In the West Bank, Mohammad Abdallah Badel (18) from Lekia was hit by live ammunition in the leg at the northern entrance of Al Bireh. Furthermore, Khaled Abu Kalbush (24) from Araba village was hit in the head during clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli security forces.
LAW condemns the destruction of Palestinian property by the Israeli occupying forces. The destruction of property of the occupied civilian population, which is not of military necessity, is a violation of international humanitarian law.
LAW condemns the excessive use of force by the Israeli security forces, especially against Palestinian children. Children are afforded a high degree of protection within international human rights and humanitarian law and Israel is obliged to comply with the relevant provisions.
LAW demands the implementation of the Palestinian right to return. The right to return is deeply anchored in all human rights instruments supporting the provisions of UN Resolution 194, which sets down the legitimate right of the Palestinian refugees to return to their homes. return to top
Visiting Palestinian Detainees inside Israeli
Prisons
Campaign Organized by LAW Society
The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW) has organized a campaign of visits to Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons including Hadareem, the Prisons’ Authority Hospital in el Ramla, Majido, and Shata. The campaign’s aims are two fold. To support Palestinian detainees, especially in the current situation and to support prisoners’ families who have been deprived of the right to visit their loved ones for the past two months (since the start of the intifadah on September 29, 2000).
Hadareem Prison
During their visit to Hadareem prison, LAW Society’s lawyers met with the following four Palestinian prisoners: Ali Amudi (representing prisoners). Amudi is from Khan Yunis and has been serving his three life sentences since 1994, Mohammad Taqatqa, from Beit Fajar, who has been serving a life sentence since 1994. Ibraheem Nawahda, who has been serving a ten-year sentence since 1993, and Jalal Rumani, serving an 18-year sentence. Jalal is also ill and requires treatment but the prison’s administration has repeatedly delayed access to medical treatment.
The Palestinian prisoners complained of maltreatment received from the prison’s administration. They also complained about the bad medical treatment they received from the prison’s doctor who reportedly showed carelessness toward the cases he treated. According to the prisoners, the food at Hadareem, prepared by common criminals, is of bad quality and insufficient. Consequently, many prisoners suffer from stomach problems.
The prisoners also stated that the administration of Hadareem declared a state of emergency inside the prison at the beginning of the Intifada which has added to the stress of prison life.
El Ramla Prison
LAW Society’s lawyers also visited prisoners Mohammad Marar and Ribhi Harash, currently receiving medical treatment at (Marash) the Prisons’ Authority Hospital in el Ramla. Mohammad Marar told LAW Society’s lawyer that he had been arrested on October 2, 2000 after being wounded in the leg on the fourth day of the current Intifada. He was standing on top of his house when he was wounded. Marar added that after his arrest, the Israeli soldiers dragged him on the ground for 100 meters and took him to Surka hospital in Bir el Sabi’a, where he spent 23 days before he was taken to Khashabiyit el Majnuni in Hebron and then eventually taken on to el Ramla. The lawyers also met with prisoner Ribhi Harash from Tulkarem who has been serving a 12-year sentence since 1989.
The following Palestinian detainees are also held at el Ramla hospital since they need continuous medical attention: Ali Shalalda, Mohammad Khateeb, Mohammad Abu Hadwan, Juma’a Ismail (all from Jerusalem), Amjad Husni from Qalqilia, Mohammad Bsharat from Tubas, and Akram Salami from Khan Yunis.
The Palestinian prisoners at el Ramla hospital complained of bad quality food, they also complained of being deprived of recreation facilities. As a result, the prisoners rarely leave their rooms.
Majido Prison
LAW Society’s lawyers visited three prisoners at Majido, Khalid Jado from Bethlehem who has been serving a four and a half year sentence since 1997, Mu’tasim Dawood from Qalqilia, and Muayad Abu Baker from Jenin, sentenced to two and a half years in 1999.
The prisoners complained of the temperamental prison administration. They stated that the food supplies have been reduced by 15%, the administration claims that this is for budgetary reasons. Moreover, prisoners complained of neglect vis-a-vis their medical conditions and treatment, which is limited to painkillers.
The prisoners stated that they were locked up in 32 tents, each with a capacity of holding 20 people. There are also prison cells where 60 prisoners are kept in each cell. They complained of cold weather inside the tents during winter. Families have been unable to bring them winter clothes due to the closure imposed on the Palestinian territories.
The prisoners also complained of the conditions of the visitors’ rooms where there are no toilets and there exists a glass barrier that separates prisoners from their families and lawyers. Majido holds approximately 640 Palestinian prisoners mostly from the West Bank, as well as 11 administrative detainees.
LAW Society lawyers also visited Jasir Sawafta from Tubas who has been held at Shata prison since his arrest on November 18, 2000. He was arrested at Bisan (beyond the Green Line). Sawafta was sentenced to 21 days detention and fined NIS 800. return to top
Settler violence against Palestinians Daily report
-Attacks on Palestinian residents by Israeli settlers and soldiers were reported in the area of Silwad near the settlement of 'Ofra. Cars were stoned, shot at and attacked. One car flipped over as a result of the attacks, injuring all three passengers. Similar incidents were reported from the village of Kherebtha Bani Hareth.
-Settler attacks continued all day throughout the Nablus area, including Huwarra, Yetma, Qabalan, Madama, and Asira Sebastia. Several Palestinians were seriously injured and hospitalized as a result of severe beatings by settlers. In one incident, Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian ambulance that was transporting a Palestinian patient to Jericho from Nablus. Ambulance driver Imad Al Natour was injured and taken to Rafidia hospital in Nablus (where he also works).
-Increased Israeli settler attacks were reported throughout the Hebron area.