At 1 a.m. this morning Israeli soldiers imposed a total siege of Palestinian villages within the Occupied Territories. They have dug a trench and installed a blockade, starting from Sorda village near Ramallah, from Ein Sheikh Yusef, up to the town of Bir Zeit. The trench and blockade is 2 metres into the earth, and it is about 150 metres in length. This total siege prevents any access to or out of the areas by vehicle.
25 Palestinian villages, and their 65,000 residents, have been affected by this closure, in particular El Mizra'a el Qiblia, and Abu Qash, Kobar, and Abu Shkhedim. The Israeli soldiers, in the course of digging up the trenches and installing the blockade have destroyed the water pipes (the only water supply outlets) and telephone cables of these villages. The residents are left without any water or telephone access.
Students of Bir Zeit University are meant to start the new University term on 17 March 2001. However, the five thousand students attending the University will be unable to gain access as all access roads and routes to Bir Zeit University from other Palestinian villages or towns have been closed off by Israeli soldiers.
Other than Bir Zeit, these villages will also suffer from lack of access to medical treatment or care, as there are no hospitals or medical clinics in these villages. The residents would usually go to Ramallah for medical treatment, however all movement by vehicle out of the villages is prohibited. Furthermore, the Israeli forces are also stopping the delivery of any crucial supplies into the villages, including medical supplies.
According to Dr. Albert Aghazarian of the Public Relations department of Bir Zeit University, and other residents of the 25 villages affected, there have been no recent clashes or demonstrations in the area. Furthermore, there have been no shootings from these villages at Israeli soldiers or settlers. There are no genuine security or military reasons for taking these measures. The total siege is being imposed by the Israeli government as a repressive form of collective punishment, which is prohibited by international humanitarian law.
LAW demands that the Israeli government stops its violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by ending the total siege imposed on these Palestinian villages.
LAW demands that the residents of the 25 villages be immediately granted access to essential supplies (including water supplies and telephone) and medical care and treatment.
LAW asks the International community to intervene to take measures to stop Israel's on going and escalating violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, and to urgently intervene before the humanitarian crisis deepens within the Occupied Palestinian territories.
When 9-year old Ubay Darraj was killed last Friday, he was playing in his bedroom, under the protection of his 'home'. Ubay was hit in the chest by heavy machinegun bullets fired from Israeli army posts guarding the outskirts of Psagot settlement near Al-Bireh; he was dead upon arrival at Ramallah hospital.
Mohammad Hilles, a 13-year old boy from Al- Shajaiyi, was shot in the head while crossing Al-Mintar junction east of Gaza on February 27th; he died of his wounds a few days later, on the same day as Ubay.
Aida Daoud Musa, 43 years old, was killed by a 5 mm. high velocity bullet fired from Psagot settlement. Aida was walking near Friends School in Al-Bireh with her son and daughter, she was buying presents for her children a day before Al-Adha festivals. Aida was killed immediately, her daughter, Nadil, was wounded in her left arm.
24-year old Abdelkareem Abu Asba was caught in clashes outside Qalandia refugee camp. According to his father, he was on his way to a nearby shop to get milk and biscuits for his daughter. Abdelkareem was killed instantly when Israeli soldiers opened fire.
Even a mentally disabled 42-year old man, Mustafa Al-Ramlawi, was shot and killed at Netzarim junction when Israeli soldiers "suspected" that he was preparing to set off a bomb. Mustafa was shot from a distance of 100 meters with heavy machineguns. Later, Israeli army sources confirmed that the incident was a tragic mistake. It was a tragic mistake.
As the Intifada enters its 6th consecutive month, the Palestinian people find themselves desperately in need of 'protection'. The danger is unavoidable, the horror of getting killed, or even injured, is starring the Palestinian people (all Palestinian people) straight in the face.
With Barak's unleashing of power 5 months ago, Sharon's determination to guarantee "peace and SECURITY," and more recently, Mofaz's war mongering and urge to use more stringent measures against the Palestinians, life in the Palestinian territories has become a theatre for bloodthirsty Israeli army generals, whose total disregard for innocent Palestinian lives is a crime against humanity in itself.
The international community has a moral, political, and legal obligation to intervene and stop the ongoing massacres that are being committed by Israel against the Palestinian people. The total number of Palestinians killed since late September 2000 has exceeded 400, almost 50% of which are children below the age of 18. The total number of casualties is almost 12,000, some with critical and irrecoverable injuries.
The Palestinian people need protection; the Palestinian people deserve protection.
Israeli authorities have intensified the multiple siege imposed on Palestinian towns and villages across the West Bank. Late last night, Israeli soldiers cut off the main road connecting the West Bank town of Bir Zeit from nearby Ramallah, by digging a 100 meter long army bunker across the small village of Surda (between Ramallah and Bir Zeit), causing a complete shut down of water access to neighboring villages and cutting off all telephone lines.
Similar measures were taken last night in the northern West Bank towns of Tukarem and Qalqilia. Israeli authorities have blocked the main entrances to these towns with dirt barriers, causing a complete isolation of its residents from the rest of the West Bank. In Jericho, Israeli soldiers carried out similar measures; trenches, road barriers, and a complete military closure on the Palestinian-ruled part of the city.
On the southern outskirts of Ramallah, Rafat village has been cut off for 9 consecutive days. Israeli forces have also imposed daily curfews on Rafat, leaving dozens of its residents trapped in Ramallah and other neighboring towns.
Israel's multiple-siege policy has had detrimental effects on the economic and social lives of the Palestinian people over the past 5 months. Most Palestinian towns and villages are completely isolated, and are suffering from a serious shortage in food supplies, medicine, as well as vital services.
The closures are strangling a population of 2.8 million Palestinians. The economic impact of the multiple siege are grave; the Palestinians are losing a total of US$ 6.8 million per day due to the ongoing closures, and there is a 50% decline in Palestinian GNP since September 2000.
The humanitarian, political, and legal dimensions of the Israeli-imposed siege on the Palestinian territories is a blatant violation to the most basic Palestinian human and civil rights; Israel's mass imprisonment of an entire population is an intolerable and discriminatory measure that must end immediately.
The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH) urges the international community to condemn Israel's policy of 'collective punishment', and to take immediate and concrete measures to end the ongoing siege on the Palestinian territories.