Geneva, 28 Feb - Israel must address the occupation and violation of human rights and international humanitarian law it engenders in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and "not invoke the justification of terrorism as a distraction, as a pretext for failure to confront the root cause of Palestinian violence - the occupation".
This message was highlighted by United Nations Special Rapporteur John Dugard in his latest report on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.
Arguably, said the report by the Special Rapporteur, Israel has violated the most fundamental rules of international humanitarian law, which constitute war crimes in terms of article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and article 85 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Additional Protocol I).
The report (A/HRC/7/17) is to be taken up at the Human Rights Council which holds its first substantive session for this year on 3-28 March.
In his report, the UN human rights expert said that the human rights situation in the West Bank has worsened, despite expectations that it would improve following the removal of Hamas from the Government of the West Bank.
Settlements expand, the construction of the wall continues, and checkpoints increase in number. Military incursions and arrests have intensified, and some 11,000 Palestinian prisoners remain in Israeli jails, said Dugard.
The Special Rapporteur's report is based on his visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories from 25 September 2007 to 1 October 2007.
Addressing the issue of terrorism, the human rights expert said that terrorism is a scourge, a serious violation of human rights and international humanitarian law. Palestinians are guilty of terrorizing innocent Israeli civilians by means of suicide bombs and Qassam rockets.
Likewise, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are guilty of terrorizing innocent Palestinian civilians by military incursions, targeted killings and sonic booms that fail to distinguish between military targets and civilians.
"All these acts must be condemned and have been condemned," said Dugard, pointing out that "common sense, however, dictates that a distinction must be drawn between acts of mindless terror, such as acts committed by Al Qaeda, and acts committed in the course of a war of national liberation against colonialism, apartheid or military occupation."
"While such acts cannot be justified, they must be understood as being a painful but inevitable consequence of colonialism, apartheid or occupation," he said, citing history as being replete with examples of military occupation that have been resisted by violence - acts of terror.
The German occupation was resisted by many European countries in the Second World War; the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) resisted South Africa's occupation of Namibia; and Jewish groups resisted British occupation of Palestine - inter alia, by the blowing up of the King David Hotel in 1946 with heavy loss of life, by a group masterminded by Menachem Begin, who later became Prime Minister of Israel.
This is why every effort should be made to bring the occupation to a speedy end. Until this is done, peace cannot be expected, and violence will continue, said Dugard, adding that Israel cannot expect perfect peace and the end of violence as a precondition for the ending of the occupation.
In the present international climate it is easy for a State to justify its repressive measures as a response to terrorism - and to expect a sympathetic hearing. Israel exploits the present international fear of terrorism to the full. But this will not solve the Palestinian problem, said the rights expert.
"Israel must address the occupation and the violation of human rights and international humanitarian law it engenders, and not invoke the justification of terrorism as a distraction, as a pretext for failure to confront the root cause of Palestinian violence - the occupation."
With regards to the situation in Gaza, Dugard said that the evacuation of Israeli settlements and the withdrawal of the permanent IDF presence from Gaza in 2005, has now given rise to the argument that Gaza is no longer occupied territory. On 15 September 2005, Prime Minister Sharon told the General Assembly that Israel's withdrawal from Gaza meant the end of its responsibility for Gaza.
The Special Rapporteur countered this by saying that Israel remains the occupying Power as technological developments have made it possible for Israel to assert control over the people of Gaza without a permanent military presence.
Israel's effective control has been demonstrated by amongst others its substantial control of Gaza's six land crossings; control through military incursions, rocket attacks and sonic booms; complete control of Gaza's airspace and territorial waters; and control of the Palestinian Population Registry - the definition of who is "Palestinian" and who is a resident of Gaza and the West Bank is controlled by the Israeli military.
The report noted that IDF military incursions into Gaza have continued regularly over the past year; 290 Palestinians were killed in Gaza in 2007. Of this number, at least a third were civilians. In the past two years, 668 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces in Gaza. Over half - 359 people - were not involved in hostilities at the time they were killed. Of those killed, 126 were minors; 361 were killed by missiles fired from helicopters; and 29 of those killed were targeted for assassination.
The report also noted that during the same period, Palestinians fired some 2,800 Qassam rockets and mortar shells into Israel from the Gaza Strip. Four Israeli civilians were killed by Qassam rockets and hundreds were injured.
All the crossings into and out of Gaza are controlled by Israel. Rafah, the crossing point for Gazans to Egypt, and Karni, the commercial crossing for the import and export of goods, are the principal crossing points. From mid-June to early August 2007, some 6,000 Palestinians were stranded on the Egyptian side of the border, without adequate accommodation or facilities and denied the right to return home.
On 19 September, Israel declared Gaza to be a hostile territory and announced that, as a consequence, it would reduce the supply of fuel and electricity to Gaza. According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, fuel supplies have been reduced by more than 50% since the decision to cease fuel supplies on 25 October 2007.
Pointing to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the report said that over 80% of the population of Gaza is dependent on food aid from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the World Food Programme (WFP). Although critical humanitarian food supplies are being allowed in, only 41% of Gaza's food import needs are currently being met.
The closure of crossings also prevents Gazan farmers and manufacturers from exporting their goods to markets outside Gaza. It prevents materials from entering Gaza and this has resulted in the end of most construction works and the closure of factories. According to the Palestinian Federation of Industries, 95% of Gaza's industrial operations have been suspended as a result of restrictions, said the report.
Health-care clinics are in short supply of pediatric antibiotics, and 91 key drugs are no longer available. Previously, seriously ill patients were allowed to leave Gaza to receive treatment in Israel, the West Bank, Egypt, Jordan and other countries through the Rafah and Erez crossings. Rafah is now completely closed and the Israeli authorities deny passage through Erez to all but the most "severe and urgent cases".
The World Health Organization reports that while 89.4% of patients who applied for permits during the period January-May 2007 were granted permits, only 77.1% of those who applied were granted permits during October 2007.
Dugard said that this has resulted in a drastic increase in the number of patients who have died as a result of restrictions: according to the Israeli NGO Physicians for Human Rights, since June 2007, 44 people have died as a result of denial or delay of access to medical care by the Israeli authorities and 13 died in November alone.
Addressing the legal consequences of Israel's actions, the report said that while the firing of rockets into Israel by Palestinian militants without any military target, which has resulted in the killing and injury of Israelis, cannot be condoned and constitutes a war crime, serious questions arise over the proportionality of Israel's military response and its failure to distinguish between military and civilian targets.
"It is highly arguable that Israel has violated the most fundamental rules of international humanitarian law, which constitute war crimes in terms of article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and article 85 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Additional Protocol I)," said the report.
As to the situation in the West Bank and Jerusalem, the report said that it was widely expected that the human rights situation would improve in the West Bank following the exclusion of Hamas from the Government of the West Bank.
Unfortunately, Israel has not taken steps to dismantle the infrastructure of occupation. On the contrary, it has maintained and expanded the instruments that most seriously violate human rights - military incursions, settlements, the separation wall, restrictions on freedom of movement, the Judaization of Jerusalem and the demolition of houses.
Military incursions in the West Bank have intensified since June 2007. For instance, in November, the IDF carried out 786 raids in the West Bank in the course of which one person was killed, 67 injured and 398 arrested; public and private properties were damaged; curfews were imposed; and countless innocent civilians were terrorized by armed soldiers and dogs.
The report noted that there are 149 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Despite promises by Israel to freeze settlement growth, the number of settlers has increased by 63% since 1993 to its present population of 460,000. At present, new construction is under way in 88 settlements and the average growth rate in the settlements is 4.5% compared with the average growth rate of 1.5% in Israel itself.
The report also said that checkpoints and roadblocks seriously obstruct the freedom of movement of Palestinians in the West Bank, with disastrous consequences for both personal life and the economy. There are 561 such obstacles to freedom of movement, comprising over 80 manned checkpoints and some 476 unmanned locked gates, earth mounds, concrete blocks and ditches.
The wall that Israel is at present building, largely in Palestinian territory, is clearly illegal, said Dugard. The wall is planned to extend for 721 kilometres, and at present, 59% of the wall has been completed. When the wall is finished, an estimated 60,000 West Bank Palestinians living in 42 villages and towns will reside in the closed zone between the wall and the Green Line. This area will constitute 10.2% of Palestinian land in the West Bank, he added.
The construction of the wall, the expansion of settlements, the restrictions on freedom of movement, house demolitions and military incursions have had a disastrous impact on the economy, health, education, family life and standard of living of Palestinians in the West Bank, said the report.
The report also estimated that since 1967, over 700,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned. At present, there are some 11,000 prisoners in Israeli jails, a number which includes 376 children, 118 women, 44 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council and some 800 "administrative detainees" (that is, persons not convicted for any offence, held for renewable periods of up to six months).
Full report (pdf format)
