Obama to Confront Israeli Settlement Surge in Netanyahu Meeting

By Jonathan Ferziger

May 14 (Bloomberg) -- On a West Bank plateau overlooking the desert road to Jericho, crews are building cottages and paving streets for a new neighborhood in Maale Adumim, Israel’s biggest settlement.

A town of 35,000 with a suburban-style shopping mall, Maale Adumim is one of about two dozen settlements Israel is expanding in the face of demands from U.S. and European leaders to halt construction. The push has helped increase the number of Jewish settlers in the West Bank, where Palestinians hope to create a state, by 40 percent in the last seven years to almost 300,000.

Settlements will be on the agenda when President Barack Obama, who supports Palestinian statehood, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is skeptical about it, meet at the White House next week. Vice President Joe Biden told Israel supporters in Washington on May 5 that settlement-construction must stop, the strongest statement on the subject so far from the administration.

“If Obama seriously expects a breakthrough, he’s going to have to keep the pressure on Netanyahu and test his commitment to a solution the Palestinians can live with,” said Yoram Meital, chairman of the Chaim Herzog Center for Middle East Studies at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba. “It’s going to be very hard to get Netanyahu to agree to a complete freeze on settlement-building.”

Biblical Israel

Jewish settlers, with the backing of prior Israeli governments, have built in the West Bank since 1967, just months after Israel captured the territory in a war with its Arab neighbors. They are driven in part by the belief that populating biblical Israel is a religious imperative. For Palestinians, the land is stolen and settlements represent a direct threat to their dream of creating a state.

Successive Israeli governments have refrained from building any new settlements while allowing, and in some cases encouraging, existing ones to expand. In addition, settlers have built close to 100 wildcat outposts in the West Bank under government threats that they will be closed.

While most of the recent expansion of existing settlements has been near Jerusalem, large-scale projects are also under way in such places as Maale Shomron, far north of the city, and Modiin Illit, closer to Tel Aviv. Construction this year has accelerated throughout the West Bank, even in such far-flung settlements as Halamish and Rehalim, near Nablus, said Dror Etkes of the Yesh Din organization, a group of Israelis who defend Palestinian rights.

‘Most Daring Expansion’

“This has been the greatest and most daring expansion in the past six years,” Etkes said.

Previous Israeli governments have insisted on retaining large clusters of settlements near the 1967 war border in any peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority, and proposed swapping parts of sovereign Israeli territory in exchange.

Zalman Shoval, a Netanyahu foreign policy adviser and former ambassador to the U.S., says the new government won’t build any new settlements. Those near Jerusalem, Israel’s capital, will be allowed to expand, though.

“Almost no Israeli political party regards Jerusalem and its suburbs as settlements,” Shoval said.

The Palestinian Authority, on the other hand, intends to build its own capital in Jerusalem and considers Maale Adumim as illegal as any of the other 121 West Bank settlements, said Saeb Erekat, a negotiator for the authority. The Palestinians hope to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza, home to about 4 million people.

Confrontation Potential

“When we see that settlements continue to be built, it shuts down virtually any hope that Israel will accept a two- state solution,” said Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council who came in second to Mahmoud Abbas in the 2005 presidential election. “It has the potential to bring about a very serious confrontation.”

West Bank Israeli leaders are betting that Netanyahu, 59, and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who lives in the settlement of Nokdim, will actively encourage new construction in current settlements.

In Ariel, the largest settlement in the northern West Bank, Mayor Ron Nachman has raised funds from wealthy American supporters to spruce up the city. The mayor often holds court at the cappuccino bar in Ariel’s $8 million John Hagee Sports Center, built largely with contributions from the San Antonio- based Christian televangelist for whom it was named.

Then-Republican presidential candidate John McCain severed ties with Hagee last year after a recording surfaced in which the televangelist said God’s will was at work in the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism.

Milken’s Gift

Closer to Nachman’s office is the Milken Family Cultural Center, a gift from junk-bond pioneer Michael Milken and his brother, Lowell.

“They help us to survive,” Nachman said.

Even with Netanyahu’s record of support, some settler leaders are concerned he won’t buck pressure from Obama, 47, to halt construction.

“Outside of Arab terror and Iran, the United States is Israel’s biggest problem,” said Benny Katzover, a founder of the Elon Moreh settlement east of Nablus.

While the new neighborhood in Maale Adumim is crawling with bulldozers, steamrollers and building crews, Palestinian leaders are most alarmed by Israeli plans to build more than 1,000 new homes and a network of roads on a nearby hilltop known as the E- 1 area. The project, which Lieberman has pledged to finish, would impede access for Palestinians between the northern and southern West Bank.

“If Netanyahu goes ahead with it,” Erekat said, “Mr. Obama can kiss all his plans for the region goodbye.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Jonathan Ferziger in Maale Adumim through the Tel Aviv newsroom at jferziger@bloomberg.net

Lieberman in London – protest Wednesday 10.30am Foreign Office

Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s openly racist Foreign Minister, is coming to London.

Join us from 10.30am-12 noon on Wednesday 13 May to protest outside the Foreign Office, Whitehall, London.

Lieberman will be meeting with David Miliband – tell the Foreign Office that there is no place for racists here.

Protest called by Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, British Muslim Initiative, Stop the War Coalition, CND, Palestinian Forum in Britain.

During Israel’s bombing and invasion of Gaza, Avigdor Lieberman threatened action ‘just like the United States did with the Japanese in World War II’, when the US used nuclear bombs to obliterate two cities. He has called for the execution of elected Arab members of Israel's parliament if they have any contact with Hamas, and
threatened the expulsion of Palestinian citizens of Israel.

For more information on Lieberman: http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/people/658.shtml

"Life is blind now"

Mahmoud before and after the attack that claimed his sight. (PCHR)

Mahmoud Mattar spent his 15th birthday in February this year, lying in the intensive care unit of Egypt's Sheikh Zayid hospital. He is one of the 1,606 children who were injured during Israel's military offensive on Gaza, some of who sustained horrific disabilities, head and spinal injuries, facial disfigurement, burns and amputation.

On Wednesday 7 January 2009, Mahmoud Mattar, then 14, was struck by a rocket near his home in Sheikh Radwan, Gaza City, that left him permanently blind and with extensive injuries. It was around 09:30 in the morning and Mahmoud was at home with his mother and siblings when an Israeli aircraft fired a missile at al-Taqwa mosque, 150 meters away.

Mahmoud ran to see what had happened, and shortly afterwards a second missile hit the scene, killing two 15-year-old boys, including Abdullah Juda, one of Mahmoud's school friends. Mahmoud's uncle, Nahed Mattar, 43, went to find his nephew while people gathered in the area.

Just as Nahed reached out to grab Mahmoud, a third rocket hit. "I had gone to find Mahmoud and bring him home," said Nahed. "I saw the two boys who had been killed and their bodies were dismembered. People were trying to evacuate them because ambulances were unable to reach the area and the mosque had been destroyed, with just a minaret left standing.

As Nahed reached out for Mahmoud's hand, a rocket landed just a meter and a half away from his nephew: "I was injured in the head and Mahmoud was thrown unconscious. His face was in a terrible shape -- it has only improved now after numerous operations -- and there were shrapnel injuries all over his body."

The last thing Mahmoud remembers that day was his uncle beside him: "I told my uncle something was going to hit us. I couldn't see the missile but I could feel something was going to happen. I made my shahaadah [Muslim declaration of faith before death] and was about to take a step forward. I don't remember anything after that."

Mahmoud's eyes were burnt, and his facial bones were fractured. His lower jaw was broken, he lost some of his teeth, and had shrapnel injuries and third degree burns throughout his body.

Mahmoud was transferred to Gaza City's Shifa hospital where the seriousness of his condition meant transfer to hospital in Egypt was essential. But later that same day, 7 January 2009, an ambulance convoy belonging to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, was fired upon traveling south of Gaza City, so Mahmoud had to wait until the 10 of January before he could be transferred. In Egypt Mahmoud endured numerous operations to reconstruct his face and bone transplants. He also suffered lung damage due to smoke inhalation and his breathing is now labored.

Mahmoud spent a total of three months and ten days in the hospital in Egypt, including one month in the intensive care unit of Sheikh Zayid hospital, and two months in Cairo's Palestine hospital. He returned to the Gaza Strip in late April 2009 and is now trying to adapt to his new circumstances. Mahmoud's father is unemployed and has health problems and the school for the blind in Gaza normally only accepts younger children. His family is now trying to arrange special dispensation so Mahmoud can continue his education.

"Mahmoud was very active in school and loved sports," says his mother Randa Mattar, aged 36. "He loved gymnastics, especially in the sea. My son is the same person he was before."

"The only different thing with me is that life is blind now," adds Mahmoud, as he play-fights with his younger brothers. "Sounds are much louder to me now. Now if an ant walks by, I hear it."

The prospect of lifelong care for severely injured children who survived Israeli attacks is too much to bear for Gazan families already vulnerable after two years of border closures, 42 years of military occupation, and rising poverty levels.

While some of the costs of Mahmoud's hospitalization were covered by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, he needs more follow up care and support and the ability to travel for further treatment.

"Mahmoud also needs cosmetic surgery and to be fitted with glass eyes," explains Nahed, who stayed with his nephew for the duration of his time in Egypt and has developed a very close bond with him. "We will have to find the money to pay for that ourselves, somehow."

This report is part of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights series "Aftermath" that looks at the aftermath of Israel's 22-day offensive on the Gaza Strip, and the ongoing impact it is having on the civilian population.

Rights orgs: Donor aid shouldn't underwrite Israeli crimes

Press release, Various undersigned, 7 May 2009

On 2 March 2009, major international donors convened in Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt to collectively respond to the destruction caused by Israel's 23 day military offensive on the Gaza Strip. During the conference, a total of $4.5 billion was pledged in reconstruction funds for Gaza. In light of the extensive destruction across the Gaza Strip, especially the destruction of civilian homes and infrastructure, reconstruction is urgent.

However, as Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations, we must note that by agreeing to reconstruction without specific, binding assurances from the State of Israel, international donors are effectively underwriting Israel's illegal actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). International law -- including international human rights law, international humanitarian law (IHL), and the law of state responsibility for wrongful acts -- places specific, binding obligations on the State of Israel (based, inter alia, on its duties as an Occupying Power) with respect to the maintenance and development of normal life in occupied territory. By repeatedly restricting their action to providing aid, without holding Israel accountable for its specific obligations, international donors are relieving Israel of its legally binding responsibilities.

Individual donor states -- as High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions -- are under an obligation to ensure respect for the conventions at all times. They are also bound by international law which prohibits complicity in internationally wrongful acts. By repeatedly covering the cost of the occupation, without demanding accountability from Israel, the international community is implicitly encouraging violations of international law perpetrated by Israeli forces in occupied territory: individual donor states may thus be acting contrary to their own legal obligations.

We are concerned that such action negatively impacts upon respect for the rule of law, and is in violation of states' legal obligations. Ultimately, the continuation of this policy may reduce the protections afforded to civilian populations, further exposing them to violations of the laws of war.

The legal and contextual situation relating to this issue has been outlined in a joint fact sheet, "Human Rights Organizations Call for an End to International Donor Complicity in Israeli Violations of International Law," released on 6 May.

As human rights organizations we are calling for international donors to demand specific, concrete assurances from the State of Israel. These assurances, and the political will necessary to ensure their compliance, must form an integral part of international assistance to the Palestinian people. As the responsible party, Israel must accept the consequences of its actions. As illustrated in the fact sheet, the State of Israel is subject to explicit legal obligations: it bears the responsibility for reconstructing and maintaining the Gaza Strip. Bank-rolling the occupation without demanding an end to its violations is equivalent to tacit complicity on the part of the international community.

Reconstruction aid must be accompanied by strict conditions and assurances from the State of Israel. Otherwise, the taxpayers of the international community will continue to support an endless cycle of aid-destruction-aid-reconstruction. The Palestinian people will continue to suffer at the hands of a brutal and illegal occupation.

International assistance is most appropriate at the political level. It has become increasingly evident that international aid alone cannot resolve the conflict. In order to facilitate long-term development and recovery, political will and political action are required. All potential avenues that accord with humanitarian and human rights law must be pursued in order to ensure the State of Israel's compliance with international law. We call on the taxpayers of the international community to exert pressure on their governments, to lobby on behalf of the rights of the Palestinian people, and to ensure that their money is no longer wasted by governments willing to fund a school but not willing to take action in response to that school's destruction, or to ensure that the cement necessarily for its reconstruction is permitted to enter Gaza.

Undersigned organizations
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)
Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights
Al-Haq
Al Mezan
BADIL Resource Centre for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights
Gaza Community Mental Health Program (GCMHP)
Gisha: Legal Center for Freedom of Movement
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD)
ITTIJAH - Union of Arab Community Based Organisations
Physicians for Human Rights - Israel (PHR)
Public Committee against Torture in Israel (PCATI)
Women's Affairs Centre (WAC)

In Ireland or Palestine, strength in unity

Ken Foley, The Electronic Intifada, 11 May 2009


"There is no such thing as a power struggle while under occupation." (Mamoun Wazwaz/MaanImages)

The recent Israeli actions in Gaza demonstrated not only the brutal nature of the occupation and the ideology behind it, but also the deep internal division within the Palestinian body politic. It was already common knowledge that Israel had effectively ended the ceasefire on 4 November with an attack that left six members of Hamas dead. Yet, as pictures of dead, dying and wounded Palestinian police cadets flashed through the world's television screens, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was busy toeing the Israeli line that Hamas was responsible for the ending of ceasefire. He said this, not because it was true, but as a way of undermining the political authority of Hamas in Gaza and increasing his own. Ordinary Palestinians saw through the quite crude and transparent attempt, forcing Abbas to backtrack on his earlier assertion.

The now un-mandated Palestinian president has overseen a situation where his political legitimacy rests, not on his acceptance by the Palestinian people, but on his acceptance by Israel and the West as "a man we can do business with." Of course they mean business on their terms, not on terms that will bring about a lasting peace but on terms that will preserve Israeli hegemony and reinforce the notion among Palestinians that they are a defeated people. Coming from Ireland and understanding the nature of conflict resolution in the case of the Irish peace process, it is clear that peace is not achieved on such terms. Without justice there can be no peace.

Peace is sometimes defined as an absence of conflict. However, I would define it as an absence of injustice. In the years leading up to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, the British government approached the concept of peace in the narrow terms of defeating and undermining armed resistance, primarily by the Irish Republican Army, against the British occupation of Ireland. For them, armed resistance was a direct challenge to their position of dominance and privilege.

The Good Friday Agreement was not the first attempt to end conflict in the north of Ireland. The Sunningdale and Anglo-Irish Agreements in the 1970s and '80s respectively were attempts to end conflict but also to preserve the status quo position of dominance and privilege. There was no acceptance that the armed conflict was the inevitable manifestation of the political conditions in which Nationalist Republicans found themselves. The institutionalized discrimination in areas such as jobs and housing were still a daily reality. In addition, there were concerted attempts to treat the situation in the north of Ireland as a simple security situation that could be defeated militarily. The aim was to reinforce in the minds of Irish Republicans that they were a defeated people. However, the resistance, both politically and militarily, continued against the politics of occupation, subjugation and discrimination until the more recent peace process began.

These days, the north of Ireland is a much different place than the "Protestant Parliament for a Protestant People." One Party Unionist rule in the interests of the British State is gone. The sectarian Royal Ulster Constabulary police force is gone and the British soldiers are no longer on the streets. The days of British Unionist domination over the Irish Nationalist community are gone and they are not coming back.

Although the peace process in Ireland still has a long road ahead in achieving its core political objectives from a Nationalist and Republican perspective, it is moving forward in the right direction. In contrast, the so-called Israeli-Palestinian "peace process" based on the Oslo accords of the mid-'90s and the more recent attempt to resuscitate it at the 2007 Annapolis conference has been an unmitigated disaster for Palestinians. The difference is clear. Israel's military occupation continues: the settlement-building, apartheid roads, the wall in the West Bank and army checkpoints continue to harass and oppress Palestinians more than ever before. Meanwhile, the Palestinian people are still subject to arbitrary arrest, deportation, internment without charge or trial and murder by the occupation forces contrary to every semblance of international law. The only "facts on the ground" in Palestine are those illegally imposed by Israel, once again in violation of international law, but also against the spirit of any viable process of genuine conflict resolution.

What is clear is that the road to a free Palestine is a long and arduous one. In terms of all of us who want justice for the Palestinian people, it is of vital importance that we redouble our collective efforts to work for this aim. One of the main differences between previous peace processes in Ireland and the most recent one was the formation of a united front on the part of Nationalist Ireland. The Irish Government, Sinn Fein and the Social Democratic and Labor Party formed a strategic alliance during the negotiations. This was of vital importance to the successful resolution of the talks in the years after. What was also of vital importance was the international aspect of the process. We were able to utilize the strength of the Irish Diaspora in the United States to act as a bulwark to those in the British establishment who were opposed to change. What this achieved was to take ownership of the process away from those who were direct participants to the conflict.

But this did not happen by accident. The political strength of the Irish lobby in America was built up over decades of activism at a time when successive US presidents and their administrations were close to the British. Although the Israel lobby is much more powerful than the British version we found ourselves dealing with, the principles for building political strength internationally are similar. Palestinian society itself has among its number some of the most highly educated individuals available. Also, the history of Palestine, tragic though it is, has provided the opportunity to utilize the sizable Diaspora communities in many countries around the world. The attack on Gaza and the public reaction throughout the world demonstrated the existence of an international activist base that has the potential to bring about real and genuine momentum in the struggle for a free Palestine if developed and used to bring pressure on the governments who ignored the protests and absolved themselves of any responsibility to implement any of the international legal and human rights standards that they themselves have signed up to in relation to Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians.

However, in order to maximize political strength, there is also a need for political and strategic unity on the part of Palestinian and international solidarity activists. It would be an obvious assumption that this unity must begin in Palestine itself. In order to have the widest possible section of Palestinian society represented, it is vital that all mandates as expressed by the Palestinian people are respected.

There is no such thing as a power struggle while under occupation. Does the Palestinian minister for tourism have more power to decide tourism policy in the West Bank or Gaza than an Israeli army chief of staff who decides that "security considerations" are paramount? Can a Palestinian minister with responsibility for natural resources preserve water resources whenever the Israeli government decides that the water should be used for the settlements? National self-determination for Palestine will not come from the "power struggle" between Fatah and Hamas. It will come from the ending once and for all of the occupation. This must be the focus in the time ahead.

Ken Foley is from Ireland and is a member of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign in Dublin and also a member of Sinn Fein.

Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

No. 18/2009

29 April - 06 May 2009


Solidarity activists demonstrating against Israeli settlement activities in Hebron

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt) and Continue to Impose a Total Siege on the Gaza Strip

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt) and Continue to Impose a Total Siege on the Gaza Strip


* Two Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of the collapse of a tunnel bombarded by IOF.
* IOF killed a mentally disabled Palestinian civilian at the entrance to the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.
* 13 Palestinian civilians, including four children and one woman, were wounded by IOF gunfire in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
* IOF conducted 30 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and one into the Gaza Strip.
* IOF arrested 25 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and four in the Gaza Strip.
* IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the oPt and have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
* IOF troops positioned at military checkpoints in the West Bank arrested four Palestinian civilians, including one child.
* IOF have continued measures aimed at establishing a Jewish majority in east Jerusalem.
* IOF ordered the demolition of a number of Palestinian houses.
* IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
* Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farmers in the north of the West Bank.


Summary

Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law escalated in the OPT during the reporting period (29 April – 06 May 2009):

Shooting: During the reporting period, three Palestinians were killed and 13 others, including four children and a woman, were wounded in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

On 1 May 2009, two Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip when IOF warplanes bombarded a tunnel at the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. On the same day, IOF troops positioned east of Jabalya – along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel – fired at a Palestinian woman who was grazing animals, wounding her.

On 2 May 2009, a Palestinian farmer was wounded when IOF troops positioned east of Khan Yunis – along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel – fired at a number of Palestinian farmers.

On 3 May 2009, three Palestinian civilians, including a child, were lightly wounded when a missile left by IOF during the latest military offensive on the Gaza Strip exploded near them. On the same day, the ICRC informed the family of missing 12-year-old Ayman Mohammed Shamiya, from Jabalya refugee camp, that he was detained by IOF. The family was informed that the child was arrested near the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, north of Beit Hanoun town, after he had been wounded in the feet.

In the West Bank, on 6 May 2009, IOF shot dead a Palestinian civilian at the entrance of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. They claimed that he attempted to take over the gun of an IOF soldier, so the soldier shot him. According to the victim's family, he was suffering from mental disorders.

During the reporting period, seven Palestinian civilians, including a child, were wounded when IOF used force against peaceful demonstrations organized to protest the construction of the Annexation Wall.

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 30 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. IOF arrested 25 Palestinian civilians, including a child.

In the Gaza Strip, on 2 May 2009, an IOF infantry unit moved nearly 400 meters into the east of Jabalya town in the northern Gaza Strip. IOF troops opened fire at houses and agricultural areas. On 3 May 2009, IOF troops arrested three Palestinian civilians attempting to infiltrate into Israel to search for jobs. The three were arrested east of al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip

Restrictions on Movement: IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the oPt and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.


Gaza Strip

IOF have continued to close all border crossings to the Gaza Strip for more than two years. The IOF siege of Gaza, which has steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.

• 1.5 million people are being denied their basic rights, including freedom of movement, and their rights to appropriate living conditions, work, health and education.

• The main concern of 1.5 million people living in the Gaza Strip is to obtain their basic needs of food, medicines, water and electricity supplies.

• IOF have continued to prevent the entry of raw construction materials into the Gaza Strip for more than two years.

• IOF have not allowed fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip, excluding limited amounts of cooking gas, since 10 December 2008.

• The Rafah International Crossing Point has been opened for a few days for a number of patients who received medical treatment abroad and needed to return home to the Gaza Strip.

• IOF have continued to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to Palestinian civilians wishing to travel to the West Bank and Israel for medical treatment, trade or social visits.

• In the Gaza Strip poverty levels are at approximately 80%, while unemployment has reached approximately 60%.

• IOF have continued to prevent the entry of spare parts intended for water networks and sewage systems. Losses incurred to this sector are estimated at US$6 million.

• IOF have imposed additional access restrictions international diplomats, journalists and humanitarian workers attempting to reach the Gaza Strip. They have prevented representatives of several international humanitarian organizations from entering the Gaza Strip.

• Living conditions of the Palestinian civilian population have seriously deteriorated; levels of poverty and unemployment have sharply mounted.

• At least 900 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have been denied family visitation for more than 17 months.

• IOF have continued to attack Palestinian fishers along the Gaza Strip coast.


West Bank

IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians throughout the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip continue to be denied access to Jerusalem.

• IOF have established checkpoints in and around Jerusalem, severely restricting Palestinian access to the city. Civilians are frequently prevented from praying at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

• There are approximately permanent 630 roadblocks, and manned and unmanned checkpoints across the West Bank. In addition, there are some 60-80 ‘flying’ or temporary checkpoints erected across the West Bank by IOF every week.

• When complete, the illegal Annexation Wall will stretch for 724 kilometers around the West Bank, further isolating the entire population. 350 kilometers of the Wall have already been constructed. Approximately 99% of the Wall has been constructed inside the West Bank itself, further confiscating Palestinian land.

• At least 65% of the main roads leading to 18 Palestinian communities in the West Bank are closed or fully controlled by IOF (47 out of 72 roads).

• There are around 500 kilometers of restricted roads across the West Bank. In addition, approximately one third of the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, is inaccessible to Palestinians without a permit issued by the IOF. These permits are extremely difficult to obtain.

• IOF continue to harass, and assault demonstrators who hold peaceful protests against the construction of the Annexation Wall.

• Palestinian civilians continue to be harassed by IOF in Jerusalem, and across the West Bank, including being regularly stopped and searched in the streets by IOF.

• During the reporting period, IOF troops positioned at military checkpoints in the West Bank arrested four Palestinian civilians, including a child.

Attempts to Establish a Jewish Majority in Jerusalem: IOF have escalated arbitrary measures against Palestinian civilians in East Jerusalem, in an attempt to force them to leave the city. During the reporting period, IOF handed a copy of a decision issued by the Local Affairs Court of the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem to Nabeel Is'haq al-Daissi. The decision ordered al-Daissi to demolish a structure he had added to his house in the Old Town allegedly without a license. During the reporting period, the Local Affairs Court of the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem ordered the demolition of a house belonging to Darwish Khalil al-Daissi, 27, in the Old Town, claming that it was built without a license. On 05 May 2009, the time limit given by IOF to 'Abdul Nasser 'Aadel Hamdallah to demolish his house in al-Sal'a quarter in al-Mukabber village expired. The Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem had already ordered Hamdallah to demolish his 55-square-meter house, claiming that it was built without a license.

Settlement Activities: IOF have continued settlement activities in violation of international humanitarian law. Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. On 29 April 2009, armed Israeli settlers attacked with stones Palestinian civilian vehicles traveling on the main road between Kufor Qaddoum and al-Fundoq villages, northeast of Qalqilya. On 1 May 2009, a number of Israeli settlers from "Gilad" settlement, escorted by IOF troops, attacked Palestinian farmers in Jeet village, northeast of Qalqilya. They ordered the farmers to leave their lands claiming that that they belong to them. An Israeli settler beat and sprayed gas onto the face of Mohammed Ahmed Abu Baker, 20.



Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (29 April – 6 May 2009)


1. Incursions into Palestinian Areas and Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip

Wednesday, 29 April 2009

. At approximately 10:30, IOF moved into Artas village, south of Bethlehem. They patrolled in the streets and stopped and checked Palestinian civilians. No arrests were reported.

Thursday, 30 April 2009

• At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Dura village, southwest of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Murad Fu'ad al-Bustanji, 16.

• At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Taqqou' village, southeast of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of Mohammed 'Eissa Kawazba, 35, and summoned him for interrogation.

Friday, 01 May 2009

• At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Sa'ir village, northeast of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Mohammed Ibrahim al-Mutawar, 55, and his son 'Imad, 33.

• At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into al-Zababda village, southeast of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested three Palestinian civilians:

1. Mahdi Najeh al-Sharqawi, 22;

2. 'Eissa Sameeh Abu Zaina, 20; and

3. Ahmed Khalil al-Far, 22.

• At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Yatta village, south of Hebron. They raided and searched a house belonging to Eyad Diab Qbaita. No arrests were reported.

• At approximately 12:45, IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Jabalya town fired at Muna Selmi al-Hamadin, 30, while she was grazing animals near the border. She was wounded by a gunshot to the chest.

• At approximately 13:00, IOF warplanes bombarded the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt near Yebna refugee camp in the south of Rafah. No casualties were reported, but Palestinian civilians were traumatized by the intensity of the bombardment.


Saturday, 02 May 2009

• At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Nablus and the neighboring Balata refugee camp. They raided and searched a number of houses. No arrests were reported.

• At approximately 04:00, an IOF infantry unit moved nearly 400 meters into the east of Jabalya town, in the northern Gaza Strip. IOF troops opened fire at houses and agricultural areas. At the same time, IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of Jabalya town fired artillery shells at the area. IOF troops withdrew from the area at approximately 08:30 and no casualties were reported.

• At approximately 08:15, IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Khan Yunis, opened fire at a number of Palestinian farmers who were cultivating wheat and barley in the southeast of Khuza'a village, approximately 350 meters from the border. As a result, Nafez Zaki Abu Tu'aima, 40, was lightly wounded by shrapnel from a gunshot wound to the head.

• At approximately 12:00, IOF warplanes bombarded the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt near Salah al-Din Gate and the al-Brazil neighborhood in the south of Rafah. The bombardment targeted a tunnel near Ibn Taimiya Mosque in al-Brazil neighborhood. Two Palestinians working in the tunnel were killed: Jihad Khalil Ibrahim Abu Jarada, 21; and Hamdan Fayiq Mohammed al-Astal, 20, both from Khan Yunis.

• At approximately 21:15, IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Beit Hanoun town, opened fire at Palestinian houses and agricultural land in al-Boura area in the northeast of Beit Hanoun. No casualties were reported.

Sunday, 03 May 2009

• At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Beit Sahour town. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Nidal Bannoura, 29.

• At approximately 02:30, IOF moved into Battir village, southwest of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested As'ad 'Aayesh al-Sheikh, 19.

• At approximately 15:00, IOF troops arrested three Palestinian civilians attempting to infiltrate into Israel to search for jobs. The three were arrested east of al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip:

1. Yousef Ahmed 'Abdul 'Aati, 19;

2. Yousef Ahmed Mubarak, 19; and

3. Ahmed As'ad Hammouda, 19.

• At approximately 20:00, three Palestinian civilians, including a child, were lightly wounded when a missile left by IOF during the latest military offensive on the Gaza Strip exploded near them. Nasser al-Ghandour, 40, told a PCHR field worker that when he was on his way home in Beit Lahia town following the Sunset Prayer, he saw a mysterious object amongst the debris of a neighboring house belonging to Zakaria al-'Aaloul, which was destroyed by IOF. He got close to the object and started to check it. Soon after, his child, 14-year-old Na'el, and a neighbor, 26-year-old Fahed Hassouna, came to him. They advised him to throw the object onto the ground. As soon as he dropped the object, it exploded and its shrapnel lightly injured the three persons.

• At approximately 20:30, the ICRC informed the family of missing 12-year-old Ayman Mohammed Shamiya, from Jabalya refugee camp, that he was detained by IOF. The family were informed that the child was arrested by IOF near the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, north of Beit Hanoun town, after that he had been wounded in the feet. The child's father told a PCHR field worker that he did not know why his child was in that area. On the following day, the ICRC informed the father that his child was receiving medical treatment at an Israeli hospital.


Monday, 04 May 2009

• At approximately 00:30, IOF moved into Yatta village, south of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Ussama Sameer Abu 'Arram, 20.

• At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into al-Hawouz neighborhood in Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Hamed Waleed al-Jo'ba, 27.

• At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Beit Kahel village, southwest of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Mo'ayad Mohammed Ebryoush, 23.

• Also at approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Beit Oula village, west of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Ibrahim Mahmoud Bazai'a, 19.

• At approximately 02:30, IOF moved into Dura village, southwest of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses. No arrests were reported.

• At approximately 08:30, IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Gaza Valley village in the central Gaza Strip detonated a number of incendiary bombs on Palestinian agricultural areas. As a result, at least 200 donums of land planted with wheat and barley were burnt.

Tuesday, 05 May 2009

• At approximately 00:30, IOF moved into Housan village, west of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested two Palestinian civilians:

1. Hamza Yousef Za'oul, 31; and

2. Isma'il Ahmed Za'oul, 26.

• Also at approximately 00:30, IOF moved into Jourat al-Sham'a village, south of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of Mustafa 'Aaref Fawaghra, 26, and arrested him.

• At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Sa'ir village, northeast of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Tal'at Zaidan Jaradat, 21.

• Also at approximately 01:00, IOF moved into 'Ein Beit al-Maa' refugee camp, west of Nablus. They raided and searched a number of houses. No arrests were reported.

• At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Tulkarm town and refugee camp. They raided and searched a number of houses and summoned four Palestinian civilians for interrogation.

• At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Taffouh village, west of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses. No arrests were reported.

• At approximately 02:30, IOF moved into Deir Abu Da'if village, east of Jenin. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of Hammad Hussein, 32, in an attempt to arrest him, but he was not at home.

Wednesday, 06 May 2009

• At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Bethlehem. They raided and searched a number of houses in Wadi Shaheen neighborhood in the center of the town and arrested Safwan Mazen Sa'ada, 27.

• Also at approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Taqqou' village, southeast of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Murad Sami Jebril, 22.

• Also at approximately 01:00, IOF moved into al-'Ebayat village, east of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 'Ouda 'Atiya, 22.

• At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Qabatya village, southeast of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested two Palestinian civilians:

1. Nasser Mohammed Zakarna, 22; and

2. Firas 'Ali Abu al-Rub, 25.

• Also at approximately 01:30, IOF moved into al-Fundoq village, northeast of Qalqilya. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Nassim Jameel Jab'eiti, 25.

• At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into al-Sammou' village, south of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Is'haq Mohammed Abu 'Oqail, 21.

• Also at approximately 02:00, IOF moved into 'Askar refugee camp, east of Nablus. They raided and searched a number of houses. No arrests were reported.

• At approximately 02:30, IOF moved into Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Saleh Mohammed Qouqas, 25.

• Also at approximately 02:30, IOF moved into Safa village, north of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Mo'taz 'Aayed Qouqas, 23.

• During the period 16:00 – 16:45, IOF warplanes bombarded the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt near al-Brazil neighborhood, Salah al-Din Gate and Yebna refugee camp in the south of Rafah, under the pretext of targeting smuggling tunnels. No casualties were reported, but Palestinian civilians were extremely terrified.

• In the evening, IOF shot dead a Palestinian civilian at the entrance to the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. IOF claimed that he attempted to take over the gun of an IOF soldier, so the soldier shot him. According to the victim's family, he was suffering from mental disorders.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 21:00, Hammam Mohammed Nasser al-Din, 22, went to the Ibrahimi Mosque in the old town of Hebron. When he attempted to enter the mosque, IOF troops positioned in the area noticed that he was carrying a solid object. A debate erupted between Nasser al-Din and an IOF soldier, which peaked when another IOF soldier fired at him. Nasser al-Din was instantly killed and the other soldier was moderately wounded by shrapnel. Soon after, IOF declared the area a closed military zone.


2. Continued Siege on the OPT

IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Occupied East Jerusalem.

Gaza Strip

IOF have continued to close all border crossings to the Gaza Strip for more than two years. The IOF siege of Gaza, which has steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.

• 1.5 million people are being denied their basic rights, including freedom of movement, and their rights to appropriate living conditions, work, health and education.
• The main concern of 1.5 million people living in the Gaza Strip is to obtain their basic needs of food, medicines, water and electricity supplies.
• IOF have continued to prevent the entry of raw construction materials into the Gaza Strip for more than two years.
• IOF have not allowed fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip, excluding limited amounts of cooking gas, since 10 December 2008.
• The Rafah International Crossing Point has been opened for a few days for a number of patients who received medical treatment abroad and needed to return home to the Gaza Strip.
• IOF have continued to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to Palestinian civilians wishing to travel to the West Bank and Israeli for medical treatment, trade or social visits.
• Poverty had mounted to approximately 80% and unemployment has mounted to 60% in the Gaza Strip.
• IOF have continued to prevent the entry of spare parts intended for water networks and sewage systems. Losses incurred to this sector are estimated at US$ 6 million.
• IOF have imposed additional access restrictions on international diplomats, journalists and humanitarian workers to the Gaza Strip. They have prevented representatives of several international humanitarian organizations from entering the Gaza Strip.
• The Palestinian civilian population’s living conditions continue to deteriorate; levels of poverty and unemployment have sharply mounted.
• At least 900 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have been denied family visitation rights for more than 17 months.
• IOF have continued to attack Palestinian fishers along the Gaza Strip coast.

Al-Mentar (Karni) Crossing: IOF partially opened the crossing on Tuesday, 05 May 2009, and allowed the entry of 2,000 tons of seeds and fodder.

The West Bank

IOF have imposed a tightened siege on the West Bank. During the reporting period, IOF imposed additional restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians.

• Jerusalem: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians to and from the city. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been denied access to the city. IOF have established many checkpoints around and inside the city. Restrictions of the movement of Palestinian civilians often escalate on Fridays to prevent them from praying at the al-Aqsa Mosque. IOF often violently beat Palestinian civilians who attempt to bypass checkpoints and enter the city. IOF impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians on Fridays to restrict their access to the al-Aqsa Mosque.

• Nablus: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. Although IOF dismantled Beit Eiba checkpoint, west of Nablus, IOF troops positioned at an iron gate established on Nablus-Tulkarm road, west of Nablus, often stop and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles especially at times of heavy traffic. In the same context, IOF troops positioned at Hawara checkpoint, south of Nablus, often conduct prolonged and complicated security checks on Palestinian civilians. Additionally, IOF have continued to erect checkpoints on roads leading to the city. On Sunday morning, 03 May 2009, IOF erected a checkpoint at Jeet intersection on Nablus-Qalqilya road, another on the road leading to "Yits'har" settlement and a third at Beita intersection, south of Nablus. On Wednesday, IOF erected a checkpoint at Jeet intersection on Nablus-Qalqilya road. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles. On the same day, IOF troops positioned at Za'tara checkpoint, south of Nablus, conducted prolonged checking on Palestinian civilians.

On Tuesday morning, 05 May 2009, IOF troops positioned at Za'tara checkpoint, south of Nablus, arrested a Palestinian civilian who has not been identified.

• Jenin: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. On Wednesday, 29 April 2009, IOF prevented Palestinian farmers from Ya'bad village, southwest of Jenin, from reaching Jenin-Tulkarm road. For this purpose, IOF reinforced their presence on the road allegedly to secure celebration of Israeli settlers of the establishment of Israel.

• Hebron: On Thursday, 30 April 2009, IOF troops positioned near the Ibrahimi Mosque in the old town of Hebron arrested 'Odai al-Halaiqa, 17, from al-Shyoukh village northeast of Heron, claiming that he was carrying a knife.

On Friday evening, 01 May 2009, IOF troops positioned at the entrance of Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron, arrested Mohammed Ahmed Abu Maria, 18.

On Sunday, 03 May 2009, IOF troops positioned near the Ibrahimi Mosque in the old town of Hebron arrested Adeeb Shafiq al-Qawasma, 22.


3. Construction of the Annexation Wall

IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside West Bank territory. During the reporting period, IOF used force against peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders to protest the construction of the Wall.

• Following the Friday Prayer on 01 May 2009, dozens of Palestinian civilians gathered in the center of Bal'ein village, west of Ramallah. They moved towards the Wall and threw stones at IOF troops positioned in the area. Immediately, IOF troops fired at the demonstrators. As a result, two Palestinian civilians, including a child, were wounded:

1. 'Abdullah Mahmoud Abu Rahma, 38, hit by a tear gas canister to the head; and

2. Mahmoud 'Alaa' Samara, 13, hit by a tear gas canister to the hand.

• Also following the Friday Prayer on 01 May 2009, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders gathered in the center of Ne’lin village, west of Ramallah. They moved towards the area where IOF were razing land to construct a section of the Wall in the village. Immediately, IOF troops fired at the demonstrators. As a result, 5 Palestinian civilians were wounded:

1. Anwar Mahmoud Rshaida, 26, hit by a tear gas canister to the chest;
2. Mohammed Mustafa 'Aamira, 24, wounded by a rubber-coated metal bullet to the foot;
3. Ahmed 'Ouda Nafe', 21, wounded by a rubber-coated metal bullet to the back;
4. Hassan Yousef Mousa, 32, hit by a tear gas canister to the hand; and
5. Mo'men 'Abdul Rahman Shihada, 19, hit by a tear gas canister to the eye.

• Also following the Friday Prayer on 01 May 2009, scores of Palestinian civilians and a number of international human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration against the construction of the Wall in al-Ma'sara village, south of Bethlehem. The demonstrators moved towards the Wall, but IOF troops intercepted them at the entrance to the village. IOF troops fired tear gas canisters at the demonstrators. Dozens of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation. IOF troops detained 4 demonstrators for a few hours: Mohammed Braijiya; Mahmoud Zawahra; Hassab Braijiya; and 'Azmi al-Shyoukhi.


4. Attempts to Establish a Jewish Majority in Jerusalem
IOF has recently escalated arbitrary measures against Palestinian civilians in East Jerusalem to force them to leave the city. PCHR has devoted this section in the Weekly Report to highlight violations of human rights perpetrated by IOF against Palestinian civilians in East Jerusalem.

• During the reporting period, IOF handed a copy of a decision issued by the Local Affairs Court of the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem to Nabeel Is'haq al-Daissi. The decision orders al-Daissi to demolish a structure he had added to his house in the Old Town allegedly without a license. The decision instructed him to demolish that structure by 30 June 2009. Seven Palestinian civilians, including two children, live in the house.

• During the reporting period, the Local Affairs Court of the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem ordered the demolition of a house belonging to Darwish Khalil al-Daissi, 27, in the Old Town, claming that it was built without a license.

• On Tuesday, 05 May 2009, the time limit given by IOF to 'Abdul Nasser 'Aadel Hamdallah to demolish his house in al-Sal'a quarter in al-Mukabber village expired. The Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem had already order Hamdallah to demolish his 55-square-meter house, claiming that it was built without a license. Hamdallah appealed to an Israeli court against that order, but the court issued a decision on 05 February 2009 ordering him to demolish his house by 05 May 2009, otherwise, the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem would demolish it and a impose an excessive fine on him.


5. Settlement Activities and Attacks by Settlers against Palestinian Civilians and Property

IOF have continued settlement activities in the OPT in violation of international humanitarian law, and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
• At approximately 14:00 on Wednesday, 29 April 2009, armed Israeli settlers attacked with stones Palestinian civilian vehicles traveling on the main road between Kufor Qaddoum and al-Fundoq villages, northeast of Qalqilya. As a result, a vehicle belonging to Khalil Nayef Jom'a, 68, was damaged.

• At approximately 10:00 on Friday, 01 May 2009, a number of Israeli settlers from "Gilad" settlement, escorted by IOF troops, attacked Palestinian farmers in Jeet village, northeast of Qalqilya. They ordered the farmers to leave their lands claiming that that they belong to them. An Israeli settler beat and sprayed gas onto the face of Mohammed Ahmed Abu Baker, 20. IOF troops then confiscated the farmers' agricultural tools and handed them over to the settlers who cut the tires of a tractor. According to Palestinian farmers, these areas of land had been planted four times, but each time, Israeli settlers uprooted trees.

…………………………………………………………

Recommendations to the International Community

1. PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their legal and moral obligations under Article 1 of the Convention to ensure Israel's respect for the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. PCHR believes that the conspiracy of silence practiced by the international community has encouraged Israel to act as if it is above the law and encourages Israel continue to violate international human rights and humanitarian law.

2. PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to convene a conference to take effective steps to ensure Israel's respect of the Convention in the OPT and to provide immediate protection for Palestinian civilians.

3. CHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to comply with its legal obligations detailed in Article 146 of the Convention to search for and prosecute those responsible for grave breaches, namely war crimes.

4. PCHR calls for the immediately implementation of the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice, which considers the construction of the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank illegal.

5. PCHR recommends international civil society organizations, including human rights organizations, bar associations and NGOs to participate in the process of exposing those accused of grave breaches of international law and to urge their governments to bring these people to justice.

6. PCHR calls upon the European Union to activate Article 2 of the Euro-Israel Association Agreement, which provides that Israel must respect human rights as a precondition for economic cooperation between the EU states and Israel. PCHR further calls upon the EU states to prohibit import of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the OPT.

7. PCHR calls on the international community to recognize the Gaza disengagement plan, which was implemented in September 2005, for what it is - not an end to occupation but a compounding of the occupation and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

8. In recognition of ICRC as the guardian of the Fourth Geneva Convention, PCHR calls upon the ICRC to increase its staff and activities in the OPT, including the facilitation of family visitations to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

9. PCHR appreciates the efforts of international civil society, including human rights organizations, bar associations, unions and NGOs, and urges them to continue their role in pressuring their governments to secure Israel's respect for human rights in the OPT and to end its attacks on Palestinian civilians.

10. PCHR calls upon the international community to pressure Israel to lift the severe restrictions imposed by the Israeli government and its occupation forces on access for international organizations to the OPT.

11. PCHR reiterates that any political settlement not based on international human rights law and humanitarian law cannot lead to a peaceful and just solution of the Palestinian question. Rather, such an arrangement can only lead to further suffering and instability in the region. Any peace agreement or process must be based on respect for international law, including international human rights and humanitarian law.



Public Document
For further information please visit our website (http://www.pchrgaza.org) or contact PCHR’s office in Gaza City, Gaza Strip by email (pchr@pchrgaza.org) or telephone (+972 (0)8 2824776 – 2825893).

HR Organisations call for End to International Donor Complicity in Israeli Violations of International Law

HR Organisations call for End to International Donor Complicity in Israeli Violations of International Law

JOINT RELEASE
REF.: 18.2009E
5 May 2009

On 2 March 2009, major international donors convened in Sharm al-Sheikh to collectively respond to the destruction caused by Israel’s 23 day military offensive on the Gaza Strip (the offensive). During the conference, a total of $4.5 billion was pledged in reconstruction funds for Gaza. In light of the extensive destruction across the Gaza Strip, especially the destruction of civilian homes and infrastructure, reconstruction is urgent.

However, as Palestinian and Israeli human rights organisations, we must note that by agreeing to reconstruction without specific, binding assurances from the State of Israel, international donors are effectively underwriting Israel’s illegal actions in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). International law – including, international human rights law, international humanitarian law (IHL), and the law of state responsibility for wrongful acts – places specific, binding obligations on the State of Israel (based, inter alia, on its duties as an Occupying Power) with respect to the maintenance and development of normal life in occupied territory. By repeatedly restricting their action to providing aid, without holding Israel accountable for its specific obligations, international donors are relieving Israel of its legally binding responsibilities.

Aid must be accompanied by strict assurances that are effectively monitored: Israel must not be allowed to act with impunity. The State of Israel must accept responsibility for its actions, and fulfil all of its legal obligations. By repeatedly covering the cost of the occupation, without insisting that Israel comply with international law, the international community is implicitly encouraging violations of international law – including grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and war crimes – perpetrated by Israeli forces in the oPt. As High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, individual donor States may be in violation of their legally binding obligation “to ensure respect” for the Convention “in all circumstances.” While the international community turns a blind eye and pays the cost of the occupation, Israel is encouraged to continue acting outside the limits of international law.

The situation in the oPt is one of international armed conflict and belligerent occupation. The applicable bodies of humanitarian law include, inter alia, the Geneva Conventions of 1949, the Hague Regulations of 1907, and customary international law. As the Occupying Power for almost 42 years, Israel also has extensive extraterritorial human rights obligations with respect to the protection of the residents of the Gaza Strip, and the assurance of life in the territory. Finally, the principles of international law regulate the actions of all States. Of particular relevance are the International Law Commission’s Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, which place additional, pressing obligations on the State of Israel consequent to, inter alia, the recent offensive. These bodies of law converge to establish a comprehensive legal framework regulating the current situation.

The Impact of International Donors

Many of the projects funded by international donors have subsequently been destroyed by the Israeli military. In the Gaza Strip, such projects include the Gaza Seaport, the Industrial Estate, and the Gaza International Airport. Following the eruption of the second Intifada in 2000, the majority of donor aid has been focused on emergency crisis relief aimed at combating the immediate effects of Israel’s occupation policy, including the impact of the Annexation Wall, restrictions on movement and the import and export of goods, the razing of agricultural land, the destruction of infrastructure, and the closure policy.

International aid to the oPt – funded by the taxpayers of the international community – constitutes a significant amount of money. In the five year period between 1999 and 2004, the oPt received at least $5.147 billion in international aid. At the Paris Conference in 2007, international donors pledged $7.7 billion between 2008 and 2010 in support of the Palestinian Reform and Development Programme. As noted, an additional $4.5 billion was pledged at the recent Sharm el-Sheikh conference, exclusively aimed at repairing the damage caused by Israel’s assault.

This aid is necessary to sustain the Palestinian people, and to prevent a widespread humanitarian emergency; given the extent of the destruction in the Gaza Strip it is essential to ensure the basic requirements of human existence. However, Israel’s continuing occupation is the root cause of the Palestinian’s financial and humanitarian crisis. It impacts on the ability of Palestinian’s to develop, to trade, and to secure their future. The State of Israel bears legal responsibility for the consequences of its actions. By underwriting the cost of the occupation, and in the process effectively disregarding Israel’s international obligations, the international community is relieving Israel of accountability and facilitating impunity.

International Humanitarian Law

As the Occupying Power in the Gaza Strip, the State of Israel has specific obligations under IHL with respect to the care and protection of the occupied Palestinian population. This responsibility is consequent to the degree of control exercised by Israel as the Occupying Power, and the fundamental impact this has on the lives of the civilian population. As far as possible, civilians must be protected from the effects of hostilities.

IHL considers the Occupying Power to be responsible for all branches of public order and civil life. This requirement, first codified in Article 43 of the Hague Regulations, places a specific obligation on the Occupying Power with respect to, inter alia, the maintenance and provision of infrastructure, health, education, quality of life, shelter, and public works (including sewage treatment, power and water); in other words, the material conditions under which the population of the occupied territory live. Should the Occupying Power destroy these essential objects, it is obliged to repair them, in order to facilitate normal life. This is in keeping with the status quo ante bellum requirement of occupation law, which holds that an Occupying Power must restore an occupied territory to its pre-war state and – should the occupation persist over a protracted period of time – allow it to develop. Reconstruction consequent to destruction is thus one specific obligation placed on the Occupying Power within the broader context of its duty towards the occupied territory. Given the reality of the current situation, it is inappropriate that the State of Israel should directly participate in the physical process of reconstruction. Rather, in light of its primary responsibility, Israel must first, acknowledge its legal obligations as regards the reconstruction process, and second, ensure the provision of all necessary reconstruction materials and equipment.

Articles 55 and 56 of the Fourth Geneva Convention explicitly require that the Occupying Power should – to the fullest extent of the means available to it – ensure the supply of food and medicines, while ensuring and maintaining the health system. This requirement places the Occupying Power under a definite obligation to maintain at a reasonable level the material conditions of the occupied population. Though the phrase ‘to the fullest extent of the means available to it’ recognises that such obligations may be difficult to achieve, particularly in the context of ongoing hostilities, the Occupying Power should nevertheless utilize all means at its disposal. The requirement that the provision of material should be limited to food and medicine is now widely regarded as too restrictive, given the humanitarian purpose underlying the obligation. Consequently, Article 69 of Additional Protocol I additionally mentions the provision of clothing, bedding and shelter. Given the extent of the damage to civilian objects in the Gaza Strip, including approximately 21,000 homes, the responsibility relating to shelter is particularly pertinent: it is essential to the maintenance of the material conditions under which the occupied population live.

IHL holds that, in the event of destruction arising consequent to the conduct of hostilities, urgent action to provide shelter is required, both in the short, and long-term. The Occupying Power is at all times responsible for supplying the population under its control. In the current context, Israel is clearly not taking the measures necessary to maintain the life of the occupied territory.

International Human Rights Law

In the contentious DRC v. Uganda case, the International Court of Justice confirmed that an Occupying Power is bound by its human rights obligations as regards its actions in occupied territory. The Court found Uganda “internationally responsible for violations of human rights law” committed in occupied territory, and also “for failing to comply with its obligations as an occupying Power … in respect of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in the occupied territory.” This, and other judgments of the International Court of Justice (including The Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory), and international human rights mechanisms – such as the Human Rights Committee and other treaty bodies – confirm that an Occupying Power is bound by its human rights treaty obligations in occupied territory. With respect to Israel, such binding obligations include the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

In, DRC v. Uganda, the ICJ placed positive and negative obligations on Uganda as the Occupying Power. Uganda was found responsible both for acts of commission and omission, namely not taking measures “to ensure respect for human rights … in the occupied territories.” The obligation to ensure – a positive obligation – is a key feature of any human right. It requires that States take positive steps in giving effect to human rights obligations, including the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights; Article 2(1) of ICESCR requires that such positive steps are taken “to the maximum of … available resources.”

An Occupying Power is required to progressively develop, inter alia, a territory’s educational and health systems, road network, and power or telecommunications infrastructure. It is evident that human rights law places a positive obligation on Israel to safeguard the human rights of the population under its control. Israel has extensively destroyed homes, factories, industries, and other infrastructure within the occupied Gaza Strip. This has evident implications for such fundamental human rights as the right to life (Article 6, ICCPR), the right to health (Article 12, ICESCR), and the right to adequate food, clothing, and housing (Article 11, ICESCR). It must be noted that the right to health includes both physical and mental well-being. In the aftermath of the offensive, Palestinian’s mental health is of paramount importance. Without appropriate attention it is an issue that may affect the psychological structure and profile of Gaza’s population for decades to come.

As a Member State of the United Nations, and in accordance with Articles 55 and 56 of the UN Charter, the State of Israel has pledged to promote higher standards of living, and conditions of economic and social progress and development.
Israel is therefore under an obligation to protect the rights of the citizens of the Gaza Strip, and to repair the damage done.

State Responsibility for Internationally Wrongful Acts

International law defines an internationally wrongful act as a breach of a State’s international obligation. The International Law Commission’s Articles on State Responsibility for Wrongful Acts (ILC Articles) set out clear guidelines regarding the consequences of such breaches. In the current context, the State of Israel committed numerous internationally wrongful acts – including war crimes and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions – over the course of its 23 day military offensive in the Gaza Strip. These wrongful acts included the extensive destruction of property not warranted by military necessity, and violations of the principle of distinction, a key component in customary international humanitarian law. These violations engage the responsibility of the State of Israel, as specified in Article 1 of the ILC Articles.

Article 31 of the ILC Articles affirm that the State of Israel “is under an obligation to make full reparation” for any injury caused by its wrongful actions. This injury, “includes any damage, whether material or moral” caused by the responsible State. The Permanent Court of Justice confirmed this responsibility in the Factory at Chorzów case – which concerned the Polish occupation of a factory in Germany – holding that reparation “is the indispensable complement of a failure to apply a convention”. The responsible State must endeavour to “wipe out all the consequences of the illegal act”. The Court further held that reparation must entail “restitution in kind, or, if this is not possible, payment of a sum corresponding to the value which a restitution in kind would bear”.

Article 35 of the ILC Articles holds that reparation has a broad meaning, encompassing any action that needs to be taken by the responsible State. Should restitution in kind prove impossible, compensation is proposed as an alternative. It is presented, however, that, given the current closure regime imposed on the Gaza Strip, compensation is an inappropriate response, incapable of ‘wiping out’ all the consequence’s of Israel’s illegal acts. The Israeli military extensively destroyed, or damaged, Gaza’s infrastructure. At least 21,000 homes were completely destroyed or severely damaged, along with thousands of dunums of agricultural land, and approximately 1,500 factories and workshops. The road, water, sewage and electricity networks were heavily damaged, and in some cases rendered unusable. It is evident that, in the absence of reconstruction materials, and in light of the fact that restitution in kind should be the principal form of reparation (Article 34, ILC Articles), pure compensation is inadequate, and inappropriate.

Article 16 of the ILC Articles also places an obligation on the individual states of the international community not to aid or assist the commission of an internationally wrongful act. Such aid and assistance includes, inter alia, financing the wrongful conduct in question. Article 41 explicitly prohibits States from rendering aid or assistance used to maintain the situation created by a serious breach of international law. By continually covering the financial costs associated with Israel’s illegal actions in the oPt, individual States are in breach of their own international obligations, and complicit in the occupation’s violations of international law.
The State of Israel must accept responsibility for its illegal actions – as demanded by international law – and rebuild those sections of the Gaza Strip which it destroyed or damaged. Given the reality of the current situation, it is inappropriate that the State of Israel should directly participate in the physical process of reconstruction. Rather, in light of its primary responsibility with respect to restitution in kind, Israel must first, acknowledge its financial obligations as regards the reconstruction process, and second, ensure the provision of all necessary reconstruction materials and equipment.
In the interim, thousands of families remain homeless, and the Gaza Strip’s fragile economy continues to deteriorate.

The Continuing Isolation of the Gaza Strip

In June 2007, in response to the Hamas movement’s takeover of the territory, the State of Israel imposed a drastically tightened closure regime on the Gaza Strip. The supply of goods – including essential foodstuffs and medical provisions – has been severely restricted, and is insufficient to meet the fundamental needs of the population. Electricity and fuel cuts, which affect the operation of essential services such as hospitals, and water and sanitation works, were also imposed. The closure contributes to a steadily worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. In spite of the extensive suffering and destruction caused by the offensive, this policy – which has now been in place for 22 months – continues to this day.
The restrictions on goods extend to essential reconstruction materials. Despite the extensive destruction, thousands of homeless civilians, and a dilapidated infrastructure (including the electricity, water, and sanitation networks), Israel has refused to allow reconstruction materials through the borders. As long as the borders remain closed, reconstruction and recovery are impossible.
This situation renders reconstruction pledges meaningless. International funds will, at best lie idle, or at worst, be wasted, as long as Israel refuses to allow reconstruction materials into the Gaza Strip.

Conclusion

As human rights organisations we are calling for international donors to demand specific, concrete assurances from the State of Israel. These assurances, and the political will necessary to ensure their compliance, must form an integral part of international assistance to the Palestinian people. As the responsible party, Israel must accept the consequences of its actions. As illustrated herein, the State of Israel is subject to explicit legal obligations: it bears the responsibility for reconstructing and maintaining the Gaza Strip. Bank rolling the occupation without demanding an end to its violations of international law, is equivalent to tacit complicity on the part of the international community
Reconstruction aid must be accompanied by strict conditions and assurances from the State of Israel. Otherwise, the taxpayers of the international community will continue to support an endless cycle of aid-destruction-aid-reconstruction. The Palestinian people will continue to suffer at the hands of a brutal and illegal occupation.
We further note that, Israel’s primary responsibility notwithstanding, international reconstruction materials must not be procured in Israel. The State of Israel must not profit from its illegal actions, and the destruction it has wrought.

International assistance is most appropriate at the political level. It has become increasingly evident that international aid alone cannot resolve the conflict. In order to facilitate long-term development and recovery, political will and political action are required. All potential avenues that accord with humanitarian and human rights law must be pursued in order to ensure the State of Israel‘s compliance with international law. We call on the taxpayers of the international community to pressurise their governments, to lobby on behalf of the Palestinian people, and to ensure that their money is no longer wasted by governments willing to fund a school but not willing to take action in response to that school’s destruction, or to ensure that the cement necessarily for its reconstruction is permitted to enter Gaza.

International aid is currently being used to finance the consequences of an illegal occupation, and the accompanying serious violations of IHL and international human rights law.

Signed on behalf of:
Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO)
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)
Al Dameer Association for Human Rights
Al Haq
Al Mezan
BADIL Resource Centre for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights
Gaza Community Mental Health Program (GCMHP)
Gisha: Legal Center for Freedom of Movement
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD)
ITTIJAH – Union of Arab Community Based Organisations
Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHR)
Public Committee against Torture in Israel (PCATI)
Women’s Affairs Centre (WAC)

AIPAC ED fears the growing movement to sanction Israel could fundamentally change US policy towards Israel. He's right.

May 07, 2009

One of the most interesting speeches given at the AIPAC Policy Conference was one that received the least media attention. AIPAC Executive Director Howard Kohr addressed the capacity crowd Sunday night before Newt Gingrich, and he came with a stern and clear warning - there is a growing movement to de-legitimize Israel in the eyes of its allies. He warned it's growing, it's successful and it's coming to the US. In a conference full of fire and brimstone bluster about Iran and the omnipresent threat of annihilation, when it came to this speech Kohr was exactly on the mark.

Kohr moved beyond simply focusing on the familiar bogeymen of Ahmadinejad, Hugo Chavez and the Durban II conference, and took on what is clearly viewed as a grave threat - the growing movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. During his rundown of the gathering storm he included "400 British academics demanded that Britain's Science Museum cancel an event highlighting the work of Israeli scientists" and an Italian "trade union calls for a boycott of Israeli products." He also included the increasing comparisons between Israel and apartheid South Africa. As part of this trend he mentioned Israel Apartheid Week (twice) which he explained,"Its aim, to build boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaigns as part of a growing global movement." He's right.

More impressively, he gave real attention to this movement. Rather than attempting to simply de-legitimatize it with charges of anti-Semitism, he recognized its true motivation: "This is more than the simple spewing of hatred. This is a conscious campaign to shift policy, to transform the way Israel is treated by its friends to a state that deserves not our support, but our contempt; not our protection, but pressured to change its essential nature." And even more, he knows the movement is building steam:

No longer is this campaign confined to the ravings of the political far left or far right, but increasingly it is entering the American mainstream: an ordinary political discourse on our T.V. and radio talk shows; in the pages of our major newspapers and in countless blogs, in town hall meetings, on campuses and city squares . . .

And I want to be clearly understood here. I'm not saying that these allegations have become accepted. But they have become acceptable. More and more they are invading the mainstream discourse, becoming part of the constant and unrelenting drumbeat against Israel. These voices are laying the predicate for a abandonment.

Finally, Kohr threw down the gauntlet:

There is a battle for basic perception underway, a fight to focus the lens through which our policy makers will receive and perceive all events in Israel and the broader Middle East. And the stakes in that battle are nothing less than the survival of Israel, linked inexorably to the relationship between Israel and the United States. In this battle we are the firewall, the last rampart.

Kohr said, "in the moment - we find our mission." And in many ways the threat Kohr identified was an undercurrent throughout the conference. This was seen in the effort by AIPAC to co-opt the divestment mantle by pushing divestment from Iran. Not only is this a focus in Congress, but on campuses and in municipalities as well. After Kohr's speech it was difficult to see these as anything but a diversionary tactic to keep attention on the real movement for divestment Kohr outlined growing across the world.

As with almost everything at the AIPAC convention, Kohr's speech was one part theater, one part policy. I do think his presentation was a bit overblown in an effort to light a fire under his troops as they headed into battle. But he could have chosen many other topics to do that with. Kohr understands that the fight is over themes and frames and that regardless of the millions put into the AIPAC convention or the thousands of lobbyists that head off for the Hill, once the discourse shifts and Israel is a pariah, the battle is lost. He explained to the crowd:

You know, we've all heard many times Israel accused of being a Western outpost in the Middle East. To those who make that accusation I say you are right. Israel is the only democratic country in the region that looks West, that looks to the values and the vision we share of what our society, our country should aim at and aspire to. If that foundation of shared values is shaken, the rationale for the policies we pursue today will be stripped away. The reasons the United States would continue to invest nearly $3 billion in Israel's security; the willingness to stand with Israel, even alone if need be; the readiness to defend Israel's very existence,all are undermined and undone if Israel is seen to be unjust and unworthy. . .

Yes, we must lobby for the particulars --Iran sanctions, peace process principles, foreign aid --but our mission now is to do more than work our talking points. We must add context and foundational arguments that help America's leaders understand the rightness of our cause.

That is the fight at hand, and it's a fight that AIPAC and others have been incredibly good at fighting. But Kohr can see the ground is shifting. And in the end, the influence AIPAC holds over the US policy towards Israel/Palestine may end up disintegrating as the myth of shared values is revealed, and more people realize that funding a "Western outpost in the Middle East" is not only no longer in our interest, but is not in the interests of Israelis and Palestinians as well.

Posted by Adam Horowitz

Israel's war on dissent

Rela Mazali, The Electronic Intifada, 5 May 2009



Israeli policemen beat and arrest women at a demonstration held by the feminist movement New Profile in support of six activists from the group who were arrested from their homes by the police, 30 April 2009. (Shachaf Polakow/ActiveStills)

About six months after Israel's attorney general publicly announced an effort to criminalize dissent, state authorities have upped the ante in their "war" -- as the Israeli daily Haaretz called it last September -- against Israel's youth; against the broad, grassroots movement slandered by officials as "draft shirkers." On 26 April, a day before Israel's Memorial Day, Israeli police produced a hyperbolic piece of political theater. As if facing down a dangerous organized crime "family," they "raided" -- to quote their press release -- the homes of six activists in different parts of Israel, who were detained for interrogation. Exploiting the ritual emotions of a day of mourning for military dead, the police action singled out and branded anti-militarist activists as non-members of the legitimate community, implying that they (we) are fair game.

As of this writing, police have summoned 10 additional activists for interrogation. The activists targeted are members of New Profile, a feminist movement working for over a decade to reverse the militarization of state and society in Israel, of which I have been a member since its inception. Our founding event, in October 1998, confronted us with the existence of an unorganized social movement borne then, as it is still, by young people in Israel. Recognizing the central importance of this nascent movement, New Profile upholds their right to open discourse on the crucial issues they face. We provide them with full and accurate information about their prospects -- information with which the authorities are not forthcoming, to put it mildly. This effort is only one of many ways in which New Profile works to change the militarized thinking holding us, all the residents of Israel/Palestine, hostage to the prioritization of military force that has characterized all of Israel's governments to date. While they may enrage some, our activities are totally legal.

The reality today is that rising numbers of young Jewish Israelis (as well as members of the Druze minority also subject to conscription) find themselves unable or unwilling to accept the overused Israeli dictate: "There's no other choice." Four generations and more than six decades of "military solutions," a cycle of violence failing miserably to reach a resolution, have engendered a broad based social movement of young men and women who experience and express severe internal struggles in face of the duty to serve in the military. While Israeli law offers virtually no legal provision for conscientious objection, Israel's courts -- both military and civil -- have presumed to compartmentalize these personal processes, classifying them as purely "political," or (very rarely) as "conscientious" or as exclusively "psychological." Each young individual's experience, however, is both ideological and emotional; involves a complex combination of views, feelings, ideas, beliefs, personality and sense of self. The internal fissures aroused by this process cause many young people dangerous personal distress. In sad testimony to this fact, in recent years, Israeli soldiers' suicides have accounted for more deaths than all the other types of military casualties combined.

According to Haaretz, the criminal investigation of New Profile is motivated by "growing concern at the defense establishment of a growing trend of draft evasion. In July 2007 Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi declared publicly that they would fight the trend." Clearly, it is not New Profile that is worrying them. New Profile is an easy, visible scapegoat through which they hope to sow fear and intimidate future draft dodgers, whom they stigmatize as "shirkers."

The state has declared a war against its youth, against the many thousands who resist the draft and refuse to place their bodies, their minds, their morality at the disposal of visionless politicians. Rather than studying the emerging social change, listening to the rising voices of future citizens and responding with innovative policies, state officials are attempting to criminalize the reality and make an example of the open, legal work supporting some of the young people comprising it. Contriving to identify "felonies" in political resistance, the move is distinctly characteristic of a militarized state abusing its power in a bid to maintain an old, cracking order.

The numbers of draft resisters, in and of themselves, are not the only thing that is worrying state officials. For years now, the army has regularly been exempting tens of thousands from service without difficulty. In fact, several years ago the military and the (very same) defense minister declared a downsizing program, towards creating "a small, smart army." Their worry, today, is the apparent popular vote of no-confidence in their habitual, easy use of the lives and health of soldiers -- a vote no longer limited to alienated, impoverished parts of society but spreading deep into the middle class as well. The actions of young people from all parts of society, more than a few supported by their parents, are threatening to undermine the unlimited freedom with which the army formerly picked, chose and channeled conscripts as it saw fit. These youths' actions and their growing legitimization in Israeli society are also evidence of slippage in the stranglehold of national fear, supposedly "for our very existence" that has, for so long, riveted public attention to the image of an (ever-changing) "ruthless enemy" outside. Those in power, both from the right and the right-called-left, are struggling to keep in place this long-serving means of obscuring corruption and political stasis, of feeding a semblance of "national unity" in the form of "the people's army."

Intensification of this state war on youth is taking place in tandem with the action of a new "High School Seniors Letter" (the Shministim), openly declaring refusal to comply with conscription law. A few years ago, a military court sentenced five members of a previous group to considerable prison terms. And yet, despite this threat, another, consecutive group of young men and women are now publicly declaring their adherence to conscience and their refusal to serve. The timing of a simultaneous investigation into New Profile's alleged "incitement" of so-called "shirkers" seems to indicate fear, on the part of the administration, that declared refusal is merely the tip of a truly extensive, largely submerged movement.

This war on youth is being fought within a broader context of heightened state repression of political dissent. Palestinian citizens of Israel were detained by the hundreds for protesting Israel's attack against Gaza last January. Many remain in detention still, without charges, trial or due process. Activists taking part in nonviolent protests against the land-gobbling dragon of Israel's separation wall are regularly attacked with lethal fire. Just weeks ago Bassem Ibrahim Abu Rahme of Bilin was killed by soldiers. Dozens of activists, both Palestinians and Jews, are detained at demonstrations and incarcerated for varying periods. In most cases, the repressive measures applied to Jewish activists still bear no comparison, in terms of their arbitrariness and brutality, to the means employed against Palestinians.

However, the political theater of repression being played out against New Profile is of great importance. First, because every act of repression is important and should be resisted. Second, because when applied to a group of relatively privileged, middle class, largely middle aged, feminists -- such repression may be more visible to mainstream Israeli society, more easily exposing its fabric of lies and ludicrous, trumped-up charges and allowing decent but uninformed people a concrete grasp of the reality of repression. Third, because in the balance, yet again, lie the future of freedom and rights for everyone in Israel/Palestine. Fourth, because what is at stake are the lives of Israeli youth against whom the state is waging this war. What we are struggling for is the future and nature of a democratic, civil society.

Rela Mazali is an author, independent researcher and a feminist peace activist from Israel.