40 Years of Occupation - The West Bank & Gaza Strip

Contents

1.

Introduction

2

2.

History

3

3.

40 Years Of Occupation

6

a. Killings and Injuries

6

b. Collective Punishments

7

i. Checkpoints

8

ii. Curfews and Closures

9

iii. House Demolitions

10

iv. Denial of Water

12

v. The Wall

12

vi. Family Separation

14

c. Settlements

14

d. Political Prisoners and the use of Torture

16

e. Effects on Children

17

f. Attacks on Medical Personnel and Services

18

4.

Violations on Press Freedoms

19

5.

Attacks on the Al-Aqsa Sanctuary

20

6.

The Case of Jerusalem

23

7.

The Case of Bethlehem

24

8.

Denying Democracy

25

9.

Conclusion

26

Published by: Friends of Al-Aqsa PO Box 5127 Leicester LE2 OWU UK www.aqsa.org.uk

1. Introduction

Since the Six Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbours took place in 1967, Israel has been occupying Palestinian territories in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. During these 40 years of occupation, as documented by various human rights groups, Israel has been responsible for committing innumerable war crimes against the civilian Palestinian people. As a result Israel has been the subject of a large number of UN Security Council and General Assembly Resolutions.

In response to Israel’s aggression and violence, Palestinian retaliation has resulted in Israeli civilians also being killed in this on going conflict. While deaths on both sides are equally tragic and should never be undermined; the number of Palestinian deaths has been over four times greater than the number of Israeli deaths. Similarly, the number of Palestinians injured has also been over four times greater. Such statistics confirm the disproportionate use of violence by the Israeli army against Palestinian civilians.

The aim of this report is to highlight the major areas where Israel has breached its obligations under international law and has made life for Palestinians unbearable within the occupied territories. While Israel takes full advantage of media attention every time Palestinians launch an attack and as a result their stories are told in detail; Palestinians on the other hand face endless violence, suppression and oppression, which is largely hidden from the world due to Israel’s well documented and deliberate restrictions on press freedoms in the occupied territories. As a result, Palestinians are often regarded as the forgotten people, and those whose sole source of information is the mainstream media often end up viewing the Palestinians as the aggressors rather than Israel.

The horror of life under occupation gave rise to two uprisings (Intifadas) against Israel, and the most recent one continued between September 2000 and 2006. Over 4,000 Palestinians were killed during this period, and over 30,000 were injured. At its end, the Palestinians were further punished by the international community when they took part in a fair, open and transparent democratic process because they elected the popular liberation movement, Hamas.

The Palestinian struggle continues to this day, and an end does not appear to be in site especially due to international complicity in the occupation.

Therefore, Friends of Al-Aqsa and similar organisations working in solidarity with the Palestinian people will continue to educate and awaken people until there is a global change in attitude to the crisis and a just and peaceful resolution is achieved for all those concerned.

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2. History

Prior to the formation of Israel in 1948, there was a steady stream of Jewish migrants to the Palestinian lands. Between 1930 and 1935 in particular, with the growing persecution in Europe, approximately 150,000 1 Jews arrived on the Palestinian shores. Following the British promise of creating a national homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine,2 when the British withdrew from their mandate over the Palestinians in 1947, the 3 United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 was passed in favour of dividing Palestinian land between the overwhelming majority of indigenous Arabs and the small minority of migrant Jews; 37% and 63% respectively.

This was of course rejected by the Palestinians who refused to give up their homeland and country because, against every international norm and law, the General Assembly said they should.

However, the seeds of division were sewn and the resultant armed conflict created a catastrophe (Nakba) for 80% of the Palestinians who were forced to flee their homes or face certain death at the hands of murderous Zionist gangs.4 The question of the legality of this Resolution was never scrutinized as the General Assembly voted against conceding the point to the International Court of Justice for an Advisory Opinion.

In 1948, following a war between the immigrant Jews and the native Palestinians,5 Israel was declared on 78% of historic Palestinian land and was recognised as a legitimate state by the United Nations subject to compliance with Resolution 194. It is estimated that 750,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes6 during this war, and some 60 years later, these people remain the world’s longest standing refugee problem.

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3

Palestinian refugees - 1948

In 1967, following the Six Day War between Israel and its neighbours Egypt, Jordan and Syria, Israel completed its occupation of all land belonging to the Palestinians, as well as Egypt’s Sinai desert and Syria’s Golan Heights.

Contrary to the popular beliefs, former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin stated that despite the build up of troops, the Arabs did not in fact initiate the hostilities: “The Egyptian Army concentrations in the Sinai approaches do not prove that Nasser was really about to attack us. We must be honest with ourselves. We decided to attack him.”7 For 40 years, the majority of this occupation has persisted in defiance of the Fourth Geneva Convention regulating belligerent occupation and numerous United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions on the issue. Through the occupation, Israel has expanded its borders by creating facts on the ground which preclude any move to establish contiguous territories for a Palestinian state on the lands outside of its Green Line border.

Following the Six Day War, UNSC Resolution 242 8 was passed in November 1967 requiring Israel to withdraw from territories occupied in the war. Some Israeli commentators have interpreted the text of the Resolution in such a way that it does not fulfil its intended objective, as they suggest that it does not in fact require a withdrawal to the internationally recognised Green Line border. Commentary from the Jewish Virtual Library9 suggests that even as the Resolution was being negotiated, the wording was deliberately made obscure to allow Israel to continue its occupation. The absence of the word ‘all’ from the requirement for ‘Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict’, is argued to be sufficient to mean that some withdrawal is enough, regardless of how small, to satisfy this Resolution. Thus, Israel has already, purportedly, fulfilled its obligations. This is a clear travesty against the real intention of the Resolution.

The result of this has been a 40 year long occupation which has threatened to annihilate the very fabric of Palestinian life, impacting on their culture, livelihoods, family structures and very basic human rights. Nothing has been sacred, including religious sites honoured for decades by both Muslim and Christian Palestinians.

More recently, UNSC Resolution 1322 10 (2000) was passed with a 14-0 majority, requiring Israel to abide by its obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention in its treatment of the occupied Palestinian people. Israel’s obligations under international law and its failings were discussed by leading international law professor Francis Boyle,11 who concluded that: “there are 149 substantive articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention that protect the rights of every one of these Palestinians living in occupied Palestine. The Israeli Government is currently violating, and has since 1967 been violating, almost each and every one of these sacred rights of the Palestinian People recognized by the Fourth Geneva Convention. Indeed, violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention are war crimes”.

Israel argues that it is not bound by the provisions of the Geneva Conventions as they require the occupied state to have been the territory of 12 a high contracting party prior to the occupation taking place . This has been refuted by the vast majority of international law academics and most recently, by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its Advisory Opinion

Balata Refugee Camp

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4

on the Wall; where it was stated unequivocally that The Fourth Geneva 13 Convention applies to the territories occupied by Israel : The Court notes that, according to the first paragraph of Article 2 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, when two conditions are fulfilled, namely that there exists an armed conflict (whether or not a state of war has been recognized), and that the conflict has arisen between two contracting parties, then the Convention applies, in particular, in any territory occupied in the course of the conflict by one of the contracting parties. The object of the second paragraph of Article 2, which refers to “occupation of the territory of a High Contracting Party”, is not to restrict the scope of application of the Convention, as defined by the first paragraph, by excluding there from territories not falling under the sovereignty of one of the contracting parties, but simply to making it clear that, even if occupation effected during the conflict met no armed resistance, the Convention is still applicable.’1 The failure of Israel to recognise its duties and obligations to the occupied Palestinian people under International law has had a seismic impact on their lives. Some specifics of the reality of Israel’s occupation are described further in this report.

Aida refugee camp

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3. 40 Years of Occupation a. Killings & Injuries

Israel’s military strategy across the Palestinian territories has resulted in the deaths of thousands of Palestinians. Weekly reports on human rights violations against Palestinians are available from the Palestinian Centre for 14 Human Rights. The occupation army has shown no restraint, whether faced with children or the elderly. Medical evidence has also shown that a large number of the deaths resulted from upper-body gun shot wounds, reflecting intent to kill rather than injure/incapacitate. Palestinians have also been killed by extremist Israeli settlers who unleash violence on those unlucky enough to live around the illegal settlements.

Israel has approximated that 2,178 of its civilians and military personnel have been killed due to Palestinian ‘terrorism’ since 1967.15 There are no conclusive statistics which record the exact number of Palestinians killed by Israel since 1967. Palestinian deaths take two forms – those who are killed through deliberate acts such as gun fire and bombs, and those who die due to Israeli omissions, such as infant deaths at checkpoints or deaths which could have been avoided but medical attention was impeded by the Occupation forces. When these deaths occur through omissions, they are termed ‘excess mortality’ and the UN has estimated that this may amount to in excess of 300,000 deaths.16 These figures are reached by quantifying the difference between the actual deaths in the country and the deaths expected for a peaceful comparable country with the same demographics.

Statistics relating to Palestinian deaths resulting from gun-fire or other similar weapons during the two Intifadas have been recorded: During the First Intifada, between 1987 and 199317: * 1,070 Palestinians were killed.

During the 2000-2006 Al-Aqsa Intifada: * Over 4,000 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in the occupied territories. * 843 of these were killed by the IOF troops in armed clashes; * 11,000 Palestinians were wounded in the Gaza Strip; and * 13,000 Palestinians were wounded in the West Bank. 18 Of those killed: 759 were children, 141 were female, 25 were medical personnel and 10 were journalists.19 42 of the deaths were carried out by extremist settlers living in illegal Settlements.

Residents of Nablus carrying the body of a Palestinian shot dead by Israeli soldiers

40 Years of Occupation

Over 500 of the deaths resulted from Israel’s ‘targeted assassinations’ policy, a substantial number of whom were innocent bystanders.

Assassinations are a form of extra-judicial executions and are illegal under article 3 of the IV Geneva Convention. Furthermore, assassinations are wilful killings and thus constitute a war crime under article 147 in the Convention. In December 2006, the Israeli High Court failed to find that such assassinations were unlawful but held that they might only be carried out as a last resort and within the bounds of proportionality 20 . Thus, the Israeli army, with utter impunity, has killed more unarmed Palestinian civilians since September 2000 than the number of people who died on September 11, 2001. Of all those killed, 23% were children under the age of 17.21

6

Derek Summerfield, in the British Medical Journal stated that two thirds of the 621 children killed at checkpoints, in the street, on the way to school, or in their homes, died from small arms fire, directed in over half of cases to the head, neck and chest, which is considered the sniper’s wound; intended to kill.22

b. Collective Punishments Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states that: “No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.”

Israel has been accused of employing numerous actions which amount to collective punishment of the Palestinian people. These include its checkpoint policies, house demolitions, curfews, closures and incursions within Palestinian population centres. In his recent report, the UN's special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, John Dugard states that Israeli law and practice makes it impossible for thousands of Palestinian families to live together. A new practice of refusing visas to foreign residents in the OPT has aggravated this situation.23

“The system of closures is nothing new to the Palestinian people and has characterised the belligerent Israeli occupation, now in its 38th year. It is directly responsible for the humanitarian crisis in the OPT which, according to reports published by the World Bank in 2004, has resulted in 47% of Palestinians living below the poverty line and 16% of Palestinians in deep or “absolute” poverty and not being able to afford to meet their basic survival needs, despite humanitarian assistance. The situation is even more critical in the Gaza Strip where the poverty rate is at 68% and, according to UNOCHA, expected to rise.”24 40 Years of Occupation

7

A Palestinian family finding little refuge in their demolished home

The siege of Gaza since mid-2006 is considered to be a form of collective 25 punishment in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention . Such closure policies and the resultant mass unemployment and poverty, and denial of political, civil, social, economical and cultural rights have a profound and drastic impact on Palestinians.

Palestinians face discrimination on a number of fronts, and the 1973 International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid is considered to be violated by many Israeli practices, particularly those denying freedom of movement to Palestinians.26 The West Bank and Gaza have been completely closed off from each other since 6 October 2000 when the so called “safe passage� road between Gaza and the West Bank was sealed. i. Checkpoints

A Palestinian woman at a checkpoint

40 Years of Occupation

Checkpoints are a living nightmare for Palestinians. Since 1991, checkpoints have been steadily built all across the territories. Since 2000, not one single checkpoint has been removed from the West Bank but rather, they have multiplied incessantly.27 There is a popular myth that checkpoints are established on an ad hoc basis and usually in response to a specific threat of terrorism from Palestinians. However, the reality suggests a more entrenched method of destroying territorial continuity across the occupied territories, and disrupting daily life at every turn, thus creating an unbearable living atmosphere. The eventual aim of all of this is thought to be to drive the Palestinians from their homeland.

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Checkpoints take the form of staffed blockades where Palestinians can only pass following permission from the Israeli soldiers/border police that are present. Over 600 checkpoints exist and many are permanent while others are more temporary. In addition to these checkpoints, there are also hundreds of other blockades across the Palestinian territories which make freedom of movement impossible. These include dirt mounds and concrete road blocks which are intended to stop Palestinians using vehicles on main roads and they are scattered all across the West Bank and Gaza.

At least 83 Palestinians seeking medical care have died during delays at checkpoints between 2000 and 2006, according to the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group.28 Such deaths include babies of women who were forced to give birth at checkpoints as they were deliberately denied passage to hospitals by Israeli soldiers. During the al-Aqsa Intifada between September 2000 and 2006, 68 pregnant Palestinian women gave birth at Israeli checkpoints, leading to 34 babies and 4 women dying, according to a Palestinian Health Ministry report in September 2006.29 There are numerous accounts of ambulances and patients being denied passage leading to deaths which could have been prevented.30 Soldiers are rarely prosecuted for such crimes.

At the end of 2005, the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem reported the following number of checkpoints/road blocks across the West Bank.31 WEST BANK Checkpoints Partial Checkpoints Roadblocks Road gates Earth Mounds Earth Walls Trenches

51 7 118 51 282 35 55

TOTAL

605

ii. Curfews and Closures “The restrictions on movement that Israel has imposed on the Palestinian population in the Occupied Territories over the past five years are unprecedented in the history of the Israeli occupation in their scope, duration, and in the severity of damage that they cause to the three and a half million Palestinians who reside there. In the past, Israel has imposed either a comprehensive closure on the Occupied Territories or a curfew on a specific town or village to restrict Palestinian freedom of movement, but never has Israel imposed restrictions as sweeping and as prolonged as those currently in place.”32 When a closure is in effect, Palestinians are prevented from free movement within the occupied territories. Israel has divided these territories up into enclaves which are surrounded and each cut off from the other. Movement outside the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and any travel abroad is prohibited during closures.

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Israeli forces imposing a curfew on Nablus

When closures are enforced, previously issued permits allowing Palestinians to travel out of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and into Israel all become invalid.33 During 2006, there were 78 comprehensive closure days.

During 2005, there were 132, thus, for more than one-third of the year, Palestinians were prohibited from leaving the West-Bank and Gaza Strip.

Closures have a severe impact on the lives of Palestinians as they prevent access to schools, hospitals, jobs and even families, thus hampering all daily activities. The consequences of such closures are that Palestinians are denied a number of their basic human rights including their right to work, the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to health, the right to education, and the right to protection of family life. iii. House Demolitions Israel has been responsible for the demolition of and damage to thousands of civilian properties in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since 1967. In particular, such activities escalated during the first and second Intifadas.

The demolition of houses, levelling of agricultural land and expropriation of land are violations of Articles 33 and 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and are also defined as a grave breach under article 147 and therefore also constitute war crimes. In addition, the UN Committee Against Torture has found, that the Israeli government's house demolition policy “may, in certain instances, amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment� in violation of Article 16 of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.34

A Palestinian Woman beside her demolished home

40 Years of Occupation

Between September 2000 and 2005, the Palestinians Central Bureau of Statistics revealed the following figures for buildings damaged either partially or completely by the Israeli occupation forces.35

10

Number of partially demolished buildings West Bank Gaza

40,220 22,807

Total

63,027

Number of completely demolished buildings West Bank Gaza

2,843 4,662

Total

7,505

Number of damaged public buildings West Bank Gaza

145 30

Total

175

Number of damaged security buildings West Bank Gaza

75 340

Total

415

House demolitions are usually perpetrated for one of the following three reasons: 1. Punitive demolitions of houses belonging to families of people involved in suicide attacks (10%); 2. Operational demolitions carried out during military operations (15%); 3. Administrative demolitions of houses constructed without a permit (60%).

Palestinians are not allowed to build properties without permits, but these permits are rarely if ever granted in many areas. This leaves the Palestinians with little choice but to build without permits in order to accommodate growing families.

In addition to the demolition of properties, thousands of houses have been damaged and/or rendered completely uninhabitable by indiscriminate shelling, shooting, and bombardment by Israeli forces using heavy machine guns, tanks, helicopter gun ships, and F-16 fighter planes.

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Israeli forces bulldozing Palestinian farmers’ olive trees

iv. Denial of Water Israel has used its military control over the West Bank to take control of the water resources in the entire area. Many water sources are being diverted away from Palestinians and used up by Israelis at alarming rates.

Severe restrictions have been placed on Palestinians drilling for water, planting and irrigation. Illegal settlers living within the West Bank have access to unlimited supplies of water while their Palestinian neighbours live in perpetual water shortage. It is not unusual for settlement homes to have swimming pools while Palestinians struggle for enough drinking and cooking water.

In 1953, the River Jordan had an average flow of 1,250 mcm per year at the Allenby Bridge, but now records annual flows of 200 mcm of poor quality water. This is the result of Israel’s actions in 1967, when Israel secured control of the Jordan River water heads and destroyed 140 Palestinian water pumps in the Jordan Valley, and diverted the water through its National Water Carrier.

It is estimated that water from the West Bank provides between 25%- 40% of Israel’s water. Israel is consuming up to 80% of the West Banks’ water, while Palestinians are only allowed to use around 20%. Other measures imposed on Palestinians to restrict access to water include a bar on any wells deeper than 140 metres (while Israelis may dig to 800 metres), and confiscation and destruction of any device that is intended to extract water unless it has a permit. Predictably, permits are never granted.

During the water shortages in the 1990’s, Israeli settlers had abundant water while the Palestinians faced deep crisis over shortages. Israeli settlers even profited by selling back the West Bank water to the desperate West Bank Palestinians at a 40% profit. v. The Wall In 2002, Israel began building what it termed a ‘security fence’ in order to safeguard its own security. While most people envisage a barrier that separates Israel from the Palestinian territories along the internationally recognised green line border, in actual fact, the barrier runs deep within Palestinian lands and has caused immense suffering to the beleaguered population.

Basic water storage tank on a roof-top.

Such water tanks are often targeted by Israeli soldiers

40 Years of Occupation

The ‘fence’ is in fact projected to run to 700km inside the West Bank. It is a reinforced concrete wall up to 8 metres in height, with an average of 60 metres of exclusion zones on either side of it. In parts there are also watch towers manned by armed guards, electric fences, barbed wire and trenches.

About 60% of the projected wall has already been built with a further 10% in progress.

The wall’s path is far from the green line border, and in some parts it runs as deep as 10km into the West Bank so that it incorporates many of Israel’s vast illegal settlements on the Israeli side of the wall. In order to facilitate its path, Israel has confiscated the land of many Palestinians without compensation, or has separated them from their land by placing the wall 36 between them and the farm lands. While the wall was being built, gates were incorporated and farmers were told they would still have access to their lands. However, gates stopped being opened and the lands on the Israeli side are now deemed to be part of ‘Israel’. Such examples starkly amplify why many Palestinians claim the wall is a land grabbing exercise.

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It is estimated that once the wall is completed on its projected path, 50% of the West Bank land will have been expropriated by Israel. Palestinians whose land is lost will not be compensated as Israeli practice thus far exemplifies.

Many Palestinians believe that the wall is being used to create facts on the ground so that its path can be used when negotiating future settlements between Israel and Palestinians. The route of the wall is expected to represent the future borders between the two, and therefore, Palestinians will be denied Jerusalem, free movement from town to town within what remains of their own territories and denial of access to the outside world as Israel will retain ultimate border controls. The consequences of this will be another Gaza scenario replayed in the West Bank – starvation, poverty, economic collapse, increased lawlessness, no prospects of future viability and indiscriminate Israeli incursions.

In 2004, after considering the ‘Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory’, the International Court of Justice concluded: ‘The Court finds that the construction by Israel of a wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and its associated régime are contrary to international law’.37 Israel has rejected this decision.

Palestinians queuing along the Wall at a checkpoint

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vi. Family Separation Israel’s policy towards Palestinian family unification has been heavily condemned as it deliberately obstructs families from being together. Arabs from within Israel cannot live together with family members from the Palestinian territories within Israel. Therefore, any Israeli Arab seeking to marry a Palestinian from the territories must leave Israel in order to live with their spouse. Palestinians marrying foreign nationals are unable to live with their spouses, and similarly, those with Jerusalem identity cards cannot live together in Jerusalem with Palestinians from the occupied territories.

In his 2007 report, John Dugard38 concluded that “Israeli law and practice shows little respect for family life.” He identified a new problem in that Israel began refusing to grant renewals of visas to Palestinians holding foreign passports. In an overtly discriminatory policy, Israel refuses to allow any non-Jewish foreign persons residency rights in the occupied territories but had previously made exceptions for those of Palestinian origin with foreign passports. However, Israel has stopped renewing visas for these Palestinians, thus barring them from the occupied territories permanently.

This means that individuals who have been living in the territories for years have suddenly found themselves barred from re-entering if they go abroad.

Therefore, families now face further separation if there are members who hold foreign passports. Businessmen, students, lecturers, health-care and humanitarian workers are mainly affected by these policies.

c. Settlements Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention unequivocally makes it illegal for settlements to be built on occupied territories.

In his recent report, John Dugard concluded: “The construction of settlements continues. Today there are some 460,000 settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. A study by an Israeli non-governmental organization (NGO) has shown that nearly 40 per cent of the land occupied by settlements in the West Bank is privately owned by Palestinians. It has become abundantly clear that the Wall and checkpoints are principally aimed at advancing the safety, convenience and comfort of settlers.”39 The illegal Settlement policy started to take shape at the beginning of the 1970’s. The Israeli left wing began settlement building under the ‘Allon Plan’40 which saw the first 24 Israeli settlements being formed in the West Bank. The idea was to create a buffer zone between Israel and the Palestinian territories, 5-10km into the West Bank along the green line, and also within the Jordan Valley.

The security argument was the prevailing reason given to the Israeli public, but leaders such as Menachem Begin made no secret of the settlements being an ideological affair and a stepping stone to re-establishing the ‘Greater Israel’ of Biblical times. 41 This ambition was for the entire Palestinian territories to be a part of Israel, right up to the River Jordan.

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The reality of settlement building for Palestinian families is the confiscation of their lands, which have usually been in their families for generations, without any compensation. Their homes are then demolished and homes for the settlers are built in their place. These Palestinians are not only left homeless, but when their agricultural land is also confiscated, their livelihoods disappear. They are no longer allowed access even to the areas where they used to live as the settlements are closed off from non-Israelis.

Currently 460,000 settlers are living illegally in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.42 In Gaza, following the unilateral disengagement, 8,000 settlers were removed from the strip. However, far from marking an end to the occupation, Israel’s de facto control of the borders, sea and air-space have resulted in Gaza being turned into an open air prison camp, with a huge percentage of the population unable to put food on the table without relying on UN food programmes. Markedly, those settlers who were taken out of Gaza were re-settled in the West Bank.

Where there are settlements, there are bypass roads. Israel has constructed over 340km of bypass roads linking settlements to each other and to Israel. These roads disrupt Palestinian territorial contiguity and divide the West Bank and Gaza strip into dozens of isolated enclaves. The roads include 50-75 metre buffer zones which further take up more than 50 km2 of Palestinian land. For each 100km of road, some 10,000 dunums/2,500 acres of land is confiscated.43 These roads are not open for Palestinian use.

The “Ariel� Israeli settlement, built on occupied Palestinian land

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d. Political Prisoners and the use of Torture According to the Mandela Institute for Human Rights, there are 9,184 Palestinian political prisoners being held in Israeli jails. 44 Many prisoners and their representatives have made serious complaints about their treatment, trial and general imprisonment.45 Since the Israeli occupation in 1967, it is estimated that Israeli forces have arrested about 700,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health’s Statistics Department. Since the start of the al-Aqsa Intifada in September 2000, it is thought that 50,000 Palestinians have been arrested. 5,000 of these were children of whom approximately 390 remain in prison. Eight of these children are being held without charge or trial.46 Figures released by the Prisoner and Ex-Prisoner Ministry showed that 177 Palestinian detainees were killed inside Israeli jails since 1967. 47 “The Planning and Statistics Department of the Ministry said, in a statistical report, 69 Palestinian prisoners (39% of [prisoner] deaths) were killed due to being subjected to severe torture whilst 37 prisoners (20.9% of [prisoner] deaths) died due to the lack of medical health care. The report also revealed that 71 prisoners (40.1% of deaths) were willfully killed after the arrest – in cold blooded murder.”48

Young Palestinian boy with his mother displaying a photo of his imprisoned older brother 40 Years of Occupation

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e. Effects on Children Palestinian children have not been spared the effects of this occupation.

Many studies conducted to ascertain the psychological impact of the violence that is witnessed daily across the territories reveal shocking findings. During the fist intifada which took place between 1987 and 1993, 161 Palestinian children under the age of 16 were killed by the Israeli occupation forces49. During the Intifada, the involvement of children in the conflict escalated and there was a directly correlative psychological 50 impact .

Following the re-deployment of Israeli troops in Gaza in June 2006, it is estimated that the vicious bombardment and the almost daily killings has left 99.2% of the children suffering some form of post-traumatic shock. The consequence of this on the psyche of the entire population suggests appalling future prospects.

A study conducted in 199851 prior to the Second Intifada found that out of a sample of 239 children aged 6 to 11, 72.8% suffered at least mild post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with 41% suffering moderate or severe PTSD reactions.

It is estimated that during the Al-Aqsa Intifada (2000-2006), approximately 900 52 children were killed. This accounts for almost a quarter of the Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and settlers. Approximately 34% of Palestinians injured were children, with 2,660 being left permanently 53 disabled due to Israeli attacks.

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A Palestinian child receiving treatment after being released from detention by Israeli soldiers

Palestinian children also suffer in a number of other ways, such as being denied the right to education and basic medical treatments. Israeli closure policies, army incursions and the building of the separation wall have all impacted on the standard of living for Palestinian children. 288 schools have been attacked by the Israeli army since 2000, 9 of which were completely destroyed. 3,471 children were wounded while making the journey to or from school.54 The route of the separation wall has also made it impossible for thousands of Palestinian children and teachers to continue attending their schools.

On the issue of health, Israel’s blockade against the Palestinians has led to 50% of the West Bank and 70% of the Gaza Strip residents living in poverty on less that $2 a day.55 Lack of access to food has meant that almost a quarter of children suffer from malnutrition, anaemia and other growth disorders. These diseases and illnesses will have a lasting impact on this and future Palestinian generations.

f. Attacks on Medical Personnel and Services Attacks and restrictions on medical and relief personnel and hospitals are prohibited under Articles 17, 18, 20, 21, and 23 in the Fourth Geneva Convention as well as under Articles 12, 13, 14, 15, and 17 of Protocol I, additional to the Geneva Conventions.

Israeli soldiers detain medical relief volunteers preventing them from delivering medical services

40 Years of Occupation

During the al-Aqsa Intifada, 17 on-duty medical personnel were killed by the Israeli army. At least 206 have been reportedly injured. Palestinian paramedics have also been arrested, beaten, and used as human shields on numerous occasions.56 10 Palestinian Red Crescent Society ambulances were destroyed and 80% of its ambulance fleet was damaged. During Israeli attacks on Palestinian cities, Israeli forces have shelled and raided hospitals and clinics, including in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, and al-Bireh resulting in destruction of medical equipment and disruption of health care for patients.

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4. Violations on Press Freedoms

In a report by the International Press Institute

57

(IPI), it was concluded that “gross violations of press freedom” in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were occurring yet going almost unnoticed by the international community.

The IPI report focuses on the al-Aqsa Intifada period and concluded that Israel was responsible for 82.9% of the 310 press freedom violations recorded by it. The majority of the victims of these violations were Palestinian journalists, 10 of whom were killed. Two foreign journalists have also been killed. In all but a handful of cases, the perpetrators went unpunished.

The IPI concluded that this has encouraged a “climate of impunity in which Israeli soldiers, police officers and settlers, as well as Palestinian police and militants, are given implicit, or even explicit, authority to commit press freedom violations.”

IPI also reported that Israel severely limits the media coverage of events that occur within the occupied territories, such as the Gaza pull-out where the limited number of journalists allowed to enter were forced to go with military escorts, thus were prevented from free coverage. No Palestinian journalists were allowed access to cover the pull out.

It is clear that such restrictions on press freedoms ensure that the Palestinian struggle is often unheard. However, with the advent of inter net resources such as youtube.com, many Palestinians have now found a different avenue to ensure their fight is not forgotten and atrocities against them are recorded.

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A standard checkpoint used by Israel

5. Attacks on the Al-Aqsa Sanctuary

Since the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, the sacred al-Aqsa sanctuary has come under attack over a hundred times. Israeli fundamentalists have made no secret of their desire to take control of the sacred compound from Palestinian Muslim worshippers, demolish the buildings within it and re-build the Temple. Palestinians have been killed during some of these attacks while they defended the sanctuary.

Below is a brief list of attacks against the al-Aqsa compound and worshippers within it since the illegal Zionist occupation of east Jerusalem began:

The Masjid Al-Aqsa building within the Al-Aqsa compound

1967 Fanatical Israelis begin prayers within the al-Aqsa sanctuary, despite the prohibition by the chief Rabbanate of Jews of even setting a foot in it (for fear of violating its sanctity according to Judaic law).

1969 the green domed mosque building with the al-Aqsa compound was set on fire. The entire south wing burnt down including the precious Mimbar (pulpit) of Nuradeen commissioned 700 years ago and installed by the great Muslim hero Salahuddin al Ayubi. The man found guilty had sought refuge in a kibbutz and was set free after receiving psychiatric counselling.

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1970 Members of the Temple Mount Faithful group, dedicated to demolishing the buildings within the al-Aqsa sanctuary forcibly entered the compound. They were fought off by the Muslims who suffered casualties from Israeli troop gunfire.

1976 Israeli Courts passed a law permitting Jews to pray in the al-Aqsa compound. After Palestinian rioting this was later revoked.

1979 Jewish extremists blocked one of the entrances to Masjid al Aqsa on Friday, pointing guns at the worshippers.

From the 1980s, harassment and acts of sabotage escalated. In August of 1981 an Israeli helicopter hovered at low altitude over Masjid al Aqsa preventing worshippers inside from hearing the Friday sermon.

1981 The adhan (call to Muslim prayer) was prohibited from the minaret overlooking the Western Wall because of Jewish celebrations.

1981 Tunnels were discovered under the al-Aqsa compound. World condemnation followed as these tunnels undermined the structural integrity of the entire complex.

1982 A parcel with a fake bomb and threat signed by Jewish extremists was discovered at one of the gates. In this year, an ex Israeli army officer opened fire within the compound, killing two Muslims and filling the interior and exterior of the Dome of the Rock with bullet marks. In June 1982, an Israeli was arrested and then released for trying to blow up the compound.

In the summer of this year, Jewish fundamentalists also attempted to enter the compound and distributed leaflets inciting Jews to take over the holy sanctuary.

In January 1983, the Temple Mount Fund was established in Israel, Europe and America to raise funds for rebuilding the Jewish Temple on the site of al-Aqsa sanctuary. In March of this year, explosives were discovered at one of the entrance gate and four armed Israelis were discovered attempting to enter the compound. Six months later they were acquitted in Israeli courts.

1984 Zionists attempted to scale the walls of the compound with ladders in the middle of the night armed with ammunition. In this year, armed Israeli guards started patrolling al-Aqsa; their behaviour and presence inimical to the sanctity of Muslim holy site.

Ob 15 June 1988 Israeli troops stormed the compound, firing tear gas at groups of worshippers. In July, further tunnels were discovered beneath the compound sparking greater unrest.

On 6 Oct 1990 Israeli troops opened fire on worshippers killing 22 and wounding hundreds.

1996 Israel re-opened a tunnel under the compound resulting in confrontations between the Israeli occupation forces and Palestinians. More than 70 Palestinians were killed.

Tunnelling - The excavations under the al-Aqsa compound are leading to dangerous cracks in buildings adjoining the Western Wall. Archaeologists believe that the tunnels have weakened the building structures within the

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The Dome of the Rock building within the Al Aqsa compound

compound. It is believed that a slight tremor, which this area is prone to, may cause the mosque building to collapse.

1997 Israeli fundamentalists attempted to lay a 4.5 ton rock as a cornerstone for the foundation of their Temple but were forced back by Palestinians.

September 2000 – Ariel Sharon stormed the Al-Aqsa compound flagged by 1,000 Israeli troops. Clashes erupted between Palestinians and the troops, leading to the deaths of dozens of Palestinians. These clashes permeated throughout the Palestinian territories and gave rise to the second Intifada against Israeli occupation.

Since 2000, the al-Aqsa compound has come under numerous attacks and has been stormed by Israeli guards on numerous occasions, endangering the lives of the Palestinians worshippers and violating the sanctity of the area.

2007 Israel demolished the ramp leading to the Meghribi gate of the al-Aqsa compound. Further excavations then took place in the area. The move to build a concrete pathway in the area was viewed with grave suspicion by Palestinians as it would facilitate the entry of armoured vehicles into the alAqsa sanctuary. Many demonstrations and clashes followed this.

The aspirations to re-build the Temple on the grounds of the al-Aqsa compound have become very open in Israel, and certain groups are seeking financial and political backing for this purpose from Europe and the USA without any hindrance.

Masjid Al-Aqsa

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6. The Case of Jerusalem

Both

Jerusalem and Bethlehem represent historic and religiously sanctified cities and both have suffered the impact of Israeli occupation to their detriment. Jerusalem houses some of the holiest sites in Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

In 1980, despite international law prohibitions, Israel declared Jerusalem as its eternal and undivided capital and illegally annexed it. Most of the international community rejected this and still considers Tel Aviv to be the capital of Israel and this is where they have their embassies. Since the building of the separation wall and the circle of illegal settlements built around East Jerusalem, the city has effectively been cut off from the West Bank. Palestinians who have for generations lived close to the holy sites of Jerusalem are now completely isolated from them. Access to Jerusalem is regularly denied to Palestinians who hold West Bank identity cards and families have been torn apart by the wall which now separates the West Bank from East Jerusalem.

Palestinians living in Jerusalem have special identity cards. If they marry a foreign national or a Palestinian from the occupied territories, they cannot live together with their spouse in Jerusalem.

The status of Jerusalem has been one of the greatest obstacles to peace negotiations between both sides.58 Israel has been accused of working to drive out all non-Jews from the city in a bid to Judaise it. The February 2007 excavations under the al-Aqsa mosque were deemed to be a move towards taking over the al-Aqsa sanctuary with many Palestinians concluding that this was yet another move towards Judaising the city.59 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza are regularly denied access to their Holy sites especially within Jerusalem. Muslim Palestinians living in Jerusalem are regularly denied access to the al-Aqsa compound, especially men below the age of 50.

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The old city walls of Jerusalem

7. The Case of Bethlehem

Bethlehem

60

has tremendous historic and religious significance for Christians as the biblical birth place of Jesus Christ. Today, the little town still has a Christian majority unlike the rest of the occupied territories.

Since Israel built the separation wall around Jerusalem, the effect on Bethlehem has been profound. The route of the wall in this area is linked with bypass roads and settlements, together forming an effective barrier to Jerusalem from Ramalla to Bethlehem through the Abu Dis neighbourhood.

This results in a de facto annexation of 5.6% of the West Bank in this area alone as the town has been separated from its surrounding countryside and open land. This annexation of the land means that Israel is able to expand the settlements in the area. The wall encircles Bethlehem on two sides, and settlements bar off the remaining sides. The main entrance into town is now via Israeli manned checkpoints. The result of this has been the strangulation of the industry that Bethlehem survives on – tourism. While the number of tourists in the area reduced since the beginning of the intifada, the building of the wall and the imposition of the checkpoints has led to a complete diminution as tour operators cannot rely on the lengthy and deliberate delays at the entrance to Bethlehem. The Mayor of Bethlehem in 2005 described the situations as follows: “Tourists and pilgrims are asked to dismount from their buses especially when leaving Bethlehem and to line in queue to be checked individually including passport examination, checking of souvenirs they bought and passing through an x-ray checking devices while the bus is being checked as well.

A mosaic at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem

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In fact, such examination exceeds the one at the airports and borders… As a result… tour operators become more than reluctant to let their tourists visit Bethlehem to avoid disruption in their program and to escape passing through this long bitter process.” The situation for Bethlehemites is dire, but seems to have been largely ignored or forgotten by the international community.

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8. Denying Democracy

In January 2006, the Palestinians held democratic elections which were monitored by independent observers including former President of the United States, Jimmy Carter. The election process was widely acclaimed for its fairness and transparency. The result, unexpected from some quarters, was an overwhelming HAMAS victory.

The world’s response to this election result was to cut off the Palestinian people and impose an embargo. The Gazans were the worst effected by this, and the closure of Gaza’s borders led to an unprecedented collapse in Palestinians society there. Violence and lawlessness prevailed, while almost 80% of Palestinians were forced to rely on the UN Food Programme for their basic meals. Malnutrition and disease is increasingly common in young children. The humanitarian crisis that Palestinians have been faced with since the election results was unprecedented as it was imposed by the so called ‘civilised’ nations of the world.

Israel vowed to ‘ignore’ the new Hamas led government and make it ‘irrelevant’. 61 Israel called on the international community to impose the embargo and the majority of states duly complied. Israel withheld vital tax revenues leading to a situation where the new Hamas government was unable to pay wages to hundreds of thousands of government workers.

This increased the levels of tension within the occupied territories to unprecedented levels. The U.S., the E.U., Canada, Japan and other countries also withheld aid to the Palestinian people. 62 The cumulative result of this action was the collective punishment of the entire Palestinian people for making a democratic choice that was unpalatable to Israel and the West.

The result of the economic embargo has been an increase in the number of Palestinians applying to immigrate to other countries. Thousands more are now making that application as the living conditions have become absolutely unbearable.63 Thus, this has proved to be another method by which Israel is emptying the Palestinian territories of Palestinians. Most of those applying to immigrate are professionals, and as a result, Palestinians society is being left with a shortage of trained individuals which will have an impact on the short-term prospects of the state.

In March 2007, the Palestinians formed a Unity Government under the Mecca Accords. Israel failed to recognise this government. However, tensions in Gaza spilled over into a conflict between Fatah and Hamas, with Hamas securing a victory and bringing order back into the Gaza Strip. Israel was quick to condemn Hamas for this, and Mahmoud Abbas dissolved the Unity Government, and formed an ‘emergency government’ despite having no constitutional right to do so. The situation in July 2007 was an isolated Hamas in Gaza, and a new Fatah led government in the West Bank.

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Palestinian farmer waiting at the gate that separates him from his land

9. Conclusion

T

he impact of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands has been unprecedented. There is not a single Palestinian who does not feel the brunt of the oppression, with every family having witnessed a murder, an imprisonment or the humiliation of a family member or friend.

To this day, 1/3 of all refugees are still living in 59 refugee camps in the neighbouring countries and within the occupied territories. The Gaza strip has 8 refugee camps housing approximately 400,000 people which accounts for about half the refugee population in the strip. The camps in Gaza are amongst the most densely populated areas in the world (on average there are 356.5 sq. metres per inhabitant in Gaza. In comparison every inhabitant in Ramallah has 3,978.1 sq. metres; Jerusalem: 1,029.4 sq. metres; Nablus: 3,244.3 sq. metres; Jenin: 2,846.8 sq. metres). The biggest and most densely populated Palestinian refugee camp in the world is Jabaliya in the outskirts of Gaza City. 90,000 people live in an area of 3 sq km.64 “According to the World Bank, the combination of checkpoints, the separation barrier through the West Bank and other closures – all of which greatly limit the movement of workers and goods – has caused the Palestinian people to suffer “one of the worst recessions in modern history,” with approximately 50% of the Palestinian population now living in poverty.

Illness and malnutrition have risen with this economic devastation.”65 This state of affairs has been the result of steady and deliberate oppressive measures being employed against the Palestinians over the past 40 years, and is more than likely to continue unless there is a real and unhindered international effort to make Israel abide by international law and afford the Palestinians their basic human rights as an occupied people. This will make a real and lasting peace possible.

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Endnotes 1 http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/mandate.html (last visited 2 March 2007) 2 Balfour Declaration, 2 November 1917.

3 The text for this resolution can be found at: http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/un/res181.htm (Last visited 10 January 2007) 4 For a summary of the massacre of Palestinians by extremist Jewish gangs, see Patel, Ismail, Palestine Beginner’s Guide, (2005), Al-Aqsa Publishers, at 124-126. For details of these massacres, see Morris, Benny, Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881 – 1999, (1999) John Murray (Publishers) Ltd. 5 For a detailed description of the entire history surrounding the birth of the state of Israel, see Morris, Benny, Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881 – 1999, (1999) John Murray (Publishers) Ltd. 6 For detailed figures, visit www.nakba-archive.org 7 Chomsky, Naom, The Fateful Triangle (1999), Southend Press 8 S/RES/242. The text of this resolution can be found at: http://www.un.org/documents/sc/res/1967/scres67.htm (Last visited 10 January 2007) 9 www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org 10 S/RES/1322. The full text of this resolution can be found at: http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N00/679/37/PDF/N0067937.pdf?OpenElement (last visited 11 January 2007) 11 Boyle, Prof. Frances., ‘The International Laws on Belligerent Occupations’ (2001) 12 Shaw, Malcolm, International Law (Fourth Edition 1999), Cambridge University Press 13 Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, ICJ No. 131, 4 July 2004, para 89-101.

14 Available online at www.pchrgaza.org 15 Figure from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, www.mfa.gov.il 16 Estimate from the UN Population Division data, at http://esa.un.org/unpp/ 17 Statistics from B’Tselem, http://www.btselem.org/English/Statistics/First_Intifada_Tables.asp (last visited 2 April 2007) 18 Statistics from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, http://www.palestinercs.org/crisistables/table_of_figures.htm (Last visited 19 March 2007) 19 Statistics from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, http://www.pchrgaza.ps/Library/alaqsaintifada.htm (last visited 19 March 2007) 20 The Public Committee against Torture in Israel v. Government of Israel (HCJ 769/02) 21 Statistics from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights http://www.pchrgaza.ps/Intifada/Killings_stat.htm (Last visited 19 March 2007) 22 Summerfield, Derek, ‘Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes’, British Medical Journal October 2004.

23 Dugard, John, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, implementation of GENERAL ASSEMBLY resolution 60/251 OF 15 MARCH 2006 ENTITLED “HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL”, A/HRC/4/17 29 January 2007.

24 UNOCHA, Review of the Humanitarian Situation in the occupied Palestinian territory in 2004, April 2005, available at www.ochaopt.org.

25 Dugard (2007), supra note 25, at 2 26 Ibid.

27 Keshet, Y. K., Checkpoint Watch: Testimonies from Occupied Palestine (2006) Zed Books, at x.

28 Moore, Molly, ‘Checkpoints take toll on Palestinians, Israeli Army’, in The Washington Post 24 November 2004.

29 Report: Pregnant Palestinians give Birth at Israeli Checkpoints 6 October 2006, http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article5820.shtml (last visited 27 March 2007) 30 For a detailed list of deaths between 2000-2002, visit the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Groups site at: http://www.phrmg.org/aqsa/Died%20at%20Checkpoints.htm (last visited 27 March 2007) 31 Reported by the Palestine Monitor http://www.palestinemonitor.org/nueva_web/facts_sheets/facts_at_glance.htm (last visited 27 March 2007) 32 ‘Restrictions on Movement’, B’Tselem, http://www.btselem.org/english/Freedom_of_Movement/Index.asp (last visited 2 April 2007) 33 B’Tselem http://www.btselem.org/english/Freedom_of_Movement/Siege_figures.asp (last visited 2 April 2007) 34 Report of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights at:http://www.pchrgaza.ps/Intifada/House_demolitions.conv.html (last visited 27 March 2007) 35 Figures quoted by the Palestine Monitor at: http://www.palestinemonitor.org/nueva_web/facts_sheets/facts_at_glance.htm (Last visited 27 March 2007) 36 ‘Palestinians: Israel hands out land confiscation notices’, CNN International Nov 7 2003, can be accessed at: http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/11/05/mideast/ (last visited 27 March 2007) 37 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 9 July 2004.

38 Dugard, (2007), supra note 25, at 18.

39 Ibid.

40 For details of the Allon Plan, see maps at: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/allonplan.html (Last visited 24 January 2007) 41 Grange, Jocelyn, ‘Introduction’, Israel/Palestine, the Black Book, (2002) Pluto Press, at 3.

42 PCHR Disengagement Fact Sheet No 2. Available at http://www.pchrgaza.ps/files/campaigns/english/gaza/Fact%20Sheet%20No%202%20%20the%20real%20story.pdf (Last visited 22 February 2007) 43 Statistics from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights http://www.pchrgaza.ps/Intifada/Settlements_stat.htm (last visited 22 March 2007) 44 Reported by the Palestine Monitor at: http://www.palestinemonitor.org/nueva_web/facts_sheets/facts_at_glance.htm (last vosoted 27 March 2007) 45 Dugard (2007), Supra note 25.

46 Statistics from the International Middle East Media Centre at: http://www.imemc.org/article/21544 (last visited 27 March 2007) 47 Documented by If American’s Knew, http://www.ifamericansknew.org/stats/prisoners-articles.html (last visited 27 March 2007) 48 Documented by If American’s Knew, http://www.ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/prisoners-killed.html (last visited 27 March 2007) 49 Reported by the Israeli Human Rights group B’Tselem.

50 See for example, a study by Shafiq Masalha, ‘The Effects of Prewar Conditions of the Psychological Reaction of Palestinian Children to the Gulf War’, in Leavitt, L., and Fox, N (Eds) The Psychological Effects of War and Violence (1993), at 131.

51 Thabit, A.A.M, and Vostanis, P., ‘Post Traumatic Stress Reactions in Children of War’, in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines (1999), 40: 385-391.

52 Reported by the Palestine Monitor, ‘Children Factsheet’, available at http://www.palestinemonitor.org/nueva_web/facts_sheets/children.htm#_ednref10 (last visited 2 April 2007) 53 Ibid.

54 Ibid.

55 Ibid.

56 Reported by the Palestinian Red Crescent society and the Palestine Monitor.

57 Report available on the IPI website at: http://www.freemedia.at/cms/ipi/statements_detail.html?ctxid=CH0055&docid=CMS1144847772495&year=2003 (last visited 27 March 2007) 58 Whitaker, Brian, ‘Rivals for Holy city may have to turn to God’, in the Guardian, 22 August 2000 59 Reported by Erlanger, Steven, ‘Jerusalem calm as work stops for weekend near Dome of the Rock’, in the International Herald tribune, 10 February 2007.

60 All facts from ‘Isolating Bethlehem’, Friends of Al-Aqsa fact sheet, available at: http://www.aqsa.org.uk/leafletsdetails.aspx?id=58 61 Ehud Olmert, quoted by McGreal, Chris, ‘Hamas shock victory poses new Middle East Challenge’, in the Guardian, 27 January 2006 62 ‘Cutting Aid to the Palestinians’, the Electronic Intifada, 30 March 2006, available at http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/432.shtml (last visited 17 April 2007) 63 Assad, Samar, ‘The Demographic and Economic War against Palestinians’, the Electronic Intifada 5 November 2006. Can be accessed at http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article5955.shtml (last visited 17 April 2007) 64 Statistics from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and UNRWA. 65 Palestine Monitor Report Israeli checkpoints and their impact on daily life, http://www.ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/checkpoints.html (last visited 27 March 2007)

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Published by Friends of Al-Aqsa PO Box 5127 Leicester LE2 0WU Tel: 0116 2125441 www.aqsa.org.uk info@aqsa.org.uk

With special thanks to Anna Baltzer for her images www.annainthemiddleeast.com

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