2.israelioccupation policies

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2.IsraeliOccupationPolicies

K i l l i n g s a n d I n j u r i e s

Statistical figures for deaths and injuries differ by source. The following graph shows the number of Palestinians killed byIsraelis since the outbreak of the first Intifadain Dec. 1987 as monitored by the Israeli human rights group BTselem. Thesefigures do not include Palestinians who died after being delayed in receiving medical treatment (e.g., by being stopped atcheckpoints): As of 31 Sept. 2008, 4,282 Palestinians were killed by Israelis since the beginning of the second Intifada, incl.955 minors under the age of 18. At least 2,227 of the dead were killed by Israeli forces while not taking part in hostilities.

At least 232 Palestinians were extra-judicially executed by Israeli units, in the course of which an additional 386 Palestinianswere killed. Some 45 Palestinians were killed by Israeli civilians. On the Israeliside 1,062 people were killed by Palestinians(482 in the WBGS and 580 inside Israel), 123 of them under the age of 18.

According to data from the PCHR in Gaza, as of 30 June 2008, Israeli forces have killed at least 4,803 Palestinians in theWBGS, incl. at least 3,706 civilians, since 28 Sept. 2000. Some 754 (GS: 405; WB: 350) of the killed were executed in extra-

judicial operations; of these, 521 were targeted persons and 233 bystanders, incl. 71 children and 20 women.

The PA Health Ministry counts 2,009 dead in the West Bank (29 Sept. 2000-1 Dec. 2008) and 2,937 in Gaza (by the end of2007), as well as 12 in 1948 Palestine. In addition, their figures suggest over 50,600 injured.

According to DCI-Palestine statistics, a total of 974 children have been killed since the outbreak of the secondIntifada, incl. 72 in 2008 alone (as of 3 Dec. 2008). Of the total, 138 were under the age of 9, 152 between 9-12 yrs. old,335 between 13-15 yrs., and 349 16-17 yrs. old.

Between Sept. 2000 and Aug. 2008, at least 64 Palestinians died after being prevented or delayed to pass a checkpointon the way for medical treatment.(BTselem).

According to Israeli army statistics, some 90% of 1,091 Military Police investigations of criminal offenses in which soldiersharmed Palestinians and their property since the beginning of the second Intifada in Sept. 2000 until June 2007, wereclosed with no indictment. Of the 118 actual indictments, 101 led to convictions of the accused. Some 239 investigations onkilling and injury concerned Palestinian civilians not involved in hostilities; only 16 of these resulted in convictions.(Yesh Din,Investigation of Criminal Offenses by IDF soldiers against Palestinians and their property: figures for 2000-2007).

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304 302

13497

136 177 144

4472

20 27 8

279

469

1032

589

828

197

661

383438

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Palestinians killed by Israelis since the first Intifada

(9 Dec. 1987-31 Oct. 2008)

(Source: B'Tselem website, http://www.btselem.org/English/Statistics/Casualties.asp.)

The above numbers do not include the 13 Palestinian citizens of Israel that were killed in Oct. 2000 by Israeli forces,nor other Palestinian citizens of Israel that were killed by Israeli forces, nor Palestinian suicide bombers.


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A r r e s t s , I m p r i s o nm e n t , F o r c e d T r a n s f e r a n d D e p o r t a t i o n It is estimated that since 1967, Israel has detained and imprisoned almost 700,000 Palestinians

one fifth of the Palestinian population living in the OPT - the vast majority of whom as politicalprisoners. (UN, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Commission of Human Rights, Question of theviolation of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine, Jan. 2006)

Due to Israel's ongoing arrest operations, the number of detainees in the current Intifadavaries from day to day. According to Mandela Institute, there were 11,000 Palestinian securitydetainees or prisoners as ofmid-Dec. 2008 in the 10 central prisons governed by the IsraeliGeneral Prisons Administration (Ashqelon, Nafha in the Negev, Beer Sheba, Ramleh, Telmondnear Khadera, Gelboa, Rimonim, Hadarim on the Haifa Road, Kfar Yuna, and Shatta nearMegiddo) and the three military detention camps (Megiddo, Ofer near Ramallah, and Ketziot or

Ansar 3 in the Negev). Of the total prisoners, 62 were women, 350 juveniles, and 750

administrative detainees.

According to BTselem figures, the Israeli Prison Service held, as of 31 Oct. 2008, 8,256 Palestinian prisoners (incl. 578in administrative detention and 291 children) and the Israeli army 32 (incl. 6 Children). Some 5,292 of all prisoners

were serving a sentence.

According to the PA Detainees Ministry, almost 11,000 Palestinians were being held in Israeli prisons or detention campsas of Aug. 2008, around 9,000 of them political prisoners charged with security offenses, including 326 minors, 94women and 47 PLC members. Of the total, some 1,150 are being held in administrative detention, i.e., without charge(Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, Palestinians in Israeli Prisons. Aug. 2008).

As of Oct. 2008, 297children under 18 years, incl. 6 girls and 23 aged 12-15, were detained in Israel, 8 of which inadministrative detention (DCI Palestine). Between Sept. 2000 and Aug. 2008, over 6,700 children were arrested and

detained for different periods (Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, Palestinians in Israeli Prisons. Aug. 2008).

On 6 Sept. 1999, the Israeli High Court outlawed the use of arbitrary torture as an interrogation method (thoughstopping short of absolutely banning it as required by international law). However, certain forms of physical punishmentpersist. A recent report confirmed that Israel still practices ill-treatment and torture, such as isolation, denial of access tolawyers and family members, prolonged interrogation sessions, use of collaborators to threaten detainees, and threats tofamily members. (BTselem and HamokedAbsolute Prohibition: The Torture and Ill-Treatment of Palestinian Detainees, May 2007).

E x p r o p r i a t i o n a n d D e s t r u c t i o n o f L a n d According to MIFTAH, between 28 Sept. 2000 and 30 Nov. 2008, 256,878 dunums of

land were confiscated by Israel, additional 77,401 dunums were razed, and some1,189,412 trees were uprooted. (http://www.miftah.org/report.cfm)

The separation barrier de facto annexes 9.0% of the West Bank and will,together with planned settlement expansion, place 45.5% of the occupied WestBankunder Israeli control. (PLO - NAD. Barrier to Peace: Assessment of Israels WallRoute, July 2008).

According to PCBS figures, as of the end of June 2008, 49,291 dunums of WestBank land had been confiscated for the separation barrier (incl. 22,141dunums in the north, 13,875 dunums in the middle, and 13,275 dunums in thesouth of the West Bank).

R e s i d e n c y , C l o s u r e s & M o v em e n t R e s t r i c t i o n s In June 1967, Israel carried out a census of Palestinian residents, only registering those who were present in the WBGS at

that time in the Palestinian population registry, thus recognizing them as legal residents and providing them with IDcards. Ever since, Israel has retained full control of the registry despite the fact that the Oslo Accords required that it -along with other civil matters be transferred to the PA for Areas A and B. Consequently, all residence issues are subjectto Israeli approval. This is also true for post-disengagement Gaza, where only registered persons, or those issued permits

by Israel, can use the Rafah crossing to enter into Egypt. Persons notlisted in the population registry who wish to legally join their families andpermanently reside in the West Bank can only do so through Israelsapproval for family unification, which, however, is not a vested rightbased on fundamental rights to family, but a "special benevolent act ofthe Israeli authorities". Following the start of the second Intifada, Israelstopped processing requests for family unification and stopped issuingvisitor permits to non-resident family members. According to the PAMinistry of Civil Affairs some 120,000 requests for family unification havesince been made (not including the thousands of cases which werepending when the freeze began).


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In March 1993, the Rabin govt. imposed a general closure denying Palestinians from the WBGS entrance to Israel, freemovement between the southern and northern part of the West Bank, and access to Jerusalem. Since then over 13years by now - thousands of Palestinians are deprived from reaching places of work and worship as well as accessingmedical, educational and economic services. Those Palestinians who enter the city illegally - or assist Palestinians toenter - risk imprisonment and high penalties.

The closure policy disregards international law, according to which East Jerusalem is an integral part of the WestBank, and the Oslo Accords, which view the WBGS as one territorial unit, and has had a devastating impact on thePalestinian economy in general.

Palestinians must obtain permits for nearly all movement outside of their greater municipal area. Permit requirementsare rarely published and are highly changeable. The system operates on two levels one to control movement within theWest Bank itself and another for movement between East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. Moreover, permits arevalid only for individuals, while private, public and commercial vehicles need separate permits.

As of July 2008, the Israeli army had 63 permanent checkpointsinsidethe West Bank, 48 of them regularly staffed(for varying times ranging from a few hours daily to around the clock). In Hebron alone, there are 18 such checkpoints.Palestinian travel was restricted on 430 km of roads in the West Bank, incl. 137 km where it was completely prohibited,while on the remainder permits were required. (BTselem, Information on checkpoints and roadblocks, www.btselem.org)

In addition, there are 40 permanent, staffed, around-the-clockcheckpoints that are the last control points alongtheGreen Line (between the West Bank and Israeli proper), mostly through located several km inside the West Bank. As ofJuly 2008, there were 66 gates in the Separation Barrier, only half of which are open to Palestinian permit holders.(BTselem, Information on checkpoints and roadblocks, www.btselem.org)

In addition to staffed checkpoints, hundreds of physical obstructions (dirt piles, concrete blocks, boulders, trenches,fences, and iron gates) have been erected to block access to main roads and channel Palestinian traffic to staffedcheckpoints. The number ofclosure obstacles reported by OCHA rose from 566 in Sept. 2007 to 609 in May 2008 (excl.checkpoints placed on the Green Line, flying checkpoints and the barrier). As ofJuly 2008, the weekly average offlying(random) checkpoints set up in the West Bank since the beginning of the year was 82. Worst affected are the Qalqilyaand Hebron areas.

As ofJuly 2008, there had been 71 curfew incidents in the West Bank, with a total duration of 1,050 hours (OCHA).

H o u s e D em o l i t i o n Since 1987, Israeli forces have administratively demolished (i.e.,

for lacking building permits) over 3,300 Palestinian houses in the WestBank (incl. East Jerusalem), and hundreds of other structures, renderingthousands of Palestinians homeless. In addition, as punishment 1,061homes were completely and 64 partially destroyed as well as 299completely and 118 partially sealed (BTselem).

According to BTselem official data, Israeli forces have demolished 43houses in 2007 and 37 in 2008 (as of June 30th) for alleged militarypurposes. In addition, 39 houses were destroyed in 2007 and 24 in2008 (as of 12 Nov.) for being built without permits in the West Bank(excl. Jerusalem). In East Jerusalem alone, 65 houses were destroyedfor the same reason in 2007 and 61 in 2008 (as of Sept.).

Since May 2008 and as a result of agreements with Quartet Repre-sentative Tony Blair, Israeli authorities have observed a moratoriumon house demolitions in Area C.

RecommendedResearchSources:

http://www.alhaq.org/ (legal and human rights issues) http://electronicintifada.net/v2/humanrightswire.shtml

http://www.btselem.org/ (various human rights issues) http://www.pchrgaza.org/http://www.badil.org/ (focus on refugee and residency rights) http://www.addameer.org (focus on prisoners)http://www.phrmg.org (Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group) http://www.dci-pal.org/ (childrens rights)http://www.yesh-din.org http://www.hrw.org/ (Human Rights Watch)http://www.mandela-palestine.org (Mandela Institute) http://www.stoptorture.org.il/ (PCATI)http://www.ichr.ps/ (formerly PICCR) http://www.icahd.org/eng/ (house demolitions)

Aruri, Naseer H., ed.Occupation: Israel over Palestine. Belmont, MA: AAUG Press, 2nd ed., 1989.B'Tselem,Oslo: Before and After. The Status of Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. Jerusalem, May 1999.B'Tselem,Routine Torture: Interrogation Methods of the General Security Service. (February 1998).Al-Haq, A Nation under Siege. Ramallah, 1989.PLO NAD,PalestinianPoliticalPrisoners, updatedAug. 2008

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