The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in the Occupied Territories.
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW), and by Alhaq, members of the OMCT network, that Israeli soldiers imposed a total closure of the Palestinian villages within the Occupied Territories on the 7th of March at 1 a.m.
According to the information received, Israeli Defence Forces have dug a trench and installed a blockade, starting from Sorda village near Ramallah up to the town of Bir Zeit. The trench and blockade are 2 meters deep, and 150 meters wide. This total closure prevents any access to or out of the affected areas.
It is reported that 25 Palestinian villages and their 65'000 residents have been affected by this closure and in particular El Mizra'a el Qiblia, Abu Qash, Kobar, and Abu Shkedim, Jericho, Jenin, Tulkarem and Nablus. The Israeli soldiers, in the course of digging up the trenches and installing the blockade, have destroyed the water pipes and telephone cables, leaving the population without any water or telephone access.
According to the information received, the residents will also severely suffer from lack of access to medical treatment or care, as there are no hospital or clinics in these villages. Whereas the population would usually go to Ramallah for medical treatment, the complete closure prevents any movement out of the villages. Furthermore, it is reported that the Israeli Defence Forces are stopping the delivery of any crucial supplies into the villages, including medical ones.
Israel justifies these measures on military and security grounds. However, according to the information received, there have been no recent clashes or demonstrations in the area, and no shootings at Israeli soldiers or settlers have been reported.
Since the Gulf War of 1991, Israel has regularly imposed restrictions on the movement of Palestinian population from the Occupied Territories, justifying these limitation on security grounds. The signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 indicates an intensification of the use of closure by Israel.
Following the beginning of the current crisis, Israel has pursued the same policy, enforcing severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian population from the Occupied Territories.
Since October 2000 on, these limitations have generally taken four different forms: a comprehensive closure of the Occupied Territories; an internal closure imposed on towns, villages or areas of the occupied territories; curfews imposed on several towns and villages of the Occupied Territories; and the closure of international crossing points between the occupied territories and neighbouring countries. These restriction do not affect the Israeli settlers whose presence in the Occupied Territories remains illegal under international law and has been repeatedly condemned by the international community.
Taken individually or together, these different patterns of restriction place the Palestinian population of the Occupied Territories under siege, whose intensity and consequences become greater according to the degree of restrictions imposed.
The comprehensive closure, internal closure or curfews implemented by Israel since October 2000 have resulted and continue to result in serious and massive violations of economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian population, including the right to work, the right to health, the right to education, and the right to an adequate standard of living. Evidence of these violations have been recurrently, and on a daily basis, reported to OMCT by its member organisations and notably by the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW), the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG) and AL-HAQ.
Furthermore, evidence brought by these organisations shows a strong political and retaliation dimension in the way the restrictions are implemented. Indeed, easing of restrictions are generally made as a "gesture" in the context of the political process or following developments on the political agenda: restrictions are often imposed, or reinforced, following Palestinian attacks against Israeli soldiers or civilians. In such cases the policy of closure, as a response to attacks against Israeli soldiers, settlers, civilians and proprieties, or responding to priorities of the political agenda is clearly not determined by the sole security question and rather constitute a retaliatory or deterrence measure imposed on the whole Palestinian population.
The nature of the restrictions, their timing and indiscriminate nature, as well as their destructive consequences raise serious and well-founded doubts whether they are strictly required, as Israel pretends, by the security situation. Indeed, the way restrictions are implemented rather indicates that they constitute a form of collective punishment against the whole Palestinian population of the Occupied Territories.
The International Secretariat is gravely concerned by the escalation of human rights violations perpetrated by all actors, including the severe restrictions on movement imposed on the whole Palestinian population of the Occupied Territories.
Please write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:
i. put an end to the restrictions on movement imposed on the Palestinian population of the Occupied Territories;
ii. grant immediate access of the residents of the 25 villages affected by the closure to essential supplies including water, food, and medical care;
iii.guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Addresses:
Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan Street Hakirya, Jerusalem 91007, Israel, Faxes: +972 2 566 4838 and +972 3 691 7915
Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, 29 Salah al-Din Street, Jerusalem 91029, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 2 6285 438
Minister of Defense, Ministry of Defense, 7 "A" Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel. Fax: +972 3 697 62 18.
Minister of Police, Ministry of Police, PO Box 18182, 3 Sheikh Jarrah, Kiryat Hamemshala, Jerusalem 91181, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 2 5826 769.
Please also write to the embassies of Israel in your respective country.
Geneva, March 12, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture (OMCT)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Organizaci?n Mundial Contra la Tortura (OMCT)
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E-mail : omct@omct.org
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