Amnesty International: For the full text, click here. Below are some summary points.
The West Bank, the focus of this report, is a relatively small territory. It is criss-crossed by a web of Israeli military checkpoints and blockades and a winding 700-kilometre fence/wall encircling Palestinian villages as well as whole neighbourhoods around East Jerusalem. The stringent restrictions on movement imposed on more than two million Palestinians who live in the West Bank are unlawful as they are disproportionate, discriminatory and violate the right to freedom of movement. The restrictions are imposed on all Palestinians because they are Palestinians and in order to benefit the Israeli settlers whose presence violates international law.
10. VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
In the OPT two sets of complementary legal frameworks apply: international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Aspects of both are highlighted below.
International humanitarian law
Israel’s conduct as the occupying power in the OPT must comply with the provisions of international humanitarian law applicable to belligerent occupation, including:
- the Hague Convention (IV) respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its annexed Regulations respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land of 18 October 1907 (hereafter Hague Regulations);
- the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949 (hereafter Fourth Geneva Convention);(41)
- the rules of customary international law, including Article 75 of the 1977 Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I).
The core idea of the international rules governing belligerent occupation is that occupation is transitional, for a limited period. One of the key aims of the rules is to enable the inhabitants of an occupied territory to live as “normal” a life as possible.
As an occupying power Israel is required by international law to ensure the protection of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian population in the OPT, and to treat them humanely at all times.
Measures of control or security must be “necessary as a result of the war” (Article 27, Fourth Geneva Convention). However, “regulations concerning occupation… are based on the idea of the personal freedom of civilians remaining in general unimpaired…What is essential is that the measures of constraint they adopt should not affect the fundamental rights of the persons concerned… those rights must be respected even when measures of constraint are justified” (ICRC Commentary to Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention).
Discrimination
The prohibition of discrimination, including on the basis of race, colour, national or ethnic origin, is a fundamental principle of human rights law enshrined in the treaties which Israel has promised to uphold and in customary international law.(44) Despite this, discrimination is integral to the issues discussed in this report – the Israeli settlements and the fence/wall inside the occupied West Bank, and the stringent restrictions imposed on the movement of
Palestinians in the OPT:
- Israeli settlements and large areas of land around them in the OPT are specifically for
Jews only; they both exclude Palestinians and cause them hardship. Palestinians cannot build on or farm or otherwise use this land.
- The settlement-related infrastructure in the West Bank is intended to benefit the
Israeli settlers and it does so at the expense of the Palestinian population. The “bypass” roads that link the Israeli settlements with each other and to Israel are designed to bypass Palestinian towns and villages – not to serve them.
- Restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the West Bank aim to prevent Palestinians from approaching Israeli settlements or roads used by Israeli settlers.
The restrictions are imposed on all Palestinians – because they are Palestinians – and not on specific individuals who may be reasonably suspected of posing a security threat. In cases of attack or risk of attack by Israeli settlers on Palestinians, Israeli forces have consistently responded by imposing movement restrictions or curfew on the Palestinians – not on the Israeli settlers who pose a threat of violence.
· Application of different laws: Israeli settlers living in the OPT are governed by Israeli civilian law, whereas Palestinians are subject to more restrictive and less protective military law.
Freedom of movement
Freedom of movement is guaranteed by Article 12 of the ICCPR, which stipulates:
“Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that territory, have the right to liberty of
Restrictions to this right imposed to protect national security and public are permissible – but must be necessary, proportionate, provided by law and consistent with the respect for other internationally guaranteed human rights. The UN Human Rights Committee has clarified that:
“The application of the restrictions permissible under article 12, paragraph 3, needs to be consistent with the other rights guaranteed in the Covenant and with the fundamental principles of equality and non-discrimination…
“The permissible limitations which may be imposed on the right protected under article 12must not nullify the principle of liberty of movement…
“The application of restrictions in any individual case must be based on clear legal grounds and meet the test of necessity and the requirements of proportionality. These conditions would not be met, for example…if an individual were prevented from travelling internally without a specific permit.” (45)
The regime of stringent restrictions on movement imposed for years by Israel on more than two million Palestinians who live in the West Bank violates the right to freedom of movement of Palestinians. These restrictions are disproportionate and discriminatory – they are imposed on all Palestinians because they are Palestinians and in order to benefit the Jewish settlers whose presence in the occupied West Bank violates international law. The restrictions do not target particular individuals who are believed to pose a threat. They are broad and indiscriminate in their application and as such are unlawful. Moreover, they have a severe negative impact on the lives of millions of Palestinians who have not committed any offence.
11. RECOMMENDATIONS
In light of the devastating impact on Palestinians in the OPT of Israel’s policy of closures, blockades and the building of the fence/wall, as well as Israel’s flagrant disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law, Amnesty International makes the following recommendations:
To the Israeli government:
- End the regime of closures in its current form, as well as other forms of restrictions on freedom of movement of people and goods, that result in collective punishment. Any restriction may only be imposed if it is necessary to respond to security threats, is non-discriminatory and proportionate in terms of its impact and duration, and is imposed on named individuals, not on whole communities.
- Stop the construction of the fence/wall inside the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which results in unlawful restrictions on the right to free movement of Palestinians and the arbitrary destruction or seizure of their homes and property, and which undermines other rights, including the rights to adequate housing, to work, to an adequate standard of living and to respect for family life. Sections of the fence/wall already constructed that violate these rights should be removed. Israel only has the right to build a barrier between Israel and the West Bank.
- Immediately stop construction or expansion of Israeli settlements and related infrastructure in the OPT as a first step to removing Israeli civilians living in such settlements in the OPT.
- Stop immediately the destruction of houses, land, and other properties without absolute military necessity as prescribed by international humanitarian law. Anyone whose property has been unlawfully destroyed without adequate prior notification and the effective opportunity to challenge the decision before a court of law should receive reparation and be allowed, where possible, to rebuild their property in the same place.
- Cancel all demolition orders of unlicensed houses in the OPT. Responsibility for planning and building policies and regulations in the OPT should be removed from the Israeli authorities and placed solely with the local Palestinian communities. All those whose properties have been destroyed in violation of international law should be granted effective redress. Israel should ensure reparation to those whose houses were unlawfully destroyed.
- Ensure that Israeli forces protect Palestinian civilians and their property against violence by Israeli settlers by instructing them to arrest Israeli settlers who assault Palestinians or destroy their property, by carrying out prompt, detailed and thorough investigations of complaints of settler violence submitted to them, and by deploying patrols to protect Palestinian schoolchildren and other civilians in areas where there is a danger of settler violence.
- Ensure proper investigation of alleged violations by Israeli forces, and bring to justice anyone found responsible in fair trials.
To Palestinian armed groups:
- End attacks on civilians and other abuses of international humanitarian law, whether in the OPT or inside Israel.
To the Palestinian Authority:
- Take effective measures to prevent attacks on Israeli civilians by Palestinian armed groups and bring to justice those responsible for such attacks.
To the international community:
- Deploy an effective international human rights monitoring mechanism across Israel and the OPT to monitor the compliance of each party with its respective obligations under international law; report publicly; and recommend corrective measures to be adopted by the parties, other countries or international organizations.
- Ensure accountability of both parties, in compliance with their obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law. Investigate and, where feasible, prosecute through the exercise of universal jurisdiction those responsible for war crimes or other crimes under international law.
- Ensure that any peace process includes concrete provisions that address fundamental human rights issues at the heart of the conflict, including the removal of Israeli settlements from the OPT; the dismantling of the fence/wall inside the West Bank; ending the closures; impunity for serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law; and, in the longer term, a fair solution to the refugee question.
- States parties to the Geneva Conventions must uphold their obligation under Article 1 of the Fourth Geneva Convention to”respect and ensure respect for” the Convention, including by prosecuting grave breaches under Article 147.
- Ensure that Israel as the occupying power fulfils its obligation to provide for the protection and welfare of the Palestinian population, and refrain from imposing sanctions that negatively affect the provision of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population. The international community and donor states providing humanitarian assistance to the PA, notably the USA and EU countries, must take immediate steps to minimize the adverse impact on human rights of their suspension of funding. They must ensure that emergency assistance essential to fulfilling fundamental human rights is never used as a bargaining tool to further political goals.
