{"id":184054,"date":"1994-08-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T21:39:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?p=184054"},"modified":"2019-03-11T21:39:29","modified_gmt":"2019-03-11T21:39:29","slug":"auto-insert-184054","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/auto-insert-184054\/","title":{"rendered":"Human rights situation in the OT – Note verbale from LAS"},"content":{"rendered":"
QUESTION OF THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES, INCLUDING PALESTINE<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n Note verbale dated 27 June 1994 from the Permanent Mission<\/u><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n of the League of Arab States to the United Nations Office<\/u><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n at Geneva addressed to the Centre for Human Rights<\/u><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n \t<\/span>The Permanent Mission of the League of Arab States to the United Nations Office at Geneva presents its compliments to the Centre for Human Rights and has the honour to transmit to it the monthly report on Israeli practices in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories for the month of April 1994.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The Permanent Mission of the League of Arab States wishes to express its deep concern at the deterioration of the situation of Arab civilians in the territories occupied by Israel, as described in the attached report. It requests the Centre for Human Rights to treat this report as an official document and to circulate it to members of the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-first session.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n REPORT ON ISRAELI SETTLEMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN THE<\/p><\/div>\n OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES IN THE MONTH OF APRIL 1994<\/p><\/div>\n \t<\/span>During the month of April, the Israeli occupation authorities tightened their grip on the occupied Palestinian territories, issued further military closure orders and once again imposed the policy of blockading and isolated all the occupied territory in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. <\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>At the beginning of April, Palestinian economists assessed the value of the losses inflicted on the economy of the occupied territories during the 35-day period from the occurrence of the massacre at the Ibrahimi Shrine and the imposition of the comprehensive security cordon to the end of March at about US$ 289 million.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The Palestinian economist Abdul Fattah Abu Shukr indicated that the daily damage caused by the decline in GDP amounted to $5,300,000 in the West Bank and $1,800,000 in the Gaza Strip, thereby bringing the total losses in terms of GDP to an estimated $7,100,000 per day. He added that further losses had been inflicted on the Palestinian economy due to the fact that tens of thousands of Palestinian workers had been prevented from travelling to their places of employment in Israel and the losses suffered in the labour sector were estimated at about $1,200,000 per day, i.e. a total of about $40,800,000.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The Medical Association, health institutions and medical staff in the city of Jerusalem held the Israeli Government responsible for the damages caused by the policy of isolating the Holy City and preventing physicians and persons working in the health sector from reaching their places of employment in Jerusalem in view of the fact that more than 65 per cent of all the persons working in the health sector in the city lived in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. <\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>According to a statement issued by the authorities responsible for the health sector, the number of patients attending health facilities in the city of Jerusalem had declined by 45 per cent due to the blockade that had been <\/p><\/div>\n imposed on the city. The statement appealed to world public opinion and international humanitarian institutions to make immediate representations to the Israeli Government with a view to:<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>(a)\t<\/span>Lifting the blockade from the hospitals and securing permission for physicians and persons working in the health sector to enter the city of Jerusalem and engage in their occupations in full freedom; <\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>(b)\t<\/span>Putting an end to the acts of harassment and provocation by military personnel at the points of access to the city of Jerusalem;<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>(c)\t<\/span>Compelling the Israeli occupation authorities to apply the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention concerning civilians living under occupation;<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>(d)\t<\/span>Securing permission for all sick persons from all parts of the occupied territories to enjoy totally free access, by day and night, to the hospitals at Jerusalem.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>A report issued by the International Solidarity for Human Rights organization noted the serious and large-scale repercussions that the security cordon was having on the overall living conditions of the population of the occupied territories, particularly in the wake of the massacre at the Ibrahimi Shrine. Those repercussions included:<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>(a)\t<\/span>The deprivation of about 70,000 Palestinian workers employed in Israel, as well as their families, of their sole source of livelihood;<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>(b)\t<\/span>The prevention of thousands of students studying in the city of Jerusalem from attending their schools, as well as the prevention of about 1,300 students from the Gaza Strip from entering Jerusalem or the West Bank to attend their universities and institutes;<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>(c)\t<\/span>The inability of sick persons to travel to hospitals at Jerusalem for medical treatment;<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>(d)\t<\/span>The inability of factory owners to travel to purchase their raw material requirements, as well as their inability to sell their products, which would lead to the closure of their factories and the destruction of the Palestinian economy with the consequent dismissal of workers and a further increase in unemployment;<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>(e)\t<\/span>The inability of teachers working at Jerusalem to reach their places of employment, which was affecting the educational process and disrupting studies;<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>(f)\t<\/span>The inability of worshippers to reach places of worship at Jerusalem;<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>(g)\t<\/span>The inability of civil servants and persons employed by government departments and institutions to reach their places of employment at Jerusalem;<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>(h)\t<\/span>Obstruction of the activities of bus and taxi companies, which were being prevented from obtaining the income needed to cover their operating costs;<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>(i)\t<\/span>The considerable inconvenience caused to vehicle owners and passengers forced to use the Wadi al-Nar route in order to reach various parts of the West Bank.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>During the month, the Israeli occupation authorities also launched a large-scale campaign of arrests among persons whom they suspected of belonging to the Islamic Hamas movement. According to sources in that movement, the number of persons who had been detained, most of whom were university professors, physicians, teachers and university students, amounted to more than 2,700. This is considered to be one of the largest Israeli campaigns against the Islamic movement since the mass arrests that preceded the deportation of 400 of the movement's members to southern Lebanon in 1992.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Sources estimated that half of the detainees were from the West Bank and the other half from the Gaza Strip. According to the same sources, at least 60 men had been arrested in the Shaikh Radhwan district of the Gaza Strip and a further 60 at Rafah camp, while others had been arrested in other parts of the Strip. In the West Bank, about 100 persons had been arrested in the town of Hebron and others in the surrounding villages, while hundreds had been arrested in the districts of Ramallah and Nablus and their surrounding villages. <\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>During the month, the authorities took the following new measures to restrict the freedom of the population and violate their legitimate rights:<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>(a)\t<\/span>The authorities began to issue magnetic identity cards to West Bank workers employed in Israel. The issue of these cards is regarded as a violation of international law; <\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>(b)\t<\/span>The authorities imposed restrictions on the entry of Muslim worshippers into the Nabi Samwil mosque to the north of Jerusalem and Israeli troops established a military post on the roof of the mosque;<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>(c)\t<\/span>The Israeli authorities took new measures at the site of Joseph's Tomb to the east of the town of Nablus. These measures included the construction of new roads, the demolition of rocky outcrops and the uprooting of trees, thereby indicating the authorities' intention to establish a military command post near the mosque.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The Israeli authorities are also continuing their daily encroachments on Arab land and their acts of aggression against the Arab population. From the beginning of the occupation to the end of April 1994, the Israeli authorities have confiscated a total of 3,170,469 dunums of land in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. They have also proceeded with their attempts to promote settlement and have prepared plans to encourage Jewish immigrants to settle in the 186 settlements in the West Bank and the 20 settlements in the Gaza Strip.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>With regard to violations of the fundamental freedoms and rights of the population, the Israeli authorities continued to implement their inhuman policies and imposed individual and collective punishments, as illustrated by the sentences passed on 120 residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip who appeared before the military courts. The sentences ranged from imprisonment for a few months to several years, with heavy fines.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The following details concerning Israeli violations were reported in the Arabic press published in the city of Jerusalem during the month of April:<\/p><\/div>\n I. Confiscation of land and settlement<\/u><\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n (a)\t<\/span>Confiscation of land<\/u> <\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>During the month, the Israeli authorities confiscated more than 30,494 dunums of land in various districts of the West Bank. These confiscations are listed below:<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>380 dunums confiscated at the villages of Shu'fat and Beit Hanina in the district of Jerusalem. (Al-Nahar<\/u>, 11\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>20 dunums confiscated at the village of Yatta in the district of Hebron. (Al-Quds<\/u>, 21\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>64 dunums confiscated at Wadi al-Joz and Shaikh Jarrah in the district of Jerusalem. (Al-Nahar<\/u>, 21\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>30,000 dunums confiscated at the village of Al-Musafir in the Yatta sub-district of Hebron on the pretext that they were military zones. (Al-Quds<\/u>, 23\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>30 dunums confiscated at the village of Yasuf in the district of Nablus. (Al-Quds<\/u>, 27\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The Israeli Planning Department announced details of a scheme to widen two roads crossing land belonging to the village of Salfit in the district of Nablus, which will entail the confiscation of more than 1,000 dunums of land owned by Palestinian residents of the village. (Al-Quds<\/u>, 21\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n (b)\t<\/span>Settlement and construction of settlement roads<\/u><\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>In spite of the Declaration of Principles agreed upon by the Palestinians and the Israelis, the authorities are manifestly seeking to change the demography and geography of the occupied territories. This is evident, in particular, from a study of the Israeli plans to Judaize the district of Jerusalem.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>This policy is clearly illustrated by the settlement plans around the city of Jerusalem, which aim to link the eastern and western parts of the city and increase its proportional Jewish population at the expense of its Arab population.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>One of the main schemes is the planned Highway No. 1, passing through the area of Beit Hanina and Shu'fat, which will be 3.6 km long and 36 metres wide with 30-metre verges.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The total area of land confiscated for the purpose of implementing that scheme amounts to 380 dunums and its implementation will entail the demolition of 14 buildings at Shu'fat and Beit Hanina, as well as the loss of 500 dunums bordering the highway which have been designated as green spaces on which building is prohibited.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The purpose of the construction of this highway is to complete the settlement belt on the eastern side of the city of Jerusalem and link the southern and eastern settlements to the settlements in the Jerusalem area.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The construction of this highway will constitute an indication of the commencement of the implementation of the "Eastern Gateway to Jerusalem" project, which is one of the most dangerous projects affecting the city's demography since, according to the announced plans, its implementation will be followed by intensive settlement operations.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>A start was also made on the construction of the following settlement roads in April 1994:<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>(a)\t<\/span>The Israeli authorities widened and paved the agricultural road situated to the east of the "Gush Katif" settlements in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, on which they also established several military check-points; <\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>(b)\t<\/span>A new road linking the eastern settlement of "Nisanit" to the western settlement of "Dugit" to the north of Beit Lahiya. The construction of this road will lead to the isolation of an area of 100 dunums of Palestinian-owned land which will be sandwiched between two roads used only by settlers and Israeli military forces. (Al-Nahar<\/u>, 4\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The Israeli authorities began large-scale operations to level land that was sealed off last year in the Deir Gharbi and Bab al-Quds areas of Rantis in the district of Ramallah where two large bulldozers under military protection are constructing two roads. These roads, each of which will be 8 metres wide, lead respectively to the north and east of the settlement of "Ofarim". (Al-Quds<\/u>, 14\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n II. Attacks on Arab citizens and their property<\/u><\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n (a)\t<\/span>Attacks on land<\/u><\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Jewish settlers and Israeli troops continued their attacks on Arab land and crops, which they bulldozed, uprooted, burnt or destroyed.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Reports received during the month indicated that Jewish settlers from the settlement of "Tekoa", which has been established on land belonging to the Arab village of Tuqu' in the district of Bethlehem, destroyed more than 180 olive trees belonging to residents of the village by poisoning them with toxic chemical substances. (Al-Nahar<\/u>, 16\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>In the district of Jericho, Jewish settlers also uprooted dozens of banana trees and destroyed water pipelines on neighbouring Arab farms. (Al-Quds<\/u>, 26\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>More than 1,000 trees were uprooted and destroyed during the month. These acts of aggression against Arab trees and crops are illustrated by the following:<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>13 fig trees uprooted at the village of Beit Lahiya. (Al-Quds<\/u>, 2\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>100 olive trees uprooted on land belonging to the village of Qusra\/Nablus. (Al-Quds<\/u>, 9\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>15 olive trees uprooted on land belonging to the village of Far'un\/Tulkarm. (Al-Quds<\/u>, 9\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>500 olive and fig trees uprooted on land belonging to the village of Beit Liqya. (Al-Quds<\/u>, 14\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>170 olive and almond trees uprooted on land belonging to the village of Deir Nidham\/Ramallah. (Al-Quds<\/u>, 17\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Dozens of dunums of vineyards bulldozed in the area of Beit Lahiya\/Gaza Strip. (Al-Nahar<\/u>, 26\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n (b)\t<\/span>Attacks on citizens<\/u><\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The Israeli army erected a gateway consisting of barrels of cement near the Shari'a Court at Nablus. (Al-Quds<\/u>, 2\/4\/1994) <\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The Israeli authorities used barrels of cement to close four points of access to Anabta in the district of Tulkarm and erected a 6 metre-high wire fence along Nablus Road at Tulkarm. (Al-Quds<\/u>, 6\/4\/1994) <\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The Israeli police arrested 38 Arab workers from the occupied territories on the ground that they did not hold permits to enter the district of Netanya. (Al-Quds<\/u>, 8\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Israeli troops raided and searched the home of a resident of Bir Zeit, damaged its contents and assaulted its occupants. (Al-Quds<\/u>, 9\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>The Israeli authorities closed the Hamza mosque at Ramallah for three months without giving any reason. (Al-Nahar<\/u>, 9\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Large Israeli military units stormed the house of a resident of the town of Gaza, expelled its occupants and then searched it, broke its furniture, damaged all its contents and dug up the floor in several places on the pretext of searching for weapons. (Al-Quds<\/u>, 12\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Settlers from the settlement of "Itamar" near Nablus attacked the owners of olive groves to the east of Beit Furik with sharp instruments, pieces of pipe and stones and drove them away from the groves that they were ploughing. (Al-Quds<\/u>, 15\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>An Israeli army unit raided and searched the offices of the Badr Press Services Agency. (Al-Quds<\/u>, 19\/4\/1994)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span>Israeli police units arrested 40 Palestinian workers from the occupied territories who had crossed the "Green Line". Each of them was fined an amount of 400 shekels for not being in possession of an entry permit. (