Israel Demolishes homes in Palestinian Village

The front area of a house belonging to Hani al-Hayek in al-Zawayda village in the middle of the Gaza Strip bombarded by Israeli warplanes on 05 March 2011.

1. PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their legal and moral obligations under Article 1 of the Convention to ensure Israel's respect for the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. PCHR believes that the conspiracy of silence practiced by the international community has encouraged Israel to act as if it is above the law and encourages Israel continue to violate international human rights and humanitarian law.

2. PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to convene a conference to take effective steps to ensure Israel's respect of the Convention in the OPT and to provide immediate protection for Palestinian civilians.

3. PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to comply with their legal obligations detailed in Article 146 of the Convention to search for and prosecute those responsible for grave breaches, namely war crimes.

4. PCHR calls for the immediate implementation of the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice, which considers the construction of the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank illegal.

5. PCHR recommends that international civil society organizations, including human rights organizations, bar associations and NGOs, participate in the process of exposing those accused of grave breaches of international law and urge their governments to bring the perpetrators to justice.

6. PCHR calls upon the European Union to activate Article 2 of the Euro-Israel Association Agreement, which provides that Israel must respect human rights as a precondition for economic cooperation between the EU states and Israel. PCHR further calls upon the EU states to prohibit import of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the OPT.

7. PCHR calls on the international community to recognize the Gaza disengagement plan, which was implemented in September 2005, for what it is - not an end to occupation but a compounding of the occupation and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

8. In recognition of ICRC as the guardian of the Fourth Geneva Convention, PCHR calls upon the ICRC to increase its staff and activities in the OPT, including the facilitation of family visitations to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

9. PCHR appreciates the efforts of international civil society, including human rights organizations, bar associations, unions and NGOs, and urges them to continue their role in pressuring their governments to secure Israel's respect for human rights in the OPT and to demand Israel end its attacks on Palestinian civilians.

10. PCHR calls upon the international community to pressure Israel to lift the severe restrictions imposed by the Israeli government and its occupation forces on access for international organizations to the OPT.

11. PCHR reiterates that any political settlement not based on international human rights law and humanitarian law cannot lead to a peaceful and just solution of the Palestinian question. Rather, such an arrangement can only lead to further suffering and instability in the region. Any peace process or agreement must be based on respect for international law, including international human rights and humanitarian law.

http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7278%3Aweekly-report-on-israeli-human-rights-violations-in-the-occupied-palestinian-territory-03-09-mar-2011&catid=84%3Aweekly-2009&Itemid=183

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Zionism, Settlements, the Jewish State, and the Barrier: Security Fence or Apartheid Wall? (Part 1

Egypt’s failure to broker an effective reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah makes it a strong probability that the January elections will be considered illegitimate by the Palestinian people – that is, if they happen at all. Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) recently declared that the elections will be postponed pending more suitable national conditions. This, of course, renders the possibility of a virtual three state arrangement a viable reality for Israelis and Palestinians in the near future.


For a number of reasons, the speeches delivered this summer by Obama, Netanyahu, and Fayyad promised to bear fruit. Instead, they withered on the vine.


Fayyad’s recently declared two-year deadline for building a successful Palestinian state elicited questions regarding Abu Mazen’s legitimacy. Indeed, Mazen’s recent decision not to push the Goldstone report (consistent with the Obama administration’s wishes) coupled with his possible abdication from leadership in the West Bank, has created serious doubts over the future of Palestine.

While Israel made a few minor moves to improve conditions in the West Bank, they have not lead to a fundamental change in the basic barriers that continue to block progress. These efforts include Israel's commitment to halt incursions into four major West Bank cities this summer, enabling the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to gain better control over the security situation in the West Bank, and Israel's recent Supreme Court decision prohibiting the Jewish-only status of at least one major artery in the West Bank. Nevertheless, Israel’s continued consolidation of ‘facts on the ground’ vitiates against a mutually accepted Palestinian state and thus, the resumption of the peace process.

PNA authorities continue to call for a check to settlements as a precondition for peace talks, while Netanyahu’s government is fixed on “economic peace” as a precursor to political peace and final status negotiations. Lately, settlements and “natural growth” figure prominently in the international news media’s coverage of the conflict, but many argue that the settlement issue has become a popular red herring that diverts attention away from the peace process itself since land-for-peace agreements are reiterated throughout numerous previous near-agreements and accords.

The EU’s statement this summer issued by outgoing High Representative Solana - that the UN would unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state if the peace process does not resume - may or may not have teeth or represent popular European sentiment. Lieberman, among others, responded that ‘peace must be built, not imposed.’ Shaul Mofaz, a former Likud defense minister, suggested the establishment of a Palestinian state on 60% of the West Bank. But Netanyahu's government is perhaps the most rightwing in Israel's history and it seems to prefer managing the conflict over resolving it.

Meanwhile, the international community’s pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel factions and loyalties are increasingly characterized by mutual animus and contempt rather than mutual respect and dignity. The polarization between the Diasporas is also widening as a growing chorus of still marginal movements call for the boycott, divestment, and sanction of Israel. ‘Israeli Apartheid Weeks’ are encroaching on many university campuses, The result is that acts of dialogue in the Diasporas, let alone a détente between Israelis and Palestinians, remains as rare and remote as ever.

I witnessed first hand many of the competing narratives and competing ‘truths’ of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict this summer while interning with the Multilateral Sector of the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Among the most salient points of discussion on both sides of the Barrier (also the “security fence” and “apartheid wall”) are East Jerusalem, the right of return, settlement expansion, the continued Israeli military presence in the West Bank and their legitimate ever-present security concerns - not to mention the relationship between the Jewish state and Eretz Israel, and how they reflect Israeli democracy.

Read More Here at Source

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weekly report Of Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law escalated in the OPT during the reporting period (23 – 28 April 2009):

Shooting: During the reporting period, 20 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children, were wounded by IOF and Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

On 24 April 2009, 12 Palestinian civilians, including two children, were wounded when Israeli settlers and IOF troops attacked 'Ourif village, south of Nablus. This joint attack was the second of its kind in the West Bank this April; IOF and Israeli settlers launched a similar attack on Safa village, north of Hebron, on 08 April, in which 9 Palestinian civilians were wounded.

On 26 April 2009, an Israeli settler fired at a Palestinian child in Madama village, south of Nablus. The child was seriously wounded by a gunshot that entered the back and exited the chest.

On the same day, a Palestinian civilian was wounded when IOF moved into Rantis village, northwest of Ramallah, and opened fire indiscriminately.

Also on the same day, IOF troops positioned at Tarqoumia crossing, southwest of Hebron, fired at an old Palestinian man, wounding him.

During the reporting period, 5 Palestinian civilians, including two children, were wounded when IOF used force against peaceful demonstrations organized to protest the construction of the Annexation Wall.

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 28 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. IOF arrested 32 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children.

During the reporting period, IOF stormed the public yard opposite 'Aaida refugee camp, north of Bethlehem. The yard was being readied in advance of the Pope's intended visit. IOF forced workers to stop technical and construction preparations.

On 24 April 2009, IOF conducted a joint operation with Israeli settlers against 'Ourif village, south of Nablus. Both forces fired at Palestinian civilians, wounding 12 of them.

Restrictions on Movement: IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Source



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