On 29 September 2006, the sixth anniversary of the second intifada against the Israeli occupation, the international community appears to have forgotten the continuing Israeli disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, together constituting the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). The Palestinian people looks to the UN General Assembly, the body that in 2004 requested the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion on the construction of the Wall in the OPT, as a source of hope at a moment of extreme distress and disillusion. Read more about Intervention to Member States of the United Nations on the Sixth Anniversary of the Second Intifada
One year ago, on 12 September 2005, Israel completed its unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip under the ‘Disengagement Plan’. In the year that followed, the Gaza Strip endured military incursions, shelling, attacks on infrastructure, targeted assassinations, sonic booms, aerial surveillance, border closures, and fishing restrictions. Also Israel retains control of the civil population registry. The unilateral withdrawal aimed to establish that the Gaza Strip was no longer occupied, thereby relieving Israel of its duties as the Occupying Power. In reality, Israel has retained effective control of the Gaza Strip and consequently has never ceased its occupation. Read more about A Year After 'Disengagement': Gaza Still Occupied and Under Attack
During a special session on 6 July this year, the Human Rights Council adopted a resolution (A/HRC/S-1/3), expressing deep concern at the breaches by Israel, the Occupying Power, of international humanitarian law and human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and decided to dispatch a fact finding mission.In the weeks following the adoption of the resolution, Israeli breaches of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory have continued unabated, exacting a massive toll on the Palestinian civilian population. Since the beginning of Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip on 27 June 2006, 159 Palestinians have been killed, including 31 children. Read more about Human rights orgs. call for fact-finding mission to Gaza
At around 1:00 am on Tuesday, 4 July 2006, an Israeli Apache helicopter fired one missile at the Islamic University in Gaza City. As a result of the attack, the target, a student council office, caught fire and was completely destroyed. At approximately 1:50 am on Wednesday, 5 July 2006, an Israeli aircraft dropped a bomb on the Dar al-Arqam School in al-Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City, destroying a number of classrooms. These attacks came less than a week after the IAF fired a missile at the Islamic University, hitting a football field. Read more about Israeli Attacks on Educational Institutions in the Gaza Strip Violate International Law
The risk of armed confrontation between the Palestinian resistance and Israeli occupying forces throughout the Gaza Strip has prompted Al-Haq to issue this appeal in order to ensure that armed Palestinian activists take into account the rules of international law. In order to rely on international law to give legitimacy to their resistance and struggle for self-determination, the Palestinian resistance movements must respect their obligations under international law, which regulates the conduct of combatants during war. Read more about Al-Haq's Appeal to Palestinian Political Parties and Armed Factions
Yesterday, 30 June 2006, Israeli Interior Minister Roni Bar-On revoked the East Jerusalem residency permits (IDs) of four Palestinian government officials belonging to the ruling Hamas party. These included three members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Muhammad Abu-Teir, Ahmad ‘Attoun and Muhammad Totah, and the Palestinian Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Khaled Abu-‘Arafa. For Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, losing residency rights under Israeli law prevents them from living in the city, benefiting from their property and accessing essential services. Read more about Israel Revokes Residency Rights of Four Palestinian Government Officials
Al-Haq is deeply concerned by the arrests carried out by Israeli forces across the occupied West Bank in the early hours of 29 June 2006. According to news reports, 64 parliamentarians, ministers and mayors who are members of the ruling Hamas party were arrested across the West Bank. The Israeli soldiers who carried out the arrests held judicial arrest warrants. It appears that the arrests were planned several weeks ago at the highest levels of the Israeli government and that more arrests will follow, including in Gaza. Read more about Israeli Forces Carry out Sweeping Arrests of Palestinian Officials
5 June 2006 marks the 39th anniversary of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. It ends another year of suffering, human rights violations, and the denial of self-determination to the Palestinian people. Israel’s occupation has continued to create “facts on the ground” through settlement expansion, the construction of the Annexation Wall, and increasingly severe movement restrictions. Combined with the refusal by Israel to transfer Palestinian revenues, and the withdrawal of support by major international donors, these measures have crippled the Palestinian economy. Read more about 39 Years of Occupation
At approximately 14:30 this afternoon, 24 May 2006, an elite Israeli unit entered a commercial building in central Ramallah to arrest an Islamic Jihad leader. A crowd gathered outside the building and began to throw stones, while the vehicle transporting the elite unit was taken from the scene and burnt. Although precise details of the incident are currently difficult to obtain, it appears that around ten minutes later a number of Israeli military jeeps arrived and immediately opened indiscriminate fire towards the stone throwing Palestinians. Read more about Indiscriminate and Excessive Use of Force: Four Palestinians Killed During Arrest Raid
In the late afternoon of 28 May 2005, Al-Haq human rights defender and American citizen Maureen Murphy arrived at Ben Gurion airport in Israel, on her way back from the USA to Ramallah in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). She was questioned, denied entry into Israel, declared persona non grata and deported on a plane at 00:55 am on 29 May. Maureen’s case is emblematic of an increasing pattern of international human rights defenders being denied access to the OPT. EI Note: Maureen Clare Murphy is arts editor of the Electronic Intifada. Read more about Israeli Authorities Deport Al-Haq Human Rights Defender