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9 February 2004
B’Tselem has produced a music video as part of the campaign against Israel’s siege policy. The song - “Eyes Wide Open” - is a remake of a popular Israeli song, featuring well-known Israeli artists. The song’s lyrics speak of the need to acknowledge the reality. The music video features footage taken at roadblocks and checkpoints and shows the reality of Israel’s siege policy. Read more about Eyes Wide Open: The Siege
27 January 2004
On 31 July 2003, the Knesset enacted the Nationality and Entry into Israel Law, 5763-2003. Today, B’Tselem and HaMoked released a report describing the implications for residents of East Jerusalem of this law, which demonstrates that Israel deliberately misstated the purpose of the law, claiming it was necessary for security reasons, in order to conceal the real basis for the legislation - demographic concerns. The law constitutes a form of discrimination with no legitimate basis. Read more about Forbidden Families: Family Unification and Child Registration in East Jerusalem
4 January 2004
Today B’Tselem released a report describing a series of cases of severe abuse by Israeli soldiers over the past week at the Sarra checkpoint, near Nablus. B’Tselem took testimonies from ten Palestinians who were assaulted during the last week of December. The abuse included a mock execution, severe beatings and tying up the victims. The abuse occurred on a regular basis. The IDF’s siege policy, now in force for over three years, has resulted in severe human rights violations at checkpoints. Read more about Sarra Checkpoint: A Week of Severe Abuse
22 December 2003
According to a new report released today by B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, the IDF violates the right of residents of the Occupied Territories to obtain medical treatment. Dozens of staffed checkpoints and some 600 physical roadblocks have been set up within the West Bank in the framework of Israel’s siege policy. These obstacles to movement restricts the access of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to medical treatment. In 70% of calls to the Red Crescent, the ambulances are unable to reach the patient’s house. Read more about Report: Restriction of movement harming Palestinians' health
21 November 2003
In early October 2003, the OC Central Command ordered the area between the separation barrier in the northern section of the West Bank and the Green Line a closed military area for an indefinite period of time. This area, known as the “seam area” includes twelve Palestinian villages, containing 11.400 residents. Read more about New apartheid orders: 11,400 Palestinians need permits to live in their homes
5 November 2003
A newly published map by B’Tselem and an analysis of the ramifications of the current route and statistics on the magnitude of the violation of Palestinian human rights that will result from construction of the separation barrier. It shows that 875,000 Palestinians are directly harmed by the wall, 263,000 Palestinians imprisoned in enclaves, including 115,000 between the barrier and the Green Line. Read more about B'Tselem: 875,000 Palestinians directly harmed by Israel's wall
30 September 2003
Setting the route of the third stage of the separation barrier so that it passes east of the settlements of Ariel, Qedumim, Immanu’el, and Qarne Shomeron – in accordance with the proposal put forward by the Minister of Defense and the Prime Minister – proves once again that the defense establishment’s decisions regarding the barrier are based on unacceptable political considerations. Read more about B'Tselem: Israel's recent proposal on the wall will harm tens of thousands of Palestinians
17 September 2003
Today B’Tselem held a tour to release the organization’s new report on the village of Nu’man. Although Nu’man is located within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem, Israel has refused to recognize the villagers as Jerusalem residents, and give them permanent residency status, claiming they were not in the city in 1967. Read more about Israeli rights group: "The threat of expulsion due to the separation barrier"
19 August 2003
B’Tselem’s new report, released today, shows that since the outbreak of the intifada, many Palestinians have left their homes in Area H-2 in Hebron (the area in which the settlers also reside). B’Tselem’s research indicates that since September 2000, some 43% of the residents of the three main streets in the Casbah have left their homes, at least 2,000 businesses have closed, and three schools in which 1,835 pupils studied were taken over by the IDF and closed. Read more about Palestinian residents of old city Hebron leave their homes
29 June 2003
Today, the press reported another case of abuse by Israeli security forces – this time, it was the maltreatment of Palestinians by border police officers and IDF soldiers at the Qalandiya checkpoint. This comes only one day after the Commander of the Border Police adopted the recommendations of a committee that investigated the unit in Hebron that was responsible for a series of incidents of violence, including the death of ‘Imran Abu Hamdiya. Read more about A whole tree of "rotten apples"