Jordan should immediately reopen its border to Palestinian refugees fleeing violence in Iraq, Human Rights Watch said today. The international community should assist Jordan by offering to resettle these Iraqi Palestinian refugees in third countries acceptable to them. On April 4, a group of 35 Iraqi Palestinians arrived at the border, fleing from Baghdad, adding to the 94 Iraqi Palestinians already stranded on the Iraqi side of the border. They have fled lethal violence and threats to their lives in Baghdad, where they have lived for decades. The refugees told Human Rights Watch that they fled after seeing scores of their compatriots killed in Baghdad in recent months. Read more about HRW: "Jordan should open its border to Palestinian refugees fleeing Iraq"
Human Rights Watch has sent a letter to the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee in which it expressed concerns over a bill introduced by the Israeli government, which sets forth rules for detaining “non-resident security suspects,” after the disengagement from Gaza and the consequent revocation of military orders pertaining to arrest and detention of Gaza residents. This bill creates a two-tiered system: one set of rules for Israeli citizen and resident security suspects and a considerably more stringent set of rules for non-residents (Palestinians from the Gaza Strip) suspected of the same types of crimes. Read more about Human Rights Watch urges Israeli parliament to reject new bill on arrest and detention of Gaza residents
The Israel Defense Forces’ top judicial officer should demonstrate his resolve to combat impunity by immediately ordering thorough and effective criminal investigations into the latest shooting deaths of Palestinian children by Israeli forces during policing operations, Human Rights Watch said today. The Israeli military’s judge advocate general, Brigadier-General Avihai Mandelblit, in December told a gathering of Israeli nongovernmental organizations in Tel Aviv that the number of criminal investigations was increasing under his tenure, which began in July 2004. He asserted that the total number of criminal investigations since September 2000 had now reached 200. Read more about Human Rights Watch: "Israeli military must account for killings of two children"
In a letter addressed to George Bush, the US president, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) requested that the US administration deduct direct aid to Israel the amount equal to what Israel spends on its the settlements and on the construction and maintenance of the separation wall inside the West Bank. The HRW letter cites figures from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics that in the first half of 2005, there was a 28% increase in settlement housing starts compared to the same period in 2004. According to the Israeli settlement watchdog group Peace Now, there are 121 official settlements in Israel and 101 unofficial outposts. The settlement areas occupy more than 40% of the West Bank. Read more about Rights group urges US to cut Israel aid
reported proposal by Israeli government officials to cut the Gaza Strip’s electricity supply in retaliation for Palestinian militant groups’ rocket attacks on Israel would constitute unlawful collective punishment of Gaza’s civilian population, Human Rights Watch said today. A report on Wednesday in the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz said top Israeli government officials discussed plans to cut electricity to the Gaza Strip if Palestinian militant groups continue to fire Qassam rockets into Israel. Human Rights Watch condemns the use of Qassam rockets. But, in turn, any measures that Israel takes to protect its citizens from these attacks must be consistent with its obligations under international humanitarian law. Read more about Gaza Power Cut Would Violate Laws of War
Members of the Israeli Knesset are debating a bill that would prohibit residents in the Occupied Palestinian Territories from seeking compensation for death or injury at the hands of Israeli soldiers, even if the soldiers are found to have acted unlawfully. Human Rights Watch said that Israel has not upheld its obligation under international law to provide an effective remedy to victims of human rights abuses in the Territories, and this bill is yet further evidence of that. The bill would give the minister of defense the authority to define all of the Occupied Palestinian Territories as a “conflict zone,” thus precluding compensation for all Palestinians but it will exclude settlements, thus preserving compensation rights for Israeli citizens. Read more about New Israeli bill would deny compensation for death or injury caused by Israeli soldiers
The Israeli military has fostered a climate of impunity in its ranks by failing to thoroughly investigate whether soldiers have killed and injured Palestinian civilians unlawfully or failed to protect them from harm, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Since the current Palestinian uprising began in 2000, Israeli forces have killed or seriously injured thousands of Palestinians who were not taking part in the hostilities. However, the Israeli authorities have investigated fewer than five percent of the fatal incidents to determine whether soldiers were responsible for using force unlawfully. The investigations they did conduct fell far short of international standards for independent and impartial inquiries. Read more about Failure to Probe Civilian Casualties Fuels Impunity
The Knesset should not extend a discriminatory law, due to expire on May 31, which prevents Israeli citizens and residents from living with their spouses from the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists said today in a joint letter to Knesset members. On May 15, the Israeli Cabinet endorsed a continuation of the law with limited exceptions based on the age and sex of the Palestinian spouse. The three human rights organizations called on Knesset members to reject this amendment, which is currently before the Knesset for a first reading, as insufficient. Read more about Israeli Discriminatory Law Tears Apart Thousands of Families
The human rights situation in Israel and the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip remained grave throughout 2004, as armed clashes continued to exact a high price from civilians. While many see the period after Arafat’s death on November 11 as the beginning of a new era in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, few changes have occurred on the ground where the wall regime Israel is building inside the West Bank and the illegal Israeli settlements continue to expand. On December 3 a top Hamas leader said that the group would accept the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and a long-term truce with Israel. It remains to be seen whether Israel will make reciprocal declarations and whether words will be translated into action. Read more about Human Rights Watch World Report 2005: Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories
Caterpillar Inc., the U.S.-based heavy-equipment company, should immediately suspend sales of its powerful D9 bulldozer to the Israeli army, Human Rights Watch said today. As Human Rights Watch documented in a recent report, the Israeli military uses the D9 as its primary weapon to raze Palestinian homes, destroy agriculture and shred roads in violation of the laws of war. “Caterpillar betrays its stated values when it sells bulldozers to Israel knowing that they are being used to illegally destroy Palestinian homes,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Until Israel stops these practices, Caterpillar’s continued sales will make the company complicit in human rights abuses.” Read more about HRW: "Caterpillar Should Suspend Bulldozer Sales"