THIIESTY
r||rEnHAnoi4l
IilTTRH,t!:I(}HAL

AM NISTIA PM N I S T I E
InItnilAu0NitE q r.Ex&4rPo.o.s

AIIIH14CT}TR

odftll $df {*r

EI ffi ffi ffi fiE ffi

Amnesty International Statement at the Special Meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinians People New York,7 June 2007 On the occasionof the 40'hanniversaryof Israel's occupationof the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Amnesfy Internationalhaspublisheda report calling on the Israeli authoritiesto end the unlawful law and otherviolationsof international carriedout underthe occupation. blockades settlements, humanrights resulted persistent widespread in and has The reportdetailshow the occupation civilian populations. abuses and hasalso failedto bring securityto the Israeliand Palestinian and securityconcerns the government's Israel'slegitimate acknowledges Amnesty International obligation to protectthe populationwithin its borders.But that cannotjustify blatantviolations of internationallaw, including human rights and humanitarianlaw. that human rights, in The High Commissionerfor Human Rights only two days ago emphasized like for search a solution,'havefartoo longtakena back seat'.Shestressed, the long standing within the framework of intemational that the conflict must be addressed Amnesty International, human rights and humanitarianlaw. We agreethat achievingrespectfor humanrights in the OPT can in fact build greaterconfidenceamongthe partiesand facilitatethe searchfor a lasting the to solution. For forty years,the internationalcommunity has failed adequately address lsraeliPalestinianproblem; it cannot,must not, wait anotherforty yearsto do so. ln our report published this week, called Enduring Occupation: Palestinians under siege in the of impact of four decades Israeli military occupation.The the Bank, we describe devastating I4/est on settlements occupiedland that deprives expansionof unlawful the report documents relentless that It the Palestinianpopulationof crucial resources. documentsa wide rangeof measures to to confine Palestinians frasmentedenclavesand hinder their access work, health and education facilities. land the on whoseconstruction Palestinian includea 700km fence/wall, Thesemeasures law, requiringfull international Court of Justicein July 2004 foundto violate International was simply to If This hasnot happened. the intention affected. to reparation all Palestinians Israel, barrierwould be locatedon the the from entering suicidebombers preventPalestinian Green Line, the borderbetweenIsrael and the West Bank. Yet, the reality is that 80% of the wall/fence is being built on Palestinianland, in defianceof the InternationalCourt of Justice, from their families and land and,protectingand making the main Israeli cutting of Palestinians settlementsin the West Bank territorially contiguouswith Israel.There are more than 500 living in the West of system permits.Palestinians and and blockades, a complicated checkpoints -Bank are blocked at every turn. This is not simply an inconvenience it can and has beena
, T AMNESwINTERNATIoN^.
UnitedNationsOffice- 777 UnrtedNationsPlaza,6'nFloor - New York, NY 10017 UnitedStatesof America- Tel: 1 (212) 867-8878 Fax 1 (212) 370-0183 Secretariat 1 EastonStreet,LondonWClX 0DW, UnitedKingdom International Amnesty International, Tel: fni. Code:44 (20\74135500.UK Code:020 7413 5500.Fax:lnt. Code44 (20)7956 1157.UK Code:020 7956 1157 Web: http://www.amnestv.orq E-Mail:amnestvis@amnestv.orq

maffer of life or death. It is unacceptable that women in labour,sick children,or victims of accidentson their way to hospital shouldbe forced to take long detoursand face delayswhich can and hascostthem their lives. Israeli settlements the OPT are illegal under internationallaw, notably under Article 49 of the in "The OccupyingPower shall not deportor transferparts Fourth GenevaConvention,that states: of its own civilian populationin the territory it occupies".Moreover, a specificburden lies on the Security Council, to ensureimplementation resolution465 of 1980,that called on Israel "to of dismantlethe existing settlements and to ceaseon an urgentbasisthe establishment, construction and planning of settlements the Arab territoriesoccupiedsince 1967,including Jerusalem". in Internationalaction is urgently neededto address widespreadhuman rights abuses being the committed under the occupation,and which are fuelling resentment and despairamong a predominantlyyoung and increasinglyradicalizedPalestinian population.Harsh Israeli restrictionshave caused virtual collapseof the Palestinian the economyand have resultedinlevels Territories, of despair,poverty and food insecurityneverbefore seenin the OccupiedPalestinian havebeenkilled by This is alsoevidentin the Gazastrip,wherein lateMay some50 Palestinians and,on the otherside,fwo Israeli Israeliairstrikes, including20 unarmed civilian bystanders, rocketattacks Sderotby Palestinian in armedgroups, civilianshavebeenkilled by indiscriminate law mostly Hamas.Theseactionsviolateinternational includingthe right to life and the to andthe Palestinians prohibitionof targeting civilians.We havecalledon both the Israelis Authority to preventfurther rocket attacks. immediatelyend theseattacksand on the Palestinian to In our report on the West Bank, we are making a rangeof detailedrecommendations the Israeli - notably to stop constructionand expansion Israeli settlements to stop and government of authority, as armedgroupsand the Palestinian constructionof the fence/wall-and to Palestinian well as to the international community. is For the latter,a key recommendation the urgentdeployment,especiallyin the West Bank, of an to internationalhuman rights monitoring mechanism monitor complianceby both effective parties,Israeli and Palestinian, with their obligationsunder internationallaw. This must be through the exerciseof universal and prosecute, backedup with a commitmentto investigate jurisdiction, thosewho commit war crimesor other crimesunder internationallaw. monitoring system, such an independent We do not underestimate difficulties of establishing the but it is vital that the internationalcommunity, whether by the IIN or anotherappropriate body, including all tIN memberStatesand the SecurityCouncil, becomemore engagedin finding a solution, and in holding the partiesto their obligationsunder internationallaw. writtento all members the Security Councilthisweek,urgingthe Council of We havetherefore on to usethe monthlydiscussion the Middle East:
a o

456; includingresolution to First,to take concrete steps implementits own resolutions humanrights monitoring mechanismis Second, ensurethat an effective international to established and Third, to ensurethat any peaceprocessincludesconcreteprovisionsthat address fundamental human rights at the heartof the conflict, includingthe removal of Israeli settlements from the OPT, the dismantlingof the fence/wallinsidethe west Bank, ending human rights and the closures, ending impunity for seriousviolationsof international humanitarianlaw and, in the longerterm, a fair solutionto the refugeequestion.