Press Release
Ref: 67/2000Date: 20th May, 2000 Centre Testimony before UN Committee Concerning Human Rights Violation the Occupied TerritoriesOn 19 May 2000 a PCHR’s delegation composed of Hamdi Shaqqura, Head of the Democratic Development Unit and Iyad Alami, Head of the Legal Unit, testified before the United Nations Special Committee to investigate Israeli practices affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the Occupied Territories. The Special Committee opened its session in Cairo on 18th May 2000 gathering testimonies regarding Israeli human rights violations in the Occupied Territories. After the 21st of May, the Special Committee will pursue its mission to Jordan and Syria. Officially, the Israeli Government has refused to receive such a Committee and did not allow to its members to carry out their mission in the Occupied Territories. In his testimony, Hamdi Shaqqura introduced the Israeli closure policy and its impact on the daily life of Palestinians.He also spoke about the Israeli settlement activities including land confiscation. With regard to the continuing policy of closure, Hamdi Shaqqura emphasised that it severely restricts movements of individuals and trade. He highlighted the fact that Israeli has misled the international community by claiming some improvements on the rights for Palestinian to freedom of movement, especially with the opening of the “safe passage”. Indeed the ” safe passage” road functions, however due to Israeli restricting measures, it does not contribute to the territorial unity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Hamdi Shaqqura at the end of his testimony provided the Special Committee with a report on the “safe passage, entitled the “unsafe passage” which highlight among other issues the fact that so far, more than 5000 Gazans have been forbidden from using the passage. Hamdi Shaqqura added that the Israeli restrictions on the rights to freedom of movements are also manifested by the closure of internal roads between Palestinian cities and villages, therefore preventing tens of Palestinians from travelling through the entrances of West Bank and Gaza Strip under Israeli control. Moreover, Hamdi Shaqqura presented to the Special Committee the Israeli closure policy and its impact on Palestinians’ enjoyment of their social and economic rights, including the right to education and the right to health. He refuted the Israeli justifications of practicing such closure policy as it constitutes a form of collective punishment banned under international human rights and humanitarian law. Hamdi Shaqqura explained to the Special Committee the Israeli settlement activities, and intensive attempts of settlers together with Israeli soldiers to expand established settlements, building new housing units, and overall attempts to confiscate more Palestinian land, particularly the land adjacent to the settlements. Iyad Al Alami, Head of the Legal Aid Unit, introduced in his testimony the conditions of more than 1600 Palestinian and Arab prisoners still being detained in Israeli jails. He condemned their continuing detention by the Israeli Government as serving political purposes and for bargaining. Iyad Al Alami informed the Special Committee that the prisoners went on hunger strike at the beginning of May, protesting against their inhuman living conditions and demanding their release in accordance with the relevant peace agreements. Iyad Al Alami added that since the beginning of May, the Palestinian Occupied Territories has witnessed a series of demonstrations and protests organised by the Palestinian people in support and solidarity with prisoners on hungerstrike. Despite the Israeli High Court ruling of 6 September 1999 which found that the Israeli General Security Services(GSS) had been systematically employing illegal methods in its interrogation against Palestinian and Arab prisoners, such as shaking (shabeh) which are contrary to both Israeli Basic Law and international law. However, such practices are still carried out. To that effect, Iyad Al Alami condemns the paragraphs 37 and 39 of the judgement which enables the legislative authority (Knesset) to enact a law allowing the use of torture against Palestinian and Arab detainees. Iyad Alami further added that since the High Court ruling, tens of prisoners were deprived of their right to contact their lawyer based on the Courts refusal to grant the lawyers necessary permission to visit their clients. Such refusal raises suspicion on the possibility that those prisoners have been subjected to torture. Iyad Al Alami raised the issue of medical negligence suffered by the Palestinian and Arab prisoners. He asserted that the Israeli are still detaining tens of prisoners despite their critical conditions which in some cases has led to their deaths. Iyad Al Alami warned the Special Committee of the deterioration of the prisoners’s health and the denial of their right by Israel to receive necessary and adequate medical treatment. In this regard, Iya Al Alami called upon the Special Committee to immediately intervene for the prisoner Imad El Dien Zarou’b who is suffering from cancer. Al Alami also introduced the grave impact of the continuing prevention of Gazan lawyers from visiting their clients in Israeli jails, as well as the Israeli refusal for these lawyers to represent their clients before Israeli Courts. Iyad Al Alami, furthermore, denounced the restrictions on the prisoners rights to receive regular family visits. Finally, Iyad Al Alami raised the issue of “the Martyrs cemetery” which is a military cemetary located in Israel. He asserted that the Israeli Occupying Forces are still holding the bodies of tens of Palestinian martyrs from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. He added that the Israeli Government uses such a cemetary for political purposes and as means of bargaining. This is in a grave violation of religious moral ethics.At the end of their testimony, Iyad Al Alami and Hamdi Shaqqura submitted to the Special Committee documents detailing the escalations of Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights. They called upon the Special Committee to do its utmost to urge the UN General Assembly to convene a Conference for the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention in order to adopt practical measures for the protection of human rights of Palestinian civilians against the continuing Israeli violations.
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