Ref:
93/2003

On
Sunday, 10 August 2003, an Israeli Military Appeal Committee convened in Erez
to conduct the second six month review of an Israeli military order which
transferred Intisar and Kifah ‘Ajouri from the West Bank to the Gaza
Strip.  After representations, the
Committee deferred the conclusion until a later, unspecified, date.   PCHR is concerned that the Committee will
again reconfirm the military order and refuse to allow the Ajouris to return to
their home in Nablus. 

Intisar
and Kifah Ajouri were transferred to the Gaza Strip in September 2002 in
accordance with an Israeli military order which provided for a two-year period
of “assigned residence” to the Gaza Strip.  The military order was issued on the basis
that the Ajouris’ presence in the West Bank posed a security threat to
Israel.  The military order provided for
six monthly reviews of the order throughout the two year period to determine
the ongoing existence of the security threat posed by the Ajouris.  PCHR considers this military order in
violation of international human rights and humanitarian law, specifically the
Fourth Geneva Convention which prohibits the forcible transfer of protected
persons within Occupied Territory. 

In
the first six month review, the Military Appeals Committee concluded on 27
February 2003 that the Ajouris were still considered a threat to security and
therefore could not be returned to the West Bank.  

Intissar
and Kifah ‘Ajouri, represented by Yossi Wolfson, an attorney with the Center
for the Defense of the Individual in Israel (HAMOKED) and PCHR lawyer, Ibrahim
Sourani, were present at Sunday’s session in the Erez Military courts.  The Ajouri’s lawyers argued for the
cancellation of the military order and for the Ajouris to be returned to
Nablus. Argumentation was based on the increasingly dire economic situation
faced by Intisar and Kifah during their first year period of assigned residence
and on the continuing lack of evidence to substantiate the Military Prosecutors
claims that the Ajouris have posed or continue to pose a security threat to
Israel.

During
Sunday’s session, the Israeli Military Prosecutor requested that the military
order remain in force and that it be reconsidered at the next six month review
which is scheduled for February 2004; 18 months from the date of issue.  The Military Prosecutor claimed that
according to “secret evidence,” the two continued to pose a serious threat to
“Israel’s security”.  It was also argued
that the Ajouris are continuing to receive financial assistance from parties
that were described by the Military Prosecutor as an “enemy” group.  No identification of such a group was made
and no evidence was presented publicly to support this claim, or the continued
threat posed by the Ajouris.  The
Committee suspended the session for 20 minutes in order to hold a closed
session to review the evidence presented by the Military Prosecutor.  As has characterized this case since its
beginning in August 2002, the defense were not permitted any access to the
information presented as evidence of the security threat posed by the Ajouris.

PCHR
condemns the unlawful transfer of Intisar and Kifah Ajouri by the Israeli
occupying forces, including as part of the policy of collective punishment
against families of Palestinians whom Israel claims to have facilitated,
ordered or carried out attacks against Israeli targets.  PCHR reiterates its call to the international
community to intervene to bring an end to the ongoing violations of
international human rights and humanitarian law, including war crimes,
perpetrated by the Israeli occupying forces against Palestinian civilians.