Following
disengagement from the Gaza Strip in September 2005, Israel unilaterally and
illegally established a so-called “buffer zone”, an area prohibited to
Palestinians along the land and sea borders of the Gaza Strip. The precise area
designated by Israel as a “buffer zone” is not clear and this Israeli policy is
typically enforced with live fire. The establishment of the ‘buffer zone’ is
illegal under both Israeli and international law.

Preventing
Palestinians from accessing their lands and fishing areas violates numerous
provisions of international human rights law, including the right to work, the
right to an adequate standard of living, and the right to the highest
attainable standard of health. Enforcing the “buffer zone” through the use of
live fire often results in, inter alia,
the direct targeting of civilians and/or indiscriminate attacks, both of which
constitute war crimes.

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