Ref:
151/2003

 On Tuesday, 4 November 2003, the
Israeli High Court approved the transfer of Kamal Mohammed Hussein Edris from
Hebron to the Gaza Strip for a period of 2 years.  PCHR received this
decision on Wednesday morning, 5 November 2003. 

 This
comes after the Israeli High Court issued a temporary decision on 24 October
2003, halting the transfer of 5 Palestinian detainees, including Kamal Mohammed
Hussein Edris and Taha Ramadan Dwaik, from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip, in
response to an appeal submitted on the same day by PCHR and Ad-Dameer
Association for Human Rights on behalf of Edris and Dwaik.

 PCHR
and Ad-Dameer submitted the appeal to the Israeli High Court after the Israeli
military appeals committee issued a decision to uphold an “assigned
residence” order issued against 18 Palestinians from the West
Bank. The original order, signed by Major General Moshe Kaplinski, GOC of
the Central Command, subjected a total of 18 Palestinians, including Edris and
Dwaik, to periods of “assigned residence” in the Gaza Strip,
effectively transferring them from their places of residence in the West Bank. 
All 18 Palestinians are registered as residents of the West Bank and were being
held in administrative detention by the Israeli military on suspicion of
involvement in attacks against Israeli targets. 

 The
Israeli High Court will hold a session tomorrow to make a final decision
regarding the appeal submitted to the court on behalf of Taha Ramadan Dwaik. In
the coming few days the High Court will also decide whether to uphold the
transfer of the remaining Palestinian detainees. 17 Palestinians are currently
being detained pending final decisions on the military order to transfer them
to the Gaza Strip.  

PCHR
repeats its condemnation of the use of “assigned residence” orders by
the Israeli military.  PCHR considers that these “assigned
residence” orders constitute unlawful transfers within the meaning of
article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, 1949.  The unlawful transfer
of a protected person also constitutes a grave breach of the Convention
(article 147), and a war crime, as further clarified in article 85 of the First
Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions. PCHR thus calls upon the Israeli
military to immediately rescind these “assigned residence” orders and
halt all other grave breaches of international humanitarian law.  PCHR
further repeats its call to the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva
Convention to take immediate steps to intervene to ensure the protection of the
Palestinian people.