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PALESTINIAN CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

PRESS RELEASE

Ref: 29/2004

Date: 19 February  2004

Time: 13:00 GMT

Israeli Occupying Forces Implement Transfer Order against a Palestinian from the West Bank

 PCHR strongly condemns the policy of unlawful transfers being implemented by Israeli occupying forces against Palestinian civilians.  On Thursday morning, Israeli occupying forces transferred Lu’ai Tayseer ‘Ali Salama, 32, from Qariout village near Nablus to the Gaza Strip, implementing an order that “assigned his residence” to the Gaza Strip for a period of 4 years. 

 According to preliminary investigations conducted by PCHR, Israeli occupying forces discarded Salama at Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip and ordered him to walk on the worker route towards Palestinian controlled areas.  After arriving at a site of the Palestinian National Security Force near the crossing, he was taken to the headquarters of Palestinian Public Security in Gaza city. 

 Salama had been arrested by Israeli occupying forces in Ramallah on 12 March 2002, and detained at ‘Ofar detention center near Ramallah.  One week later, a 6-month administrative detention order was issued against him and he was transferred to Negev Prison.  The administrative detention order was renewed for 6 months and then twice for 4 months in each. 

 In the past two years, Israeli occupying forces have escalated the use of unlawful transfers against Palestinian civilians living in the West Bank.  They unlawfully transferred dozens of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip for periods that ranged between 6 months and 2 years. 

 Salama has been the second Palestinian civilian deported by Israeli occupying forces from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip in 2004. Israeli occupying forces transferred Anwar ‘Abdul Latif Salama Abu Zahu, 31, from Jenin to the Gaza Strip for a period of two years starting on 20 January 2004. 

 PCHR reiterates its position that the unlawful transfer of a protected person constitutes a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and a war crime, as further clarified in First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions.  PCHR further repeats its calls to the international community, specifically the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to intervene and ensure the complete cessation of all unlawful transfers and other violations of the Convention.

Public Document

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For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 – 2825893

PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail:[email protected], Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org