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Ref: 110/2005

Date: 20 September 2005

Time: 12:00 GMT

“Jewish Synagogues” in Gaza Strip Settlements

PCHR monitored the issue of demolition of “Jewish synagogues” in Gaza Strip settlements with utmost concern.  The Israeli government raised this issue during the implementation of the “Disengagement Plan” and again after destroying structures in the evacuated settlements.  PCHR’s concern about the Israeli government’s position continued after it changed from that of support for the destruction of the “houses used as synagogues” to rejecting their destruction, as they were deemed religious buildings with untouchable sanctity.  The Israeli government went further and requested international guarantees to protect these structures.

PCHR observed reactions to this issue, especially from Jewish religious institutions, which transformed the issue into a public opinion affair inside Israel and at the international level, and succeeded in changing the Israeli government position to demand international guarantees to protect the “synagogues”.

PCHR conducted thorough discussions on all developments relevant to this issue.  These discussions aimed to assess the issue from the perspective of human rights and international humanitarian law, which govern PCHR’s mandate and activities.  PCHR has concluded that:

Israeli settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including settlement areas and the structures included herein, such as settlement homes, public buildings, schools, kindergartens, religious buildings and the settlement infrastructure, constitute a war crime under international humanitarian law.  Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 prohibits an occupying power from transferring parts of its civilian population to the occupied territory.  Article 85 of the Protocol Additional to the Convention (Protocol I) considers it a war crime to transfer members of the civilian population of the occupying power to an occupied territory.

Thus, every element of Israeli settlements built on Palestinian property in the Gaza Strip is a component of a war crime perpetrated during the years of occupation.  Putting an end to the impacts of this crime requires eliminating all its byproducts.  IOF already destroyed buildings and structures in these settlements.  Therefore, it is natural to destroy the remaining buildings or houses used by Israeli settlers as “synagogues”.

PCHR is astonished by these strange developments with the issue of “Jewish synagogues”, when the Israeli government changed its position and decided to keep the stripped buildings, considering them holy places.  The Israeli government even requested that the Palestinian Authority protect them after Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) vacated the structures.  All that remained were useless structures of walls and roofs stripped of windows and doors.

PCHR condemns the sudden change in the Israeli government’s position.  Prior to this change, the government had called upon the Israeli High Court, which was considering a petition by the Rabbinate to halt the demolition, to issue its order to demolish the structures that had stopped to represent or carry any religious significance.

The Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stated during the opening of the weekly cabinet meeting on 11 September 2005 that “the ministers will discuss the Israel Defense Forces withdrawal from the Philadelphi route and the issue of houses that were used as “synagogues” in Gush Qatif.[1]”

A serious misgiving is raised by the sudden change in position by the Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, who first supported the demolition of the “synagogues” during the Israeli High Court session and then opposed the demolition in the cabinet session.  This exposed him to sharp criticism by fellow ministers.  Ehud Ulmert, the Deputy Prime Minister and Acting Minister of Finance, sharply criticized Mofaz saying: “This is an undignified demonstration of sanctimoniousness and hypocrisy.  Had we heard all these arguments for leaving the “synagogues” a year and half ago, there would not have been a single minister who voted for demolition; but you argued why it was necessary to raze them.[2]”

Cabinet minister Ophir Pines-Paz criticized Mofaz by saying that “it would have been better had you suddenly thought to change your position one minute before the court’s decision and not one minute after.”  In the same context, Minister Haim Ramon said: “This is not a debate on Jewish law; it is a battle among politicians.”  Furthermore, the Israeli Attorney-General Meni Mazuz criticized the ministers and accused them of insulting and embarrassing the Israeli High Court.  He stated that any attempts to claim things have changed in the past two weeks (from the High Court decision to the government’s changed stance on the issue) shows lack of confidence in the courts.[3]

PCHR is astonished with the Israeli government’s attitude, which succumbed to the opinion of some Rabbis and initiated a regional and international campaign to secure the preservation of buildings that were previously used as “synagogues”.  The Israeli government tried to unload the responsibility and place it on the Palestinian Authority as the party that would be responsible for the evacuated areas in the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank.  PCHR condemns the demand made by the Israeli Foreign Minister, Silvan Shalom, to the UN Secretary-General to obtain guarantees from the Palestinian Authority to leave the “synagogues” intact.

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Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

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email: pchr@pchrgaza.org      website: www.pchrgaza.org