Press Release   On the 52^nd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the international community is unable to protect Palestinian civilians   Ref: 195/2000 Date: December 10, 2000  Today, December 10, 2000, is the 52 ^nd anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN General Assembly.  The Declaration upholds the common ideal that humanity, through both governments and individuals, should pursue and seek to achieve rights and freedoms original to human nature.  The approval of the Declaration in 1948 was the first occasion on which governments of the world approved collectively (through members of the UN) a declaration of human rights that became a guide and a reference point for humanity, as well as a standard for measuring the degree of respect for human rights.  As usual, the Palestinian people celebrate in their own way the anniversary of the Declaration, which was issued a few months after Zionist militias and the Israeli military uprooted and dispersed them, in one of the biggest and long-lasting ethnic cleansings in contemporary history.  Since then, the Palestinian people have daily paid the price for the silence of the international community before killings, dispersion and massive violations of basic collective and individual rights perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces.  Violations committed by the Israeli occupation forces reached their peak in the last quarter of 2000.  During this time, the Israeli military faced the Palestinian people with weapons of destruction and killing because the Palestinian people reject occupation and insist on attaining their legitimate rights.  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other Covenants that constitute the International Bill of Human Rights ensure these legitimate rights.   “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and human rights.”  All the Palestinian people understand this provision of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the longing for freedom and the insistence on human dignity are fundamental to all the Palestinian people – children, elderly, women and men – in their struggle against occupation.  The scenes of the last three months have exposed the cruelty and excessive resort to violence of the Israeli occupation forces.  The response of the Israeli occupation forces to Palestinian civilians, who have continued their protests against the Israeli occupation since September 29, 2000, in what has come to be known as “Al-Aqsa Intifada,” has been harsh and totally disproportionate.  The Israeli occupation forces have imposed a total siege on the occupied Palestinian territories, isolating them from the outside world.  Tanks and armored vehicles of these forces have blocked the entrances of Palestinian cities and the main roads, transforming the occupied Palestinian territories into bantustans no different from the extinct apartheid reign in South Africa.  Since September 29, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces have killed more than 271 Palestinians, including 96 children, and wounded thousands, many of whom will remain handicapped for the rest of their lives due to serious wounds in the upper part of the body.  The use of lethal force by the Israeli occupation forces has not been limited to live bullets and banned dumdum bullets, but has gone so far as to include firing artillery shells from tanks, combat helicopters and gunboats at Palestinian civilians, residential neighborhoods and civilian facilities throughout the occupied Palestinian territories.  Medical personnel have not been immune from attacks by the Israeli occupation forces.  In addition to preventing these medical personnel from reaching wounded Palestinians, the Israeli occupation forces have shot at clearly marked medical vehicles, killing and wounding a number of medical personnel.  Furthermore, the Israeli occupation forces have wounded a number of international and local journalists and reporters.  Armed settlers have escalated their attacks on Palestinian civilians, and bulldozers of the Israeli occupation forces have swept thousands of donums of Palestinian agricultural land, destroyed agricultural facilities and demolished houses, displacing children, woman and the elderly.  PCHR is deeply frustrated by the failure of the international community to take effective measures in order to stop the grave violations of the international humanitarian law and human rights covenants perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces.  PCHR appreciates the importance of the steps taken in the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly and the UN High Commission on Human Rights following the visit by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to the occupied Palestinian territories; however, these efforts have not resulted in real guarantees to protect Palestinian civilians.

 PCHR, on the 52^nd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, makes an appeal to the international community and organizations, and all human rights defenders in the world to immediately intervene to stop the grave abuses perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian people, and to provide immediate international protection for Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories.  Palestinian civilians continue their rejection of occupation and insist on obtaining their legitimate rights that are ensured by human rights conventions and the principles of international law, mainly the right to self-determination, the right to independence and the right of refugees to return to their homeland.