Ref: 106/2010

On 25 November of every year, the world celebrates the International
Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which was adopted by the UN on
17 December 1999 to eliminate violence against women around the world and to
urge governments and governmental and international organizations to organize
activities to raise awareness of the magnitude of this issue.

In recent years, Palestinian women have suffered severely due
to the violence they are subjected to du to the exceptional conditions they are
forced to endure. They are victims of
the crimes committed by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) which create for
them harsh and cruel living conditions. Furthermore, they are subjected to the
local community’s violence, which is often a consequence of the IOF’s brutality.

This year, the anniversary is commemorated during a time
marked by the deterioration of human rights and the worsening of living
conditions for civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) in
general and the Gaza Strip in particular. Currently, the impacts of the siege and restrictions imposed on the Gaza
Strip are still present. After two years since the latest Israeli offensive on
the Gaza Strip, Palestinian civilians struggle to reconstruct their lives and
eliminate the damage created by the Israeli offensive- a situation hindered by
the obstacles imposed by Israel regarding the reconstruction of the Gaza
Strip. Adding to the destruction of the
most recent offensive, Israel has escalated its attacks on Palestinian
civilians, including shelling and incursions.

The illegal Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip since
2006 has further degraded the living conditions of the Gaza Strip’s population. The four-year Israeli siege has resulted in
the deaths of dozens of Palestinian women suffering from health problems due to
the ill-supply of medication in Gazan hospitals. This problem is worsened by
the inability of Palestinians to travel abroad for medical treatment. The current
siege has also imposed restrictions on the importing and exporting of goods to
and from Gaza and prevented Gazan women from enjoying better living conditions
due to the increase of unemployment and poverty. Due to the siege, Gazan women
also suffer from the threat to their access to basic needs, such as drinking
water and electricity.

In regard to the impacts of the latest Israeli offensive, which
targeted the Gaza Strip two years ago, women living in the Gaza Strip,
particularly those in the areas that were targeted by the IOF during the
offensive, suffer. The restrictions imposed by the IOF on the reconstruction of
the Gaza Strip prevent these from reconstructing their own homes which were
destroyed during the offensive. This hindrance in the reconstruction of the
Gaza Strip has resulted in many complications that the Palestinian women must
cope with. Such complications included
the inability to live in independent homes or being forced to rent distant
homes that are away from their relatives and neighbors.

Additionally, Palestinian women in the Gaza Strip and the
West Bank experience hard conditions due to the IOF’s practices against them,
their families’ members, or property. Women suffer due to the arbitrary detention of their husbands and sons
and the IOF’s unwarranted forced entrance and searching of their homes.  In addition to incursions, shelling, and shooting,
Palestinian women suffer due to confiscation of their lands, destruction of
their houses, and the homelessness their families must endure. Furthermore, 35 woman prisoners are detained
in the IOF’s prisons and are subjected to harsh conditions- they are not
excluded from the inhumane punishments and degrading treatment that Palestinian
prisoners in general endure.

Moreover, Palestinian women suffer from violence practiced
against them by the local community in its many forms. In 2010, the Palestinian Center for Human
Rights (PCHR) documented the killing of nine women in the Gaza Strip and West
Bank due to security chaos, misuse of weapons, domestic violence, “honor
killings,” and others for unknown reasons.

In light of the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian women
in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, PCHR emphasizes the need for putting an
end to this suffering by ending the siege and removing restrictions imposed on
the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. PCHR
also reiterates a call upon the international community to:

1- Urge Israel to respect human
rights and put an end to the violation of the Palestinians’ rights;

2- An urgent intervention to force
Israel to lift the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and enable the civilians,
including women, to enjoy all of their rights, which are denied due to the
siege;

3- Oblige Israel to allow the entry
of the materials needed for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and to rebuild
what had been destroyed in the latest Israeli offensive.

PCHR also calls upon the Palestinian National Authority to
take the necessary actions to put an end to the internal violence practiced
against the Palestinian women in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, particularly the
crimes committed to maintain “family honor”.