Ref: 17/2011

Over the past several days, the
Egyptian authorities have prevented the movement of dozens of Palestinian
civilians from Gaza via Rafah International Crossing point without
justification. The lives of hundreds of Palestinians who have previously
travelled to Egypt and other countries have been disrupted. This includes Gazan
students enrolled in universities abroad, Palestinians who work abroad, and
representatives of local civil society organizations who cooperate with
international organizations operating in the Occupies Palestinian Territories
(OPT). The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) demands that the Egyptian
authorities take measures to alleviate the impact of the Israeli blockade
imposed on the civilian population in the Gaza Strip since mid-June 2007, and
allow the free and safe movement of Gazan civilians to Egypt and other
countries via Rafah crossing. PCHR also calls for permission to return for
thousands of Palestinians who have been stranded in various foreign countries
for more than two months and who have been waiting for their permission to
return to Gaza via Cairo International Airport.

PCHR has monitored the situation in
Egypt since the eruption of the Egyptian revolution on 25 January 2011 closely.
PCHR documented the closure of Rafah crossing in both directions by the
Egyptian authorities on 30 January 2011. Palestinians returning to the Gaza
Strip have been prevented from entering Egyptian territory via Cairo
International Airport. On 17 February 2011, the Egyptian authorities re-opened
Rafah crossing in one direction to allow Palestinians who were stranded in Egypt
to return to Gaza. The majority of these Palestinians are patients who received
medical treatment in Egyptian hospitals and Palestinian students studying at
Egyptian universities. On 22 February 2011, the Egyptian authorities opened the
crossing in both directions for Palestinians departing from and returning to
the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of Gazan civilians who met criteria previously
determined by the Egyptian authorities were permitted to depart from or return
to Gaza. The Egyptian authorities announced they would allow the movement of
250 Palestinians daily via Rafah crossing to Egypt and other foreign countries.
However, facts indicate that the Egyptian State Security Investigations Service
(SSIS), which continues to oversee the movement of Gaza civilians via Rafah
crossing, denies entry to Egypt to dozens of Gazan civilians daily, citing
security reasons or the need for approval from high security bodies in Cairo.

According to PCHR documentation,
between 22 February and 07 March 2011, approximately 2,853 Palestinians from
the Gaza Strip were able to travel to Egypt and to other foreign countries via
Rafah crossing. An additional 350 Palestinians were not allowed to travel via
the crossing and were returned to Gaza by the SSIS with the explanation that they
were not permitted to enter Egypt. During this period, the Egyptian authorities
also permitted 1,027 civilians from the Gaza Strip to return to Gaza. PCHR
notes that the majority of those who were recently denied access to Egypt had
been permitted to enter Egypt during the six months prior. They include
Palestinian students enrolled at international universities, patients requiring
treatment abroad, Palestinians holding foreign residency permits, and
Palestinians who have special coordination to travel via the crossing. Many of
these individuals had travelled several times via Rafah crossing over the past
three years. They did not commit any legal violations during their stay in
Egypt or on their way from Egypt to other countries. Many of them also need to
travel abroad because they perform duties vital for the Palestinians people in
the areas of law and development.

PCHR director and lawyer Raji
Sourani, along with dozens of other Palestinian civilians, was denied
permission to travel via Rafah crossing by the SSIS under security pretexts.
Mr. Sourani stated his intent to travel to Europe to participate in meetings
with the International Federation of Human Rights (IFHR) in Paris, in a meeting
with the Executive Committee of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
in Geneva, and the in the meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva,
which will discuss the recommendations on the Israeli offensive on the Gaza
Strip made in the Goldstone Report. It should be noted that Raji Sourani and
hundreds of Palestinians have experiences difficulties for 35 years because
their names have been included on SSIS lists. While travelling abroad via
Egypt, Mr. Sourani has never committed any violations. Although he has
travelled to Egypt on several occasions during the past three years, Sourani
was informed by the SSIS at Rafah crossing that the approval of high security
bodies would for required for him to enter Egypt.

It should be noted that
Palestinians, especially those travelling to Egypt and abroad, endure hardship
because of the slow procedures and the confusion on the Egyptian side of Rafah
crossing. Under normal conditions, only 20 minutes are needed to complete
travel procedures, but Palestinians currently wait for more than six hours to
undergo these procedures. During their wait, they are humiliated and subject to
maltreatment. The majority of travelers are usually patients referred for
medical treatment in Egyptian hospitals at the expense of the Palestinian
Ministry of Health, and Palestinian students enrolled at international
universities. Those denied access to Egypt at Rafah crossing by the SSIS are
retuned to Gaza. An Egyptian security officer takes them to a bus that drives
them to the Palestinian side of the border; their passports are only returned
after they get on this bus.

In addition to the problems outlined
above, thousands of Palestinians in various countries wishing to return to Gaza
via Egypt have been denied access to Cairo International Airport. Airlines have
refused to fly these persons to Cairo International Airport and, as a result of
being stranded abroad, their conditions and financial circumstances have
deteriorated. These Palestinians include families who urgently need to return
to Gaza so their children can attend schools, numerous patients who underwent
surgeries or received medical treatment abroad, as well as employees and
businesspersons who are in danger of losing their jobs or business.

In view of the above, PCHR

1. Appreciates that the new Egyptian government will confront and end
all forms of collective punishment imposed on Palestinian civilians in the Gaza
Strip, especially the policy of total closure imposed by the Israeli occupation
forces. There is no doubt that the Egyptian authorities will take all measures
necessary to provide assistance to more than 1.5 million Palestinians living in
the Gaza Strip, especially with regard to their freedom of movement to and from
Egypt, especially via Rafah crossing and Cairo International Airport.

2. Calls upon the Egyptian authorities to intervene promptly and take
serious action in order to put an end to the suffering of Palestinians
travelling to Egypt and other foreign countries, and allow their movement under
conditions that maintain their human dignity and alleviate their resulting from
the continued closure imposed by Israel on all of Gaza’s border crossings,
which prevents the movement of civilians.

3. Calls upon the new Egyptian government to cancel instructions given
to airlines not to transport Palestinians from the Gaza Strip wishing to return
to their homes via Cairo International Airport and Rafah International Crossing
Point.