Ref: 60/2006

Date:  07 December 2006     

PCHR Receives the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the Danish Representative to the PNA

Upon an invitation by PCHR, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and Ad Dameer Association for Human Rights, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), Professor John Dugard, accompanied his aide Ms Darka Tubali met on Wednesday, 6 December 2006, with representatives of these human rights NGOs at PCHR’s office in Gaza City.

PCHR was represented in the meeting by Mr. Jaber Wishah, Deputy Director, and Mr. Hamdi Shaqqura, Director of PCHR Democracy Development Unit; Al Mezan Center was represented by its Director, Mr. Essam Younis; and Al Dameer Association for Human Rights was represented by its Director, Mr. Khalil Abu Shammala.

During the meeting, the representatives of the three human rights NGOs talked about the human rights situation in the OPT, highlighting the Israeli escalation since 25 June 2006, drawing the attention that Israeli violations of human rights during this period, including willful killing, house demolitions, property destruction and closure, are retaliatory actions against Palestinian civilians.

At another level, , the representatives of the three human rights NGOs addressed the issue of human shields criticizing the US Human Rights Watch’s position that denies the right of Palestinian civilians to peaceful resistance to defend their houses which are threatened to be bombarded. They emphasized that such action by Palestinian civilians is merely a fomr of peaceful, civil resistance to an illegal action practiced by Israeli Occupation Forces targeting Palestinian houses. They emphasized their opposition to the possibility of equating the detention and coercion practiced by IOF while using Palestinian human shields during military operations with the peaceful protestation and unarmed resistance by Palestinian civilians against the illegal destruction of Palestinian civilian property.

Moreover, PCHR received Mr. Rolf M. Hay Pereira Holomboe, the Danish Representative to the Palestinian National Authority, accompanied by Eng. Said al-Ghandour, the director of a Danish project in the central Gaza Strip. Mr. Holomboe met with Mr. Jaber Wishah, Deputy Director of PCHR, and Mr. Hamdi Shaqqura, Director of PCHR Democracy Development Unit, who informed him about the latest developments concerning human rights violations perpetrated by IOF against Palestinian civilians, and their impacts on the lives and living conditions of these civilians. They also detailed the impacts of the policy of the destruction of civilian property. They further explained PCHR’s point of view on Human Rights Watch’s position towards the Palestinian civil resistance.  

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