Ref: 111/2011

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)
strongly condemns the punitive measures enacted by the Israeli government in
response to the admission of Palestine to UNESCO. In the immediate aftermath of
Palestine’s admission, Israel announced that it would withhold tax revenues and
speed up settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, including East
Jerusalem.

Israel was scheduled to transfer more than 300
million NIS in tax revenue to the government in Ramallah prior to the upcoming
holiday of Eid Al Adha. Withholding this money, with which government salaries
are paid, constitutes an illegal reprisal and amounts to collective punishment;
it is unequivocally prohibited under international law, including Article 33 of
the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Equally, the announcement of expedited
settlement construction on occupied Palestinian territory is a clear violation
of international law. Settlement construction is prohibited under Article 49 of
the Fourth Geneva Convention, and criminalized as a war crime, inter alia, under Article 8(2)(b)(viii)
of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The illegality of
Israel’s settlement enterprise was authoritatively confirmed by the
International Court of Justice in its Advisory Opinion on The Wall.
Accelerating these systematic violations of international law as a political
and punitive tool in response to a legitimate measure of the international
community is a clear manifestation of Israel’s contempt for the rule of
international law These latest illegal measures cannot be separated from the
pervasive impunity enjoyed by Israel. For example, with respect to collective
punishment, the 1.8 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip have been subjected
to collective punishment through the illegal absolute closure imposed on the
territory since June 2007. Until now this large scale and systematic crime has
not been met with sanctions or enforcement measures from the international
community. In the absence of accountability, collective punishment has become a
consistent and publicly stated Israeli policy, often referred to as ‘economic
warfare’.

It is inconceivable that Israel be allowed to
enact such straightforwardly illegal reprisals in response to a legitimate
action undertaken by the international community. Israel’s illegal response to
a decision of UNESCO may be in violation of its obligations under Article 2 of
the UN Charter, while Israel’s persistent violation of the principles of the UN
Charter may warrant its expulsion from the UN, in accordance with Article 6 of
the Charter.

PCHR reiterates the recommendations it made in
a previous
report,  strongly advising High
Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to convene a conference on
the legal mechanisms available to them as they fulfill their obligation to enforce,
and ensure respect for the principles laid down in the Convention.

PCHR strongly condemns these measures which
constitute reprisals and collective punishment prohibited under international
law, including Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and:

1. Calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva
Conventions to fulfill their obligation to ensure respect for the Convention
under all circumstances;

2. Calls for a Conference of the High Contracting Parties to the
Geneva Conventions on measures to enforce the Convention in the occupied
Palestinian territory, and to ensure its respect in accordance with common
Article 1.