Ref: 77/2012

On Monday 24 September the Palestinian Centre
for Human Rights (PCHR) has made a written submission, in the form of a
Memorandum, to the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally
displaced persons, which draws attention to issue of the internal displacement
of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israeli actions.

The forced displacement of Palestinians, which
results in internal displacement throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip, has
been carried out by Israel
since the beginning of its occupation of the occupied Palestinian territory in
1967.  From the end of ‘Operation Cast
Lead’ until June 2012, 153 persons have been displaced from the ‘buffer zone’
of the Gaza Strip as a result of 351 attacks by Israel on civilian homes.  This includes the displacement of 24 families
and 83 children.

In the Gaza Strip forced internal displacement can
be caused by tank shelling, air strikes, bulldozing and shooting by Israel’s
forces.  From ‘Operation Cast Lead’ until
the end of June 2012, Israel
carried out 346 aerial bombings and 12 bulldozing incidents that resulted in
the internal displacement of Gazan civilians. 
In addition to the damage and destruction of homes, the tank shelling
and shooting incites fear in the population. 
From ‘Operation Cast Lead’ until the end of June 2012, Israel carried
out 142 tank shellings and 255 shooting incidents in the ‘buffer zone’ of the
Gaza Strip.

As per Articles 49(1), 53 and 147 of the Fourth
Geneva Convention, attacks against civilians and civilian property leading to
the large scale transfer of civilians is illegal.  Furthermore, under Article 8(2)(a)(vii) of
the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the unlawful transfer of
persons protected under the provisions of the relevant Geneva Convention
constitutes a war crime, and the forcible transfer of a civilian population
constitutes a crime against humanity under Article 7(2)(d) of the Rome Statute.

The Memorandum also outlines how internally
displaced persons in the Gaza Strip often suffer from additional human rights
violations, such as the denial of the right of access to livelihood, the right
to an adequate standard of living, and the right to health.

PCHR will be submitting either Memorandums or
Individual Complaints bi-weekly to UN Working Groups and Special Rapporteurs,
to draw attention to issues facing the Palestinian people.

Supplementary documents:

Memorandum: The Internal Displacement of
Palestinians in the Gaza
Strip (pdf)

Briefing Note: The Internal Displacement of
Palestinians in the Gaza
Strip (pdf)

Fact Sheet: Gaza Strip: Attacks and their Consequences (pdf)