The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF)
have continued to impose restrictions on all of the Gaza Strip’s border
crossings used for civilian movement and no changes taken place throughout the
10-day reporting period.
Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing remained
closed throughout the reporting period except for some limited categories of
persons, who have been allowed to pass via the crossing under very complicated
security procedures. Palestinians from Gaza
have been denied their right to movement from and to the Gaza Strip or
traveling to the West Bank, including Jerusalem, or Israel. IOF have allowed a very few categories of
persons who they previously defined to pass through the crossing to Israel and
the West Bank, under complicated inspection procedures; these groups including
diplomats, employees of international humanitarian organizations and some
medical patients. On 15 May 2010, Rafah
International Crossing Point was exceptionally opened for 3 days for both
directions for civilian movement. Prior
to its opening, the crossing was closed continuously for 73 days, during which
time the number of people stranded in the Gaza Strip and registered in the
Ministry of Interior increased to more than 8,000 persons, mostly patients
seeking medical treatment abroad, students enrolled at universities abroad,
people
working abroad, and holders of residency permits in foreign
countries.
The situation of commercial border
crossings (Karm Abu Salem crossing and Karni crossing), which IOF opened
partially, has not changed as IOF continued to completely ban the exports of
the Gaza Strip and allow only limited quantities of basic goods and
humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. No
new types of goods were allowed into the Gaza Strip. In their attempt to make Karm Abu Salem the
principle and only commercial border crossing for the Gaza Strip, IOF have
completely closed Nahal Oz crossing since 4 January 2010 and transferred the
quantities of fuel allowed into the Gaza Strip to Karm Abu Salem crossing,
which is not equipped for such a purpose. As a result, the supply of fuel and
cooking gas was hindered and the crisis of cooking gas has remained
outstanding. Sofa crossing was
completely closed in September 2008 and all goods which used to be delivered
through it were transferred to Karm Abu Salem crossing.
Due to the ongoing economic siege
imposed on more than 1.5 million Palestinians, poverty and unemployment rates
have risen to unprecedented levels, living conditions have deteriorated, basic
goods are unavailable, and prices have increased; particularly, those of
materials needed for construction works are still unavailable. The ban on materials needed for construction
for now almost 3 years has aggravated the suffering of the Palestinian people
as they urgently need to reconstruct and repair their homes and civilian
property which was destroyed by IOF during the latest Israeli offensive on the
Gaza Strip in December 2008 and January 2009.
The following is a summary of the
most significant developments relevant to the Gaza Strip’s border crossings
during the 10-day reporting period (6 – 15 May 2010):
· Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing
The reporting period witnessed
severe restrictions imposed by IOF on the movement of all categories of persons
who were allowed to travel via Beit Hanoun crossing, including patients
suffering from serious medical conditions, Arabs holding Israeli ID’s, international
journalists, employees of international humanitarian organizations, and those
wishing to travel via al-Karama International Crossing Point on the
Jordanian border. IOF had completely
closed the crossing on 2 days and significantly reduced the number of
international journalists who were allowed to pass through it. The most significant developments relevant to
movement through Beit Hanoun crossing were as follows:
§ IOF completely closed the crossing for the movement of most
Palestinian civilians throughout the 10-day reporting period. The crossing was completely closed on 2 days
for the limited categories who are allowed to travel via the crossing. In addition, it was closed on 6 days for
businesspeople and was partially opened on only 4 days, during which time 25
businesspeople were allowed to pass via the crossing, an average of less than 3
daily; this represents a sharp decline in comparison with the number of
businesspeople who were allowed to travel via the crossing 10 months ago, when an
average of 10 businesspeople were allowed to pass through the
crossing daily. It should be noted that
approximately 150 businesspeople a day were allowed to travel via the crossing
prior to June 2007.
§ Patients’ Conditions: IOF closed the crossing for Palestinian
patients from Gaza who were transferred to the Israeli hospitals and/or Palestinian
ones in the West Bank on 2 days. During
the partial opening of the crossing, only 280 patients were allowed to pass
through the crossing, an average of 28 patients daily; this represents 56% of
the average during the first half of 2006.
§ Journalists, Diplomats and Employees of
International Humanitarian Organizations: IOF imposed a ban on the entry of
journalists, media representatives, diplomats and members of international
humanitarian organizations on 5 days. During the opening days, IOF allowed
approximately 10 journalists, 13 diplomats and 150 members of international
humanitarian organizations to enter Gaza, often under very complicated security
procedures, which result in delays of several days for many of those allowed to
enter. IOF also prevented a delegation
from Human Rights Watch, including Mrs. Sarah Whitson, Director of Human Rights
Watch’s Middle East and North Africa Division, and Bill Mansfield, researcher,
from entering the Gaza Strip via Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing. The delegation was forced to travel to Egypt
and then enter the Gaza Strip via Rafah International Crossing Point on 12 May
2010. It should be noted that the
delegation visited the Gaza Strip to announce the publication of one of its
reports on the illegal destruction of property by Israel during its latest
offensive on the Gaza Strip.
§ Prisoners’ Visitation: For more than 35 months, Israel
has prevented the families of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip detained in
Israeli jails from visiting their imprisoned relatives. There are approximately 800 Palestinians from
Gaza detained in Israeli jails, and the denial of family visits, imposed continuously
since 6 June 2007, constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law,
particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949. It should be noted that 150 of the prisoners
from the Gaza Strip had already been deprived of all visitation rights prior to
June 2007. Israel attempts to justify
such denial of visitation rights with security claims. The prison visitation program had been
facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross until it was
suspended by Israel.
· Rafah International Crossing Point
During the 10-day reporting period,
Rafah International Crossing Point had remained closed on 9 days. The total period during which Rafah
International Crossing Point was closed has risen to 980 days since it was
closed by IOF on 12 June 2007. It was
opened on Saturday, 15 May 2010, for 3 days for travelers from both directions,
as reported by the Department of Crossings and Borders.
The crossing point was opened after
73 days of complete and continuous closure for Palestinians wishing to travel
from the Gaza Strip, during which time the number of the persons stranded in
the Gaza Strip and registered in the Ministry of Interior reached more than
8,000 persons, approximately 6,000 students or holders of residency permits in
foreign countries and more than 2,000 patients in desperate need of medical
treatment. Kamel Abu Madi, Assistant
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior in Gaza, stated that all the
registered categories are exceptional and they include patients, students
enrolled at universities abroad, people working abroad, and holders of
residency permits in foreign countries. On the first day of opening the crossing point, of the 1,219 persons
attempting to cross at Rafah International Crossing Point, 956 persons were
allowed to travel and the 263 ones were sent back to the Gaza Strip. In addition, 123 persons entered the Gaza
Strip via the crossing coming from Egypt.
It should be noted that during the
previous closure of the crossing point, the Egyptian authorities occasionally
permitted limited categories of persons to pass via the crossing point for
humanitarian considerations. During the reporting period, 70 persons were
allowed to travel to Egypt while the crossing point was closed. In addition,
300 persons who had received medical treatment in the Egyptian hospitals were
allowed to come back to the Gaza Strip. These categories were allowed to pass through the crossing in groups on
Wednesdays and Thursdays.
· Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) Crossing
During the reporting period, Karm
Abu Salem crossing was partially opened on 6 days (60%), while it was
completely closed on 4 days (40%). Karm
Abu Salem crossing has been closed on 490 days since 18 August 2008, when the
crossing was re-opened and designated by Israel as the major commercial
crossing for the Gaza Strip. According
to the Ministry of National Economy, the following are the most significant
developments related to the crossing during the reporting period:
· During the days the crossing was partially opened, IOF
allowed the entry of 650 truckloads of humanitarian relief, including food,
blankets and medications delivered by international humanitarian aid
organizations, including WFP, ICRC, UNRWA, UNICEF and the Humanitarian Aid
Office of the EU. Food items for local
businesses were also allowed into the Gaza Strip via the crossing during the
time of its partial opening.
· IOF allowed the entry of 150 truckloads of clothes, shoes,
glass and refrigerators which belong to Palestinian businesspeople that had
been held at the Israeli ports for 3 years. Most of these goods had been damaged due to the prolonged storage in
poor conditions. IOF allowed the import
of limited quantities of glass, although not enough to meet the minimum level
of the population’s needs. Aluminum and wood were indeed not allowed into the
Gaza Strip, contrary to Israel’s claims. It should be noted that in the first half of April, IOF allowed the
entry of 3 truckloads carrying aluminum, which does not meet even 10% of the
actual daily need of the Gaza Strip in normal conditions (25 truckloads). Also during the first half of April, IOF
allowed the entry of 3 truckloads carrying wood, which meet only 5% of the
daily need of the Gaza Strip in normal conditions (60 truckloads). It should be noted that IOF had banned the
entry of aluminum into the Gaza Strip for 3 years, and they last permitted the
entry of wood during the Tahdiy’a (lull) between IOF and
Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip, which occurred just prior
to the latest Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip in December 2008.
Ra’ed Fattouh, the Palestinian
official coordinating the entry of goods into the Gaza Strip, stated that IOF
allowed the entry of cement, iron and aggregate – one truckload of each – for
the reconstruction of al-Quds hospital, which was targeted in the latest
Israeli offensive. IOF also allowed the
entry of 5 truckloads of plastic pipes for the Coastal Municipalities Water
Utility and 1 truckload for the Energy Authority.
· Fuel: Following the complete closure of Nahal Oz crossing, which
was used for the delivery of fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip, IOF opened Karm
Abu Salem crossing for the delivery of limited quantities of fuel, which did
not meet even the minimum level of the need of the Gaza Strip’s civilian
population. The fuel crisis in the Gaza
Strip, which emerged 2 years ago, is still ongoing. As reported by the General Department of
Petroleum to a Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR)
researcher, the delivery of fuel to the Gaza Strip during the reporting period
was as follows:
– IOF completely stopped supplying the Gaza Strip with the
industrial fuel needed for the Gaza Power Plant on 4 days. On the days which
the crossing was open, they allowed the entry of 1 million liters of industrial
fuel into Gaza, a quantity that sufficed to operate the Plant at less than 50%
of its capacity during the reporting period. It should be noted that the Gaza Strip depends on three sources of
power: the Gaza Power Plant, which provides 67-70 MW (34%); Israel, which
provides 120 MW (58,5%); and Egypt, which provides 17.5 MW.
– Due to IOF’s complete prevention of supplying the Gaza Strip
with cooking gas on 4 days, the Gaza Strip’s population suffered from an acute
shortage in cooking gas. Limited
quantities of cooking gas were allowed into the Gaza Strip on 6 days, amounting
to 1,100 tons (31.4%), an average of 110 tons daily. The Gaza Strip’s estimated
need for cooking gas is to 350 tons daily.
· During the reporting period, benzene and diesel were not
allowed into the Gaza Strip. It should
be noted that before making the decision to reduce the quantities of fuel
supplies in October 2007, Israel used to allow the delivery of 120,000 liters of
benzene and 350,000
liters of diesel daily.
· Al-Mentar (Karni) Crossing
As reported by the Ministry of
National Economy to a PCHR researcher, al-Mentar crossing was completely closed
for the supply of goods to and from the Gaza Strip on 8 days (80%) and it was
partially opened to allow limited quantities of imports on 2 days (20%).
The number of days which the
al-Mentar crossing has been completely closed is now 779 days since 13 June 2007, following Hamas’
takeover of the Gaza Strip. Closing the
crossing has resulted into deterioration of humanitarian conditions in the Gaza
Strip and negative impacts on 1.5 million civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Recommendations:
PCHR calls upon the international
community, particularly the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva
Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, to:
1. Exert effective pressure on Israel to compel it to open all
of Gaza’s crossings, both those used for commercial purposes and those used for
civilian movement, to allow the civilian population of the Gaza Strip to
reconstruct the civilian property that was destroyed during Israel’s latest
offensive on Gaza, and to enable the Civilian population of Gaza to enjoy their
fundamental civil and political rights, as well as their economic, social and
cultural rights.
2. Promptly and urgently intervene to open Rafah International
Crossing Point for those who wish to leave Gaza—including hundreds of patients
who require medical treatment abroad, students enrolled at universities abroad,
holders of residency permits in foreign countries, and other humanitarian
cases—and for those who are stranded in Egypt to return to Gaza if they wish.
3. Promptly and urgently intervene to ensure respect for the
provisions of international humanitarian law and international human rights
law, in order to put an end to the deterioration of living conditions across
the Gaza Strip.
4. Compel Israel to stop measures of collective punishment against
the civilian population of the Gaza Strip, including tightening the closure of
Gaza’s border crossings.
5. Remind the State of Israel, the Occupying Power, of its
obligations towards the civilians of the Gaza Strip, under Article 55 of the
1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, which stipulates: “To the fullest extent of
the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the
food and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular, bring in
the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of
the occupied territory are inadequate. The Occupying Power may not requisition foodstuffs, articles or medical
supplies available in the occupied territory, and then only if the requirements
of the civilian population have been taken into account”. The High Contracting Parties to the Fourth
Geneva Convention must fulfill their obligation under Article 1 of the
Convention, to ensure the implementation of the convention’s provisions by the
State of Israel, in order to ensure the protection of the Palestinian civilians
of the Gaza Strip.
————————————-
For more
information, please contact the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights at [email protected] or +972-(0)8-282-4776.
