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* The present document was not edited before being sent to the United Nations translation services.
A. Scope of international obligations
2. Amnesty International (AI) made reference to Israel’s refusal to recognize the applicability of international humanitarian and human rights law to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). 4 The BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, the Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, the Arab Human Rights Association (HRA), the Association for the Defense of the Rights of the Internally Displaced (ADRID), the HIC - Housing and Land Rights Network-Habitat International Coalition and Zochrot in cooperation with Ittijah – Union of Arab Community-based Associations noted in their joint submission (JS 2) that in OPT, Israel applies domestic civil and criminal law to Jewish settlers (nationals), while a repressive military regime is applied to the Palestinian civilian population. 5 The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) indicated that the Israeli Government has argued that since the September 2005 disengagement from Gaza, the military government was dissolved, and therefore, Israel cannot be any longer considered an occupying power and bear no general obligation to ensure protection and the appropriate living conditions to the civilians of the Gaza Strip. However, as highlighted by several organizations, the Israeli Government is still exercising an effective control over the Gaza Strip. 6
3. Although party to a number of human rights treaties which prohibit torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Defence for Children International – Palestine Section (DCI/PS) indicated that Israel has yet to implement effective domestic legislation incorporating these prohibitions, as urged by the Committee against Torture in 2001. 7
4. The ICJ called on the Working Group of the Universal Periodic Review and the Council to urge the Government of Israel to comply with the International Court of Justice advisory opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the OPT. 8 In this regard, Nord Sud XXI indicated that despite the advisory opinion, no action has been taken to stop building the wall, to dismantle the parts of the wall that have been built, or to compensate those who have suffered from the construction of the wall. 9
A. Cooperation with human rights mechanisms
1. Equality and non discrimination
9. Under Israeli Military Orders, a child in the OPT is defined as being under 16 years old, while Israeli civil law which is applied in Israel and to Israeli Jewish settlers in the OPT, defines a child or minor as persons under the age of 18, as indicated by the organizations in the joint submission JS1. 18
11. Referring to the Israeli Government policy of administrative detention, ICJ indicated that arrests and detentions are often based on secret evidence to which neither the detainees nor their counsels may have access. In addition, the Israeli administrative detention orders do not often specify any maximum cumulative period of administrative detention, and the detaining authority can repeatedly extend the initial period without necessary evidence justifying lengthy detention. 22 The International Complaints Commission (ICC) noted that there are about 800 Palestinian administrative detainees at the Israeli detention centers at present. 23 In this regard, the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association (Addameer) indicated that all are detained without any charges or any trial procedures; the administrative detention is ordered by a military commander and grounded on ‘security reasons’; the detainees must be brought before a military judge within 8 days and; hearings are not open to the public. 24 Addameer further indicated that administrative detention has regularly been used against Palestinian children. 25 AI also noted that some 800 Palestinians are held without charge or trial in administrative detention, which may be renewed indefinitively, and although the detainee has the right to appeal to a military court and ultimately to the Supreme Court, neither the detainee nor his lawyer has the right to see the details of the evidence against him. 26
12. The ICJ noted that some 11,000 Palestinian convicted prisoners, pre-trial detainees and administrative detainees are held in Israeli jails. 27 According to AI, some 8,500 Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are detained in Israel. 28 Many are denied family visits because Israel denies permits to family members to enter Israel on ‘security grounds’. In addition, since June 2007, Israel has imposed a total ban on family visits for some 900 detainees from the Gaza Strip. AI further noted that Palestinians arrested in the OPT should not be moved to detention facilities in Israel and Palestinian detainees should be permitted regular access by their families. 29 The Mandela Institute reported serious deterioration in all Israeli detention facilities, including over-crowdedness; deprivation of family visits; arbitrary transfers; violence against prisoners by prison officials; torture and ill treatment by the Israeli General Security Services (GSS or Shin Bet), Israeli soldiers and prison guards against Palestinians; deterioration of health conditions, and deaths in custody. 30 According to Al Marsad, the provision of health care in Israeli jails towards political prisoners from the Occupied Syrian Golan often falls well short of the United Nations’ Standa rd Minimum Rules for the treatment of prisoners.31 The Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) reported that during 2007, some 700 Palestinian children were arrested by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank. 32
14. Addameer wished to express concerns regarding the absence of fair trial procedures of Palestinian civilians in the Israeli Military Courts noting in particular frequent bans on lawyer/client meetings; no sufficient and adequate time and facilities for the preparation of a defense; denial of bails. 35
15. Regarding concerns of impunity, Adalah referred to the decision made by the Attorney General in January 2008 not to file any indictment against those responsible for the killing of 13 Palestinian citizens protesting at the outbreak of the second Intifada in October 2000, and the injury of thousands, following the investigation by a Commission of Inquiry which found the security forces responsible for using excessive force. 36 Front Line indicated that there is still significant impunity for attacks against Palestinian human rights defenders. 37 AI and HRW both indicated that Israel should ensure prompt, independent, impartial and thorough investigation of alleged violations of human rights and humanitarian law by Israeli forces, and of attacks by Israeli settlers, and bring suspected perpetrators to justice in fair trials. 38 Adalah also expressed concerns about the Civil Torts Bill which seeks to prevent residents of the OPT from submitting tort lawsuits against the State of Israel to gain compensation for damages inflicted upon them by the Israeli security forces, even in cases where damages were caused outside the context of military operations. The bill has passed its first reading before the Knesset. 39 HRW also raised similar concerns regarding tort lawsuits. 40
19. Conscience and Peace Tax International (CPTI) reported on the refusal to acknowledge the right of conscientious objection to military service, the repeated imprisonment of conscientious objectors and discriminatory treatment of those who have not performed military service. Military service in Israel is in principle obligatory for all Jewish and Druze men, and for all Jewish women, although there are a number of grounds for exemption. Arab Israelis are excluded from military service. 50
20. Reporters Without Borders (RWB) reported that all media in Israel are subject to censorship by the armed forces. 51 Journalists have to get approval for anything they say about army movements. 52
21. The NGO Monitor indicated that the Israeli Government should be commended for allowing NGOs to operate freely, even when many promote an agenda in which Israel is demonized. 53 Front Line noted that non governmental organisations defending the rights of Palestinians encounter obstacles with regard to obtaining official registration status and are forced to work under conditions of considerable risk. 54 Human rights defenders in Israel and the OPT are subjected to threats, violent attacks, stigmatisation, restrictions on freedom of movement, long periods of arbitrary detention usually under administrative detention orders which enable the authorities to hold human rights defenders indefinitely, without being charged or granted a trial process, and ill-treatment. Front Line also indicated that human rights defenders defending the rights of women and the LGBTI community also face threats and are often targeted by religious extremists. 55 ICJ reported that Palestinian human rights defenders have been subject to arbitrary travel restrictions. 56 The Right to Education Campaign (R2E) indicated that under Israeli military regime, all student groups associated with political parties are banned, making student leaders particularly vulnerable to arrests based solely on their political activity. 57
22. According to COHRE, Arab citizens are significantly under-represented at local, regional and national decision-making levels and their lack of participation in planning bodies is a significant cause for concern. 58 Israel has no incentives in the law or mechanisms that would bring about appropriate representation of women in politics, as noted by The Israeli Women’s Network (IWN). 59 Women constitute 65 per cent of all government employees, of which only 3 per cent are Arab women. 60
25. In the joint submission JS 2, organizations noted that laws, which provide semi-private status to the World Zionist Organization (WZO), the Jewish Agency (JA) and the Jewish National Fund (JNF), provide legal mechanisms to enforce the preferential treatment of Jews in the fields of land and housing. These organizations cater to the exclusive benefit of the "Jewish nationals" under their mandates and carry out various public functions on behalf of the State, including development projects, planning, funding and the establishments of Jewish-only settlements, managing the property and land in Israel and the OPT. Thus, Palestinians who are not and can never be Jewish nationals, are subject to racial discrimination in the field of housing and land allocation. 66 The Civic Coalition to Defend Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem (CCDPRJ) drew attention to the Local Outline Plan Jerusalem 2000 (2004, 2006) (‘the Master plan’) promoting further expansion of settlements and demolition of Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem. 67 COHRE also raised concerns about forced evictions; exclusion from water and sanitation services of Palestinian citizens, most notably Bedouins, and widespread inadequate housing conditions among the Arab minority. 68
27. R2E also referred to the negative impact of the Wall for students and teachers who regularly face problems crossing the checkpoint to reach the school. 72 Since 2004, Israel has totally prohibited Palestinian residents of Gaza from studying in the West Bank. Israeli immigration controls deny access of academics and students holding foreign passports to Palestinian institutions of higher education, as further indicated by R2E. 73 The R2E also reported that the Israeli army regularly invades the homes of students, conducts arbitrary interrogations and restricts their movement as punishment for non-compliance and; that Palestinian detainees from the occupied Palestinian territories (OPTs) inside Israeli prisons are arbitrarily denied the same access to education as their Israeli counterparts. In 2007, 3,000 detainees were not permitted to sit their end of high-school exams. 74
28. Severe restrictions on Palestinian cultural activity in Jerusalem are imposed by the Israeli occupying authorities with the effect of preventing expression of Palestinian cultural, social and political identity, as indicated by CCDPRJ. These restrictions extend to events organized for children, such as summer camps. 75
31. According to AI, a new draft law (Prevention of Infiltration Law – 2008 ), currently before the Knesset, contains provisions which are inconsistent with Israel’s international human rights obligations, notably the obligation of non-refoulement . The draft law criminalizes irregular entry, without regard for the reasons for entry or the risk of removal and severely restricts the ability of individuals to seek asylum. 80 Kav LaOved informed that in 2007, Israel violated the non-refoulement principle twice. It also indicated that some asylum seekers are held in incommunicado incarceration, others expelled and others are assigned work as an alternative to incarceration. 81
34. The ICJ wished to draw the attention of the Council to the increasing perception of the Israeli Arab citizens as a security threat and to their stigmatization. The Israeli Government has exacerbated this stigmatisation by adopting a new controversial citizenship law and by maintaining a 'racial profiling' policy against Arabs at the airports. 90
35. ICJ further noted that the Israeli Supreme Court declared an absolute ban on torture in 1999, though the ruling allowed methods of creating pressure or discomfort, so long as such methods were not meant to break morale. However, in cases defined as "ticking bombs," where interrogation might prevent an imminent terrorist attack, the court ruled that interrogators would not face criminal neither disciplinary sanctions for using physical pressure in extreme circumstances, despite the fact that it amounts to torture. The ICJ also noted reports that the Shin Bet Security Forces are still continuing to use "irregular" interrogation techniques involving physical measures and torture against Palestinian prisoners. 91
36. Addameer also reported on the amendment made by the Israeli Knesset in 2007, on the period of the criminal procedures ( Non-Resident Detainee Suspect of Security Offences ) (Temporary Provisions; 2006), under which suspects could be held for up to 96 hours before being brought before a judge and for 21 days incommunicado, noting also that the Special Rapporteur on human rights while countering terrorism noted with concern the derogation of this law from recognized standards of due process. 92
38. West Bank - Israel occupies the entire surface of the West Bank, as indicated in the joint submission (JS 2). 94 The Israeli authorities started construction of the fence/wall in 2002, describing it as a defensive barrier to provide security for Israel. According to AI, most petitions lodged by Palestinians in the Israeli High Court against the route of the fence/wall were rejected but even in the few instances when the High Court ordered that the route be changed, the rulings have not been implemented by the Israeli authorities. 95 Closures and blockades have paralyzed the Palestinian economy, caused increasing poverty and unemployment, and ultimately restrict or deny Palestinians’ economic, social and cultural rights, including their right to health and education. Israeli forces routinely deny passage to Palestinians, including patients whose lives are in danger. 96 The “Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII” Association (APGXXIII) reported in particular on incidents of intimidation and violence against children and the local population by Israeli settlers as well as Israeli military interference. 97 DCI/PS also reported on growing violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers on Palestinian civilians, such as beatings, shootings, stone throwing or hit-and-runs, as well as on continued reports on the use of Palestinians as human shields by the Israeli army. 98
39. East Jerusalem and West Bank - FADPDH reported that in 2007, Israel continued to demolish Palestinian houses in the OPT, especially in East Jerusalem, as a collective punishment against the Palestinian civilian population, whereas in the West Bank, they demolished houses under the pretext of building without licenses. 99 The CCDPRJ also indicated that Israel has continued over the last four years to use its planning regime in East Jerusalem to impose measures designed to change the legal, geographic and demographic status of East Jerusalem. 100
40. Gaza Strip - The Israeli occupation authorities have imposed a complete closure over the Gaza Strip, resulting in a harsh humanitarian crisis and catastrophic living conditions, as indicated by the ICHR. 101 During the last months the Israel Defense Force (IDF) incursions in Gaza, prior to the ceasefire between the Hamas and Israel effective since June 2008, civilians were killed, residential structures unlawfully demolished and non-military objectives targeted. Such attacks are contrary to the principles of distinction and proportionality. 102 HRW indicated that despite the decrease in violence, Israel remains obliged to investigate civilian deaths where there is evidence that laws of war violations may have occurred. Failure to do so reinforces a culture of impunity in the army and deprives victims and their families of an effective remedy. 103 HRW also referred to the impact of the Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip, indicating that it constituted collective punishment of the civilian population in violation of international humanitarian law. 104
41. Occupied Syrian Golan – Al Marsad indicated that since Israel began its occupation of the Syrian Golan it has taken full control of all water sources and introduced severe discriminatory policies in its distribution to the indigenous Syrian population, while at the same time greatly benefiting illegal Israeli settlers living in the occupied territory. 105