Tag: International law

Zero Palestinian Evictions, now!

The inhabitants’ associations, international networks, voluntary groups, NGOs, public agencies, citizens of the world, express their indignation at and denounce Israel’s continual policies of eviction and demolition carried out against the Palestinian people, both Palestinians ’48 (citizens of Israel) and Palestinians ’67 (in the Occupied Palestinian Territory).

The Israeli Ministry of the Interior demolishes hundreds of homes of its own Palestinian citizens every year due to zoning and planning schemes intentionally insufficient for the needs of the communities. There are, in addition, dozens of villages not recognized by the government whose residents live in the constant instability that comes with pending eviction and demolitions. These evictions and demolitions are carried out under the pretense of “upholding the law” despite being in violation of international laws.

The Municipality of Jerusalem, the Civil Administration and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have demolished over 24,000 Palestinian homes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 1967 under pretenses of “upholding the laws” of zoning and planning (administrative), as collective punishment (punitive), and during military and “land-cleaning” operations. The administrative and punitive demolitions are clear violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and the IDF itself found that it would be “very difficult to justify from a legal perspective” much of the destruction carried out in the December 2008 and January 2009 attacks on the Gaza Strip. These three institutions also coordinate or facilitate the takeovers of Palestinian lands and houses by Israeli settlers in violation of international law.

The demolitions and evictions clearly violate the following international laws and covenants ratified by Israel:

  • The Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilians During Wartime (articles 53, 147) (1949)
  • The International Covenant Against Torture (art. 16), despite the Concluding Observations of the CAT (2002)
  • The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (art. 11), despite the Concluding Observations of the CESCR (2003)
  • The Convention on the Rights of the Child (art. 27), despite the Concluding Observations of the CRC (2002)
  • The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (articles 7, 12, 17, 26), despite the Concluding Observations of the CCPR (2003)
  • The International Convention on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (art. 14), despite the Concluding Comments of the CEDAW (2005)
  • The International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (articles 2, 3, 5), despite the Concluding Observations of the CERD (2007)

Therefore the inhabitants’ associations, international networks, voluntary groups, NGOs and public agencies, have decided to launch the Zero Palestinian Evictions Campaign, Now!

Please subscribe to the solidarity call now!

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY CALL
ZERO PALESTINIAN EVICTIONS, NOW!

We, inhabitants’ associations, international networks, voluntary groups, NGOs, public agencies, citizens of the world, express our indignation at and denounce Israel’s continual policies of eviction and demolition carried out against the Palestinian people, both Palestinians ’48 (citizens of Israel) and Palestinians ’67 (in the Occupied Palestinian Territories). These demolitions and evictions clearly violate international law.

Therefore, we condemn these violations and appeal to:

The Government of Israel:

  • To immediately cease the demolition the homes of Palestinian citizens of Israel and, as an Occupying Power, the homes of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories;
  • To integrate zoning and planning practices that suit the cultural and economic needs of all its citizens into national plans;
  • To comply, as the Occupying Power, comply with the Fourth Geneva Convention and end the collective punishment employed through punitive demolitions;
  • To end the occupation and withdraw from occupied Palestine instead of defending the status quo by using military actions that destroy thousands of homes, wreck havoc on the local urban infrastructure and greatly conscribe the future potential of Palestine;
  • To end the evictions and settler takeovers of houses and land in East Jerusalem, Hebron and throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
  • To end the confiscation of land from Palestinian citizens of Israel;
  • To provide immediate reparation, including restitution of property, return of displaced persons, compensation, adequate alternative accommodation, rehabilitation, apology and guarantees for non-repetition to all the inhabitants, including tenants, affected by the demolitions who have lost their accommodation and/or personal belongings in the process, and who have become homeless and/or jobless as a result thereof;
  • To provide a forum where the Governments of Israel and occupied Palestine, all the interested parties, including the recognized representatives of inhabitants’ associations, international networks, NGOs and public agencies, can agree with the interested communities on alternatives to the evictions, demolitions and land takeovers, and on the repatriation of people already evicted.

The United Nations, Russia, the European Union and the United States (The Quartet) and all the governments of the world:

  • To publicly condemn the policies of eviction and demolition and settler takeover in démarches to the Israeli government and resolutions in the United Nations;
  • To restrict the export to Israel of equipment used in demolitions until the Israeli government and military adequately implement policies respecting the housing rights of Palestinians, both citizens of Israel and those living under military occupation;
  • To cease the upgrading of trade relations and restrict foreign aid until Israel’s policies towards Palestinians are brought into compliance with the Fourth Geneva Convention and the various universal declarations governing the responsibilities of Occupying Powers and the rights of indigenous peoples, minorities and all people;
  • To use their influence to end the policies of demolition, eviction and land takeovers.

The United Nations (UN-Habitat):

  • To ensure respect for international norms protecting the right to housing by sending an urgent independent mission of the Advisory Group on Forced Evictions (AGFE) to monitor and identify and to promote alternatives to the demolitions and evictions.

The following is suggested as a letter sent to signatories of the call

Dear friend,

Thank you for your support for the Zero Palestinian Evictions Campaign, Now! To build a successful campaign on this call we propose you:

  • To build reciprocal relationships with organizations in Palestine and Israel working for just policies protecting rights of housing, residency and citizenship;
  • To pressure your governmental representatives to pursue the policies in this call;
  • To write letters to the editor to increase media coverage and public awareness of demolitions and evictions in Israel and Palestine;
  • To call, fax and/or email the local diplomatic and consular representatives of Israel and demand an end to evictions, demolitions and land takeovers;
  • To call, fax and/or email local diplomatic and consular representatives of the United States to ask, as Israel’s closest ally, it use its influence to end the policies of demolition, eviction and land takeovers;
  • To support the 2005 call from Palestinian civil society for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law and respects Palestinian self-determination, including in matters of housing rights, zoning and planning;
  • To include solidarity with housing rights in Palestine and Israel in local demonstrations and protests.

Thanks again for your support and we look forward to working together in the struggle for justice in Palestine and Israel.

yours in solidarity,
The Zero Palestinian Evictions Campaign, Now!

Heed voices calling for justice for Palestinians

Huwaida Arraf | The Seattle Times

24 April 2009

We Palestinians are often asked where the Palestinian Gandhi is and urged to adopt nonviolent methods in our struggle for freedom from Israeli military rule. On April 18, an Israeli soldier killed my good friend Bassem Abu Rahme at a nonviolent demonstration against Israeli confiscation of Palestinian land. Bassem was one of many Palestinian Gandhis.

One month prior, at another demonstration against land confiscation, Israeli soldiers fired a tear-gas canister at the head of nonviolent American peace activist Tristan Anderson from California. Tristan underwent surgery to remove part of his frontal lobe and is still lying unconscious in an Israeli hospital. In 2003, the Israeli military plowed down American peace activist Rachel Corrie with a Caterpillar bulldozer as she tried to protect a civilian home from demolition in Gaza. Shortly thereafter, an Israeli sniper shot British peace activist Tom Hurndall as he rescued Palestinian children from Israeli gunfire. He lay in a coma for nine months before he died.

Despite the killing of these unarmed civilians and documented evidence of systematic human-rights abuses, the U.S. continues to supply Israel with approximately $3 billion in military aid annually, allowing Israel to continue abusing Palestinians and preventing any meaningful resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The Israeli government orders the confiscation of Palestinian land for one of two main purposes: to build or expand illegal colonies or to construct the Wall that the International Court of Justice ruled illegal in 2004. In the case of Bassem’s village of Bil’in, even the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the Israeli government to change the route of the Wall, though Israel has yet to comply. Consequently, Palestinian farmers cannot reach their crops and they are devastated economically. Israel’s policy is intended to force Palestinians to give up and leave in order to survive.

When village residents gather weekly to protest, they use various creative methods of nonviolent resistance, including carrying mirrors up to the soldiers to show them “the face of occupation” or dressing as various politicians and wearing blindfolds to symbolize the world’s blind eye to their struggle. The Israeli military meets them and their Israeli and international supporters with tear gas, grenades, and bullets.

Eyewitness accounts and a YouTube video of Bassem’s killing attest to the fact that Bassem was not engaged in any kind of violent action when a soldier decided to fire a high-velocity tear gas canister — designed to be shot in the air or from a great distance — directly at his chest, fatally wounding him. In fact, just before he was shot, Bassem is heard calling to soldiers to stop shooting as a woman had been injured. Far too often, Israel tries to silence dissent by using disproportionate and sometimes lethal force against demonstrators.

In February, I led a delegation of American lawyers to the Gaza Strip to investigate Israel’s conduct in its 22-day military offensive during which more than 1,400 Palestinians were killed and more than 5,300 injured, most of them civilians — a rate of more than 60 killed per day. We found disturbing evidence of willful killing of civilians, wanton damage to civilian property and deliberate blocking of humanitarian aid. These are violations of international law that may constitute war crimes. During the offensive, Israel attempted to avert international outrage by refusing to let foreign journalists enter Gaza.

The United Nations has appointed a team of experts, led by a renowned human-rights advocate — Richard Goldstone, a Jewish, South African judge — to investigate the conduct of both Israel and Hamas. Hamas has agreed to cooperate, but Israel has indicated an intention to block the investigation. Israel tries to silence the human-rights community by preventing access to the occupied territory and refusing to cooperate with U.N.-mandated inquiries.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman claimed recently, “Believe me, America accepts all our decisions.” I do not believe, however, that the United States condones the killing of my friend Bassem. But if President Obama is serious about true peace in the Middle East, he must demonstrate that Lieberman is wrong, break the American silence, and heed the voices of those calling for justice.

Huwaida Arraf, J.D., specializes in international human rights and humanitarian law. In 2001 she co-founded the International Solidarity Movement.

Jerusalem’s mayor defends demolition of houses in Arab area

Rory McCarthy | The Guardian

23 April 2009

Israel’s mayor of Jerusalem defended the demolition of houses in the Arab east of the city today and insisted Jerusalem could not be a future capital of a Palestinian state.

Nir Barkat, a secular businessman elected as mayor five months ago, rejected international criticism of demolitions and planning policy in east Jerusalem as “misinformation” and “Palestinian spin”.

There is growing international concern about Israeli house demolitions and settlement growth in East Jerusalem, an area captured by Israel in 1967 and later annexed in a move not recognised by most of the international community. Critics of Israeli policy point out that planning permits are rarely given to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and that space allowed in the east for building is heavily restricted.

Last month the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, described demolitions as “unhelpful” and an internal EU diplomatic report, obtained last month by the Guardian, described them as “illegal under international law” and said they “fuel bitterness and extremism”.

But Barkat told reporters: “There is no politics. It’s just maintaining law and order in the city.” Since January, he said, there had been 35 demolitions, of which 20 were in the east. Asked about the international concern, he said: “The world is basing their evidence on the wrong facts … The world has to learn and I am sure people will change their minds.”

But others on the council disagree. Meir Margalit, an elected councillor from the leftwing Meretz party, said while the demolitions in the east were of Palestinian apartments and houses, in the west of the city they were nearly all small structures added on to buildings, including shopfronts.

Margalit said fewer than 7% of planning applications submitted by Palestinians in East Jerusalem had been successful so far this year, against 14% from the west, while 41% of Palestinian East Jerusalem planning applications had been rejected, against 20% from the west. He said this followed a pattern established over many years, before Barkat’s election.

“The discrimination here is more than ideological,” Margalit said. “It is part of a cultural structure that is the norm in the municipality.” He also produced research showing the municipality spent less than 12% of its budget in the east, where roads are often potholed and services are poor.

Barkat said he wanted to improve the life of all the city’s residents, Jewish and Arab, but that he was committed to maintaining a Jewish majority. Jews make up around two-thirds of the city’s population.

He said he could not accept East Jerusalem becoming the capital of a future Palestinian state. “Jerusalem, both ideologically and practically, has to be managed as a united city, as the Israeli capital, and must not be divided,” he said.

Barkat said he wanted the Israeli government to build a Jewish settlement in an area of the occupied West Bank east of Jerusalem known as E1, a project the US has opposed. He said E1 was part of the “holy land of Israel” and could serve to allow the city’s Jewish population to expand outwards. “I see no reason in the world why the Israelis must freeze expansion and the Palestinians can build illegally,” he said. Under the US “road map”, which remains the basis of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Israel is committed to freezing all settlement building. Settlements in occupied land are widely regarded as illegal under international law.

Military exports to Israel reviewed following Gaza conflict

Nicholas Watt | The Guardian

22 April 2009

Britain announced last night that it is to review all its military exports to Israel in the light of the recent offensive in the Gaza Strip which killed around 1,400 Palestinians.

In a written statement to MPs, the foreign secretary, David Miliband, announced that all current and future licences permitting the export of military equipment would be reviewed in the light of the three-week Operation Cast Lead.

Miliband said Britain provided less than 1% of Israel’s military imports. But he acknowledged that some components supplied by Britain were “almost certainly” used by Israel in its military offensive. These were:

• Israeli reconnaissance satellites, for which Britain supplies minor components, which could have been used to provide information to the Israeli army. Miliband said: “We assess that these might have been used to prepare the operation but would not have played a significant part in the operation itself.”

• F16 aircraft were “widely used” to deliver precision-guided bombs, and incorporate British components. Britain has banned the export of F16 components directly to Israel since 2002. But British F16 components are exported to the US “where Israel was the ultimate end user”.

• Apache attack helicopters, which incorporate British components, exported to the US for use on helicopters “ultimately destined for Israel”.

• Saar-class corvette naval vessels, which incorporate a British 76mm gun, and took part in operations from waters off Gaza.

• Armoured personnel carriers, which included conversions of British-supplied Centurion tanks, and were used as mobile headquarters. The Centurions were sold to Israel in the late 1950s.

Miliband said that exports of military equipment to Israel require export licences which are subject to strict criteria. The most important state that the equipment must not be used for internal repression, must not provoke or prolong armed conflicts, and that the equipment will not be diverted within the buyer country.

Miliband said that the US provides 95% of Israel’s military equipment, with the EU supplying the rest. Britain provides 1%.

All licences covering this would be reviewed in the light of the Israeli military action. “It is inherent … that judgments are in part based on past practice, so evidence from Operation Cast Lead will be used in all future applications. I can confirm that we are looking at all extant licences to see whether any need to be reconsidered in light of recent events in Gaza,” he said.

Report: Olmert, Livni may face war crimes charges in Norway

Ha’aretz

22 April 2009

Former prime minister Ehud Olmert and opposition leader Tzipi Livni may face war crimes charges in Norway over their role in Israel’s offensive against Hamas in Gaza, AFP reported Tuesday.

The news agency said six Norwegian lawyers announced plans Tuesday to accuse the pair, as well as Defense Minister Ehud Barak and seven senior Israel Defense Forces officers, of the crimes.

The lawyers, who planned to file their complaint with Norway’s chief prosecutor on Wednesday, were quoted as saying they would also call for the arrest and extradition of the Israeli leaders.

Under the Norwegian penal code, courts may hear cases involving war crimes and other major violations of human rights.

The lawyers released a statement quoted by AFP accusing Israel of “massive terrorist attacks” in the Gaza Strip from December 27 last year to January 25, killing civilians, illegally using weapons against civilian targets and deliberately attacking hospitals and medical staff.

“There can be no doubt that these subjects knew about, ordered or approved the actions in Gaza and that they had considered the consequences of these actions,” the lawyers’ statement said.

It also said the lawyers were representing a number of people living in Norway.

“It involves three people of Palestinian origin living in Norway and 20 families who lost loved ones or property during the attack,” one of the lawyers, Kjell Brygfjeld, told AFP.

Israel’s stated goal in the three-week offensive was the halting of the cross-border rocket attacks from Gaza.

Gaza officials have said over 1,300 Palestinians died during the campaign, a majority of whom were civilians. But the Israel Defense Forces has disputed these claims, stating that the vast majority of the dead were Hamas militants.