4. Political and Legal effects of the Israeli aggression in Rafah  

A) Legal context

The policy of house demolition that is practiced by the Israeli occupation forces is considered one of the most obvious violations of human rights, and it has direct serious effects on the population and their right to live safely in full dignity.

This right was not limited to having a house, but extended to state, “having the adequate conditions for living.”

Israel has breached its ratification of this Covenant by taking many legislative measures that violate the right of the Palestinians to decent living, as it has through the long months of the current Intifada demolished the houses of the Palestinians, and deprived them from a dignified life.  This practice demonstrates a clear violation to what Israel signed in this particular Covenant.

B) The demolition of civilian houses

Although international law aims at protecting persons and their properties and belongings (civilian houses, farms, factories, schools, hospitals and places of worship, etc.), the Israeli forces do not respect any of these rights related to Palestinian civilians.  The Israeli army has invaded and demolished civilian areas and demolished many civilian houses.

Among the basic rules of humanitarian international law is the provision that civilian buildings must not be targeted by the occupying power.

Another basic rule of the international humanitarian law is that civilian houses and buildings have to be protected, and should never be targeted in any conflict.

The use of force by the occupying power has to be based on two principles:

1) The Principle of discrimination, which means that in military operations, the forces must distinguish military targets from civilian objects, and also discriminate in using force to a certain limit so as not to harm civilians.  This principle has been defined in article 51, paragraph 4 and 5 of protocol 1 to the Geneva Conventions (indiscriminate attacks are prohibited).

2) The principle of proportionality in using arms, which means that the arms and weaponry used in the military attacks must be proportionate to achieve (and not exceed) the objectives of those operations.  Excessive use of force has been prohibited by the international law, especially as it harms civilians who are not taking part in any military confrontation.

Also, Protocol 1 to the Geneva Convention, Article 54, states that “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prohibited.”

It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies and irrigation works.

But the Israeli government has violated this article and continues to do so, by demolishing civilian homes and institutions.

Dr. Haidar Abdel-Shafi, head of the Red Crescent Society in Gaza, condemned the attack of the Israeli army on Rafah, and said, “This attack represents a violation by itself, it is an aggression against the civilian population in Rafah. And it can’t be justified since such acts have been prohibited by international humanitarian law.” / Interview with Dr. Abdel-Shafi was held on 24/01/2002

Dr. Iyad al-Sarraj, Director of Gaza Psychological Health Program, considered the demolition of Palestinian houses as “a war crime against humanity.” / Interview with Dr. Sarraj was held on 29/1/2002

C) Aggression on places of worship

According to Article 46 of the Hague regulations “The honor of the family and its rights have to be respected, and the lives and personal properties as well.  Religious beliefs and prayers must also be respected.  It is not allowed to confiscate private property.”

The Israeli occupation forces continue to target places of worship (mosques) although that it a clear breach to all international humanitarian laws.  Many mosques in Rafah District have been harmed, some partially damaged, by the Israeli army.  Following are the mosques that were partially damaged by the Israeli military operations:

1- Al-Awdeh Mosque in the town center.  It has been shelled with rounds of fire from the Israeli military post opposite Salah-Eddin Gate.

2- Salah-Eddin Mosque, in Block J on the border with Egypt.  The Israeli bombardment to the area partially destroyed the mosque.

3- Al-Nour Mosque, in al-Salam neighborhood, close to the border, was hit several times by Israeli tanks patrolling the border.

4- Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque, in Tal-Sultan area to the south, was targeted several times by the Israeli army located on the opposite hill.

D) Using fatal weapons

The recent military operations in Rafah that were carried out by the Israeli army were not something new.  In the war of 1948, more than 418 Palestinian villages were completely destroyed and 635,000 Palestinians were forced to leave their homes.  Moreover, the Israeli army committed a series of massacres against the Palestinian people; on 9^th April 1948, 245 were killed in Deir-Yassin and on 14^th October 1953, 53 Arab villagers were killed and their houses demolished in Qibya.

In Rafah, the case was not very different.  The collective punishment of demolishing Palestinian houses continued, using fatal arms and weaponry.  Warships like Apachi, Copra and F-16 fighters (all American-made) as well as tanks and army-carriers, were used to bombard civilian areas.  Since the breakout of the current Intifada on 29^th September 2000, the Israeli army has killed 82 Palestinians, 27 of them under the age of 18, and 76% of them were civilians.  More than 1160 were injured, 108 of them will remain disabled for life.  (Statistics through 4^th February 2002, See attached lists at the end)

Israel claims that Palestinians threaten and endanger the lives of the Israeli soldiers, but that cannot be true in all the cases.  Palestinian children, especially under 18 years old, can not present a real danger to the lives of the Israeli soldiers who hardly get out from their well protected tanks and military vehicles.

More then 10 Palestinians were targeted and killed by the Israeli army and Intelligence Service, and Israel claimed they were activists and leaders of the popular Intifada.  The most recent of those assassinations that were carried out in Rafah by Israel was the attack by an Israeli military helicopter on 4^th February 2002 that left five young Palestinians dead, they were:

- Ayman al-Bahdari, 29 years old

- Ibrahim Jarbou’, 28 years old

- Majed Marzouk, 25 years old

- Mohammed Abu-Sanimeh, 26 years old

- Nasser Abu-‘Adreh, 23 years old

In the Palestinian Human Rights Monitor, volume 5 issue # 1, February 2001, entitled “OVERKILL” which detailed the Israeli bombardment and destruction of Palestinian civilian homes and infrastructure, it was mentioned that:

In Rafah, extremely inaccurate field artillery and M203 grenades have been used.  We also know that Israel has air burst capability, M379 and M3791 Air Burst Grenades.  The areas targeted by the Israeli shelling in Rafah were Tal Sultan, Block O refugee camp, Barasil, Salah Eddin Gate, the area around Morag settlement and the whole area along the Egyptian border and Block O refugee camp.  There are four military towers surrounding Rafah, controlling every movement, armed with medium machine guns and sniper rifles firing 12, 7 mm bullets.  In addition, 6 military posts surround Rafah, each with 3-4 tanks.  The use of tanks has resulted in several civilian casualties in the area close to the Egyptian border.  Several houses have been hit repeatedly, and have marks from between 50 to 100 rounds of ammunition.

On Saturday 12/1/2002 the Occupation forces fired a large bomb that caused massive destruction in Block J refugee camp, on the border with Egypt, destroying 40 Palestinian homes and leaving more than 800 people homeless.  Eight people were injured from that bomb, they are:

E) Destruction of agricultural lands

Israel justified the demolition of Palestinian houses in Rafah by saying that they were built “without permits” or they were built in “green areas not suitable for housing, but must only be used in agricultural projects.”

Since the eruption of the current al-Aqsa Intifada, Israel has demolished 308 houses, and destroyed a total of 15,000 agricultural dunoms of land in Gaza Strip alone.  This constitutes 9% of the total agricultural land in the area.  (Figures taken from a report published by The Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza.)

Those agricultural lands that were destroyed included various types of trees, mainly olives and citrus, and vegetables.  In addition, hundreds of agricultural greenhouses, irrigation wells and water networks have been destroyed.  This represents a serious breach to international humanitarian law.

Following is a table showing the amount of destruction of agricultural land and equipment carried out by the Israeli army in Rafah District during the al-Aqsa Intifada (until 4^th February 2002), according to the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture

F) Repeated Penetration Operations

The Israeli army has made more than 10 penetration operations in Rafah District (until 4^th February 2002). In each of those operations, at least 10 Palestinian houses have been demolished.  The widest and most brutal demolition campaign occurred on 10^th January 2002, when the Israeli army and bulldozers completely “swept” 70 Palestinian homes in Block O refugee camp along the Egyptian border, leaving 700 people homeless.

In that military incursion operation, which started at about 1:10 a.m., four military bulldozers accompanied by three tanks went into Block O, under heavy cover from machine guns.  The Palestinian refugees fled away, leaving their homes and properties behind.  Some of those inhabitants were injured by the gunfire and fragments from the bombs that were fired.  At the end of that operation, there was total destruction and chaos in the area.

Osama Khalil Omar, 32 years old, a Palestinian from Rafah whose home was demolished on 10^th January 2002, told the PHRMG:

(At about 1:30 a.m. on that Friday, 10^th January 2002, we were shocked to see four Israeli military bulldozers and few tanks move into our neighborhood, in the direction of our homes.  There was also very heavy gunfire from machine guns towards the houses.  They didn’t warn us in advance.  I immediately took my children and family out, and we fled away without taking any properties.  It was raining and very cold.  When we came back in the morning, it was all ruins.  I could hardly recognize my own home.  I didn’t leave it since the breakout of the Intifada, despite all the difficulty.  And now they have leveled it to the ground.  This is a new tragedy, and we will have to suffer more and more.)

The following table shows the details of the refugee homes that were demolished in Rafah District by the Israeli army in the years 2001-2002 (until 4^th February 2002) as prepared by UNRWA.

G) The Policy of House Demolition

The policy of demolishing Palestinian homes is strongly connected with the overall policy of Israel to spread its full domination in all the Palestinian Territories.  In fact, this policy is not something new; it has been carried out by successive Israeli governments over more than thirty years.  The policy of demolishing Palestinian houses is rightly linked with the policy of confiscating Palestinian lands and building new Israeli settlements.

In July 1998, David Bal Eil, the head of the Israeli Civil Administration, said in an interview with the Israeli Radio: “If we don’t keep this land “pure” –meaning containing only Jews- we will soon discover dangerous facts on the ground that will be difficult to remove.”

What has happened in Rafah District recently, killing civilians and demolishing homes, represent major violations of international laws.  The Security Council has condemned the policy of settlement activity five times, while the General Assembly did the same on fifteen different occasions.

The following table shows the Jewish settlements that were built in Rafah District, as published by Gaza Center for Law, on 14/2/1996.

Notes on the Israeli settlements in Gaza Strip:  

1. Morag settlement was expanded in April 1994.  Israeli settlers, protected by the army, confiscated land belonging to Palestinian families.  Its size is now 886 dunoms.

2. In 1993, Israeli settlers extended Beni ‘Atsmouna settlement from the east by taking 60 additional dunoms from neighboring Palestinian land.

3. In 1995, the settlement of Beit Seidah extended to reach the road on the seacoast.

4. In 1993, the settlement of Rafiah Yam extended to take 20 additional dunoms.  In 1994, settlers opened a new road to connect the settlement with the Gosh Qatif settlement compound.

5. The land on which those settlements were built is considered the best, most fertile land in all Rafah District.  It also includes the largest underground water reserve.