-         Introduction

The Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip have lived eight years full of negotiations with Israel, between 1993 – 2000 and signed several agreements. But the Israeli successive governments continuously disavowed themselves from many parts of those agreements, especially those related to the release of prisoners, the safe passage between Gaza and the West Bank, the construction of Gaza harbor and the freezing of building new Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories.

After the failure of the long round of negotiations in Camp David in July 2000 between the two parties, the Palestinian areas lived a short time of waiting for the worse; and it came. On Thursday 28/9/2000, Ehud Barak, the Israeli Prime Minister then, allowed the head of opposition, then Ariel Sharon, to visit al-Aqsa Mosque compound. That move triggered the Palestinian uprising that has, until now, taken hundreds of lives of innocent people from both sides. In addition, the lives of both peoples have changed dramatically; they no longer trust each other. Since then, the Israeli Army has destroyed many buildings and institutions, and thousands of acres of agricultural land.

From the beginning, the Israeli occupation over the Palestinian Territories has been closely connected with the Jewish settlement activity in those areas. The Israeli successive governments have always supported the settler activity. For example, since the signing of the Oslo peace agreements in September 1993, more than 10,000 housing units have been built in the Occupied Territories. (according to the General Committee to Defend the Lands in a telephone call on 10/7/2002)

Israel has fastened its policy of imposing a strict closure on Palestinian towns and refugee camps, separating them from each other with military checkpoints. By the end of the year 2001, the Israeli Army has formed more than 100 permanent checkpoints on the roads of the West Bank, either soldier-watched checkpoints, or roads blocked with cement blocks or piles of sand. A distance of 20 kilometers could nowadays take more than two hours on sandy dirty unpaved narrow roads. (According to a report published by Amnesty International in April 2002)

By the end of the second year of the Palestinian uprising, the number of Palestinian fatalities increased to 1631, among them 306 under the age of 18. Those Palestinians were killed in gunfire by the Israeli Army, in armed clashes between Palestinian fighters and the Israeli soldiers, and in targeted assassination attacks by the Israeli forces against leaders of the uprising. In addition, 65 Palestinians died as a result or because of the military Israeli checkpoints, and 95 others were killed in unclear circumstances related to the Israeli occupation.

The second year of the uprising was distinguished by the increased level of violence. Members of the Palestinian armed groups, such as Hamas movement and Islamic Jihad, and members of Fateh organization, and other Palestinian factions, carried out a number of suicide attacks aimed at killing a large number of Israelis.  As a result of that, dozens of Israeli civilians were killed in these attacks.

In response to those attacks, the Israeli government adopted the policy of “home demolition.” In Rafah District alone, the Israeli Army demolished 68 Palestinian houses in which 96 families lived, in two days, 10^th and 12^th January 2002. This action left 530 individuals without any refuge in the cold season of winter. In another example, the Israeli Occupation Forces demolished 25 Palestinian homes in Jenin refugee camp on the 5^th and 6^th of April 2002, and killed dozens of Palestinians.

These Israeli practices represent clear violations to article 53 of the Geneva Convention of 1949 relative to the protection of civilians in the time of war. The Article says: “Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.”

The Israeli response to the Palestinian resistance was severe and painful. It took the form of massive military operations that began in late March 2002, during which the Israeli Army reoccupied large towns of the West Bank and refugee camps. In addition, a very firm closure was imposed on the Territories, and imposing curfew on major towns and villages became a normal procedure. Despite all the local and international protests against the Israeli military operations, the Israeli government, headed by notorious Ariel Sharon, continues to exercise its military machine with no deterrent whatsoever.

There is no doubt that the policy of closure and siege, the building of isolation zones around the Palestinian populated areas, and home demolition represent collective punishments that openly breach article 16 of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 1984, signed by the State of Israel in 1991.

The current Israeli government, with unlimited support from the current US administration, which dominates the UN and its Security Council, continues to carelessly violate the basic rights of the Palestinian people who have suffered numerous tragedies during the two years of the Uprising.