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This new PHRMG project
comes in the wake of our report on settler violence,
released in April 2001 and available on our website
(www.phrmg.org). This report focuses not only on the acts of
violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian
territories, but just as importantly on the lack of response
of the Israeli authorities to such criminal acts. Because
Palestinians know that complaints are hardly ever followed
by any credible prosecution, and also simply because Israeli
police stations are often located inside Israeli settlements
and therefore hardly accessible to them, Palestinian victims
of settler violence seldom file proper complaints.
DESCRIPTION OF
THE PROJECT
The objectives of the
Settler Watch Hotline project are first to encourage
Palestinians to come forward and report settler attacks in
the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, then to
pressure Israeli law enforcement agencies to protect the
Palestinian population from such attacks, and finally to
prompt these agencies to prosecute settlers responsible for
the attacks.
1. Imminent or
ongoing attacks
In case of imminent or
ongoing settler attacks, Palestinian citizens will be able
to alert the PHRMG through the Settler Watch Hotline, a
24-hour number that is now being publicized on the
Palestinian media (newspapers, television and radio) and
distributed to the municipalities and village councils. The
PHRMG will first confirm incidents reported to the hotline
by contacting local authorities, and will then immediately
alert the Israeli army and police (DCO) in an attempt to
prevent or stop the attacks. Direct channels of
communication have been established with the Israeli law
enforcement agencies and we hope that such pressure will
prompt them to live up to their duties.
Serious attacks will
also be reported to the media and other human rights
organizations. If possible, Israeli activists will be
invited to go to the scene of the attack to witness the
events and try to pressure the Israeli army and police to
intervene.
2. In the aftermath
of attacks
Once the immediate
threat is over, the Settler Watch Hotline project intends to
motivate the victims of settler violence to file complaints
with the Israeli police. Because their complaints are
routinely ignored or dismissed, Palestinian victims are
often reluctant to contact the Israeli authorities. However,
the PHRMG believes that it is of cardinal importance to
maintain sustained and unrelenting pressure on this law
enforcement system. If incidents are systematically reported
and complaints are continuously filed, the Israeli law
enforcement agencies will have no justification for their
lack of response, and with perseverance the system may
improve.
PHRMG's fieldworkers
and Israeli volunteers will accompany the victims to police
stations to file formal complaints. PHRMG will then ensure
the follow-up of these cases, pressuring the police to open
an investigation and taking the files to court if necessary.
PHRMG would like to
thank the ICHRDD for their support, which allowed this
project to move ahead. We would also like to thank all the
Palestinian and Israeli organizations who offered us their
help, and particularly Bat Shalom, who accepted to provide
volunteers to accompany Palestinian victims to police
stations.
For further
information, please contact the Hotline number, 02-540 1122
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