October 18, 2004

Intolerable atrocities

Unjustifiable mass murder, unlawful destructions, disproportionate and repeated use of excessive force and violence against the Palestinian people: once again Israel has perpetrated unacceptable war crimes, seriously infringing the international humanitarian law, in the northern Gaza Strip.

On the 30^th of September, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved Prime Minister’s plan for an expanded and open-ended ground operation, code-named “Days of Penitence”, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip (predominantly in Jabalia refugee camp and in the nearby towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya) with the official aim of countering the launching of Palestinian Qassam rockets towards Israeli towns, mainly located in the Negev area. The operation has been carried out in retaliation against the Qassam rockets’ attack occurred the 29^th of September in the town of Sderot, south of Israel, in which 2 Israeli children were killed.

Israeli military forces have moved into northern Gaza in force and the incursion has become one of the bloodiest passages of fighting in four years of Al-Aqsa Intifada. More than 300 tanks, armored personnel carriers, bulldozers and helicopter gunships have been involved in the operation so far. The Israeli army has declared that the aim of the campaign is to clear a 9 km deep “cushion zone” to force Palestinian militants, mostly from Hamas, into retreat, putting their rockets out of range of their targets in Israel.

Since the 30^th of September, 139 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli forces, including 28 children. More than third of the victims was unarmed.

The Israeli army has also completely destroyed or partially damaged nearly 100 buildings, including private houses, schools, water and electricity networks, roads, and other vital infrastructure, leaving more than 700 homeless.

Strict and unjustifiable closure have also been imposed throughout the Gaza Strip in cutting the Strip into four isolated sections, paralyzing all aspects of life, with people unable to reach their workplace and students unable to reach the universities or their schools.

In the course of the operation the Israeli military forces have constantly use excessive force, including heavy shelling from tanks and helicopter gunships. Such use of force, the way in which soldiers and tanks have been deployed in the area invariably results in a high rate of deaths and injuries of bystanders and people who are not involved at all in the armed confrontation, particularly in Jabalia refugee camp, one of the most densely populated place on the earth, with about 103,646 persons living in less than 1.5 sq km.

The PHRMG vehemently condemns the operation carried out by the Israeli Army. It represents nothing but a premeditated “collective punishment” perpetrated against Palestinian people. Fighting inside the tiny alleys of the refugee camp of Jabalia, driving armored vehicles and tanks, exploding bombs able to destroy several buildings in one shot prove the total disinterest of the Israeli troops to protect Palestinian civilians’ lives.

The PHRMG argues that the current Israeli military campaign has been characterized by an appalling escalation of violence with a consequent total lack of respect for fundamental human rights principles, included the most basic right of life.

The PHRMG, as a result, is extremely skeptical about the real commitment of the Israeli Government about any possible negotiations for the implementation of the “Road Map”, the internationally recognized peace-process. Too many times the occupying Israeli authorities have complained and claimed the Palestinian Authority’s ineptitude and unreliability in negotiating fairly, but they have never given the impression to be conscious about their unjustifiable and appalling behavior held during numerous, unlawful military attacks perpetrated during the last years.

The PHRMG also expresses his deepest concern about the grave lack of action displayed by the International Community upon the Gaza Strip’ s massacre so far. On this context, the PHRMG calls upon all the international forces, such as United Nations, European Union, etc, to immediately intervene, preventing Israel to continue in perpetrating its unlawful collective punishments and unacceptable war crimes against the whole Palestinian population either in Gaza Strip and West Bank.

Finally, the PHRMG calls upon:

1) The Israeli Prime minister, Ariel Sharon, to immediately stop the slaughter in Gaza, respect the basic right of life of the Palestinian people and respect the art. 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, explicitly stating that:

“No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed," and "collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited”.

2) The International Organisations campaigning for children’s rights, such as UNICEF, Save the Children etc, to immediately intervene with the urgent aim of stopping the appalling and repeated killings of Palestinian children wadely perpetrated by Israeli occupying forces in the last weeks in the northern Gaza Strip.

3) The Palestinian Authority to assume a stronger position with the aim of halting the ongoing flaw of Qassam rockets being fired at Israeli towns by militants factions. Such behaviour does not make justice in order to display the real commitment as well as the willingness of the Palestinian society in the implementation of the peace process.

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The Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG) is a Palestinian, independent, non-governmental organization working to end human rights violations committed against Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, regardless of those responsible.  The members of the Monitoring Group believe that the strength of democracy and civil society in Palestinian society will be determined by the Palestinian people, through their defense or neglect of human rights.

Ragheb Nashashibi Street 5

Sheikh Jarrah-Jerusalem

P.O. Box 19918

East Jerusalem 91198

www.phrmg.org

tel. 972-2-582-3372/3

fax. 972-2-582-3385