00972B6777699 P.02/08 22-PIPR-2002 16:31 CDM-GEN'S OFFICE LJNRUJPi HQ UNITED NATIONS NATIONS U N I ES RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR OFFICE DE SECOURS ET DE TRAVAUX POUR UES PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST REFUGIES DE PALESTINE DANS LE PROCHE-ORIENT Postal Address: Vienna International Centre Tel: (+972-8)6777700 P.O. Box: 700 A-1400 Vienna -Austria Or 0 c/o HQ Amman ^-Fax: (+S72-S) 677 7707 P.O.Box 140157 I UNRWA Headquarters (+972-8) 677 7699 Amman 11814 - Jordan 5aza 22 April 2002 Dear Mr. Secretary-General, I assume you will be faced with a great many questions about the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Territories and, the UN's role in dealing with them, and the obstacles we are facing. I am aware that the report that I asked to be prepared for you is quite long but I nevertheless forward it to you in case you can find the time to peruse it - there is no substitute for telling detail. With best wishes, Yours sincerely Peter Hansen Mr. Kofi Annan Secretary-General United Nations New York, NY 5 2002 msfi/CENTRAL 22/04 '02 MON 10:26 [TX/RX NO 7612] 0002 22-OPR-2002 16=31 COM-GEN'S OFFICE UNRLJfl HQ 00972S6777699 P.03/08 Overview of the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory: I September 2000 - April 2002 21 April 2002 UNRWA: Information on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank I. Deaths and injuries during the intifada Palestinian, deaths and injuries' Palestinian deaths (29 September 2000 - 26 March 2002): 1, 253 Palestinian injuries (29 September 2000 - 26 March 2002): 18, 547 Injury breakdown Live ammunition: 4, 286 Rubber/Plastic bullet: 5,403 Tear gas; 4, 995 Miscellaneous: 3, 863 Figures for March 2002 Palestinian deaths: 215 Palestinian injuries: 799 Israeli deaths2 Israeli deaths (29 September 2000 - 31 March 2002); 386 Breakdown by type IDF deaths, 109 Civilian deaths; 277 Breakdown by area Deaths in occupied Palestinian territory: 190 Deaths in Israel: 196 1 Source; Palestinian Red Crescent Society 2 Source: BTselem, The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories 22/04 '02 MON 10:26 [TX/RX NO 7612] @]003 COM-GEN'S OFFICE UNRWP HQ 0097286777699 p.04/08 Overview of the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory: 2 September 2000 - April 2002 II. Destruction of Property Demolition and Destruction of Refugee Shelters Since the beginning of the intifada, in the Gaza Strip the running total of homes damaged beyond repair as a result of Israeli military operations, mainly demolitions, was 447 at IS April, of which 356 were refugee shelters accommodating 2,914 refugees (511 families). In addition, 330 shelters have been damaged partially, of which 275 were refugee shelters accommodating 2,280 refugees (325 families). Demolitions have often taken place at night and often without any forewarning, thus depriving residents of the opportunity to remove personal belongings. For e.g., on the 10th of January this year, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a major demolition operation in the refugee camp in Rafah in which 54 shelters were completely demolished and four were partially destroyed rendering S8 families comprising 511 persons homeless. The surprise operation, launched in the pre-dawn hours, forced families to abandon their shelters without any of their household possessions. Construction of shelters for families rendered homeless by demolitions is contingent upon donor funding to UNRWA earmarked for this purpose, and upon identification of appropriate plots of land donated by the Palestinian Authority, UNTR.WA has undertaken construction of approximately 100 new housing units in the Tel es-Sultan Quarter of Rafah, where the IDF's demolition activities in Gaza have been focused. In the West Bank, from January 2001 to February 2002, UNRWA assisted 4,320 refugee families with repairs to their shelters damaged as a result of IDF operations. Grants for these families amounted in total to approximately US$1.1 million. During intensive IDF assaults on seven refugee camps in the West Bank (Balata, Jem'n, Nur Shams, Tulkarm, Aida, Dheisheh and Am'ari) from 28 February to 19 March this year, 2,629 shelters accommodating 13,145 refugees sustained damage, in addition, 17 shelters housing 26 families were completely demolished and another 45 housing 47 families were partially demolished. The cost of reconstruction and repair of these shelters is estimated at US$1.14 million. During the second Israeli military offensive this year in cities and refugee camps in the West Bank, which began on 29 March, preliminary estimates show that 800 shelters in Jenin refugee camp alone were either completely destroyed and reduced to rubble or damaged so severely that they are now uninhabitable. In addition, UNRWA has so far estimated that in the camps in Tulkarm, Nurshams, Balata, Askar and Camp No. 1 around Nablus, the number of damaged refugee shelters amounts to 300. In Qalqilia and Hebron, a further 170 refugee shelters located outside camps have been damaged. Damage to Refugee Camp Infrastructure Israeli assaults on refugee camps in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have caused widespread damage to infrastructure, including roads, sewers and waterworks. After the March 2002 assaults on seven camps in the West Bank, UNRWA estimated the damage to the infrastructure including roads, drainage channels and sewer pipes, to be US$226,000. 22/04 '02 MON 10:26 [TX/RX NO 7612] ^22-flPR-2002 16:32 COM-GEN'S OFFICE UNRLJft HQ 0097286777699 P.05/08 Overview of the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory: 3 September 2000 - April 2002 The second round of Israeli assaults in the West Bank in early April resulted in damage to infrastructure on a much larger scale. Owing to curfews and ongoing violence, UNRWA has not yet been able to make an assessment of the damage. However, the reports we are getting from Jenin camp,, where 13,875 refugees had been living, are of wholesale destruction caused by shelling, shooting and bulldozing, in particular in the centra! part of the camp. Destruction of UNRWA Property Since the beginning of the intifada., more than 60 UNRWA installations, including many health centres and schools, have been hit by IDF gunfire, bombing and rocket attacks, some of them on multiple occasions. For e.g., Gaza Elementary "A & B" Co-ed School in Gaza city has been hit six times. Last month, the school suffered particularly severe damage when F16 war planes bombed a Palestinian police compound adjacent to this and two other UNRWA schools. The police compound had already been destroyed during earlier bombings. The attack occurred at 9 a.m. when the three schools were filled with approximately 3,000 children and approximately 90 teachers, all of whom were put at life- threatening risk by the bombing. Khan Younis Elementary D Girls and D Co-ed School have been damaged 12 times. Four UNRWA health centres in the Gaza Strip have been damaged, as well as the UNRWA Field Office on three occasions. In the West Bank, Aida Basic Girls School in Aida camp has been hit ten times since the beginning of the intifada. Other UNRWA installations sustained damage during the February-March Israeli assault on the refugee camps, including 12 schools and four health centres. Four UNRWA schools in the Balata, Arnfari, Tulkarm and Dheisheh camps were occupied by IDF troops and made to serve as detention centres, where males between the ages of 13 and 50 were rounded up, handcuffed and blindfolded (see section 111). UNRWA has strongly protested to the Israeli authorities the incursion into UNRWA premises and the use of these premises to detain hundreds of Palestinian males. UNRWA is still in the process of assessing the damage to Agency premises as a result of the Israeli military operations in the West Bank in March-April this year. In Jenin camp, UNRWA's health centre sustained substantial damage. Members of the IDF occupied the clinic for four days and during the occupation many doors, windows, a dental chair, baby scales, and refrigerators in which medicines were stored, were badly damaged by gunfire. All of the walls in the clinic, including the interior walls, were riddled with bullet holes. Unexploded ordnance remains on the grounds of the UNRWA girls' school in the camp and will require professional defusing before the school can be re-opened. The Sanitation Office and the Camp Service Office were also severely damaged, and an UNRWA vehicle belonging to the Sanitation Office was crushed by a tank. III. Arrest and Detention Use of UNRWA Installations as Detention Centres In a clear violation of Israel's obligations under the 1946 Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, and notwithstanding strong protests from UNRWA, 22/04 '02 MON 10:26 [TX/RX NO 7612] i|005 CDM-GEN'S OFFICE UNRWfl HQ 0097286777699 P.06/08 22-PPR-2002 16=32 Overview of the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory: 4 September 2000 - April 2002 Agency installations have been used repeatedly as detention centres by the IDF during their recent operations in West Bank and Gaza refugees camps. For example, on 9 March 2002 in the Tulkarem refugee camp, some 400 Palestinian males were rounded up and detained in the UNRWA Girls School. International UNRWA staff were eyewitnesses to this event. Similarly, on 12 March 2002, Israeli army units occupied Amari camp in the Ramallah/al-Bireh area and forcibly entered the UNRWA boys school with tanks. The school compound was used to detain scores of camp residents who were held at gunpoint in sitting positions with their hands on their heads.