Waiting for Justice Al-Haq: 25 Years Defending Human Rights (1979-2004) June 2005 c All Rights Reserved Al-Haq 2005 Contributions CONTRIBUTIONS Coordination, Compilation and Editing of Annual Report Al-Salem, Rouba Co-editing Massagee, Anne Welchmann, Lynn Contributors Al-Salem, Rouba Azzam, Fateh Elayyan, Tahseen Gleed, Gareth Hill, Tom Massagee, Anne Murphy, Maureen Clare Oberg, Marko Siniora, Randa Affidavits Monitoring and Documentation Unit Abbas, Manaf Al-Haj, Tarek Atallah, Nina Hamidan, Ziad Jaradat, Zahi Qawariq, Yusuf Legal Services Unit Mujahed, Rafeef Special Thanks to Agence France Press Al-Ayyam Al-Safadi, Atef Atallah, Nina Associated Press Ayoub, Nizar Francis, Sahar Hamad, Marwan-INTERTECH Jubran, Omar McAllister, Karine Muhammed, Muheisen Reuters Stefani, Roberto United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance United Nations Truce Supervision Organization Wafa Preface PREFACE The year 2004 marked Al-Haq’s 25th anniversary as a Palestinian human rights organization working towards the protection and promotion of human rights and the rule of law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). In our 2004 annual report Waiting for Justice, Al- Haq covers violations of human rights by the Israeli occupying authorities based on first hand information gathered by our fieldworkers from eyewitnesses and victims of human rights violations. This report also provides an in depth legal analysis of these violations on the basis of international human rights law and international humanitarian law applicable to the OPT. An important political development witnessed during the year was the so called Gaza “Disengagement Plan.” While reaping the political benefits arising from this plan to unilaterally withdraw from Gaza and dismantle settlements there, Israeli authorities have continued with its systematic violations of human rights and with creating additional facts on the ground in the OPT. As highlighted in the political chapter of our report, the unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip comes as an effort by Israel to relinquish its legal obligations under international law, while improving its political standing at the international level. In Al-Haq’s opinion, this step will not lead to a just and durable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but will only undermine opportunities for such a solution. Another important legal development witnessed during 2004, was the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice regarding the Construction of the Wall in the West Bank. In July 2004, the most authoritative legal body of the international community unequivocally stated that the construction of this Wall and its associated regime were unlawful, and called on the international community not to recognize the illegal situation arising from it. In the absence of effective measures on behalf of the international community to put pressure on Israel to dismantle the Wall, Israel has accelerated the process of constructing the Annexation Wall in defiance of international law. In Waiting for Justice, Al-Haq argues in its report that the international community is required to support its words by concrete action. For a human rights organization working on the ground, it is striking to realize that many of the human rights violations highlighted in this report predate 2004, and constitute systematic violations of the rights of the Palestinian civilian population in the OPT for decades. Over the years, we have often felt that we highlighted what has become a systematic pattern of Israeli violations, many of which have only aggravated since the beginning of the current intifada. More striking however, is the repeated times that we have called upon the international community to “respect and ensure respect” of the Fourth Geneva Convention, by intervening to ensure that Israel upholds its obligations under international human rights and humanitarian I Preface law as an Occupying Power towards the Palestinian civilian population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In the past, Al-Haq has repeatedly called upon this community to take concrete action to hold accountable those who have committed war crimes. In its 25th anniversary report Waiting for Justice, Al-Haq repeats those calls, and awaits justice to come with ending the occupation, and allowing Palestinians to realize their right to self determination. In this regard, I want to underline the words of United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan during a statement to the UN General Assembly on 21 September 2004, when emphasizing that legality should not be dictated by the powerful. He said: The victims of violence and injustice are waiting; they notice when we use words to mask inaction. They notice when laws that should protect them are not applied. How much longer must the Palestinians wait before their fundamental rights under international law are upheld? Randa Siniora General Director Al-Haq II Table of Contents T A TB A L B E L E O O F F C OO N N T ET NE TN S T S LIST OF ACRONYMS.......................................................................................................XII AL-HAQ IN 2004: A TWENTY FIVE YEAR RETROSPECTIVE ............................1 I. BEGINNINGS AND EARLY YEARS ..................................................................3 II. GROWTH AND MANY ‘FIRSTS’ ........................................................................5 III. OSLO AND THEREAFTER .............................................................................10 IV. CRITIQUES, CRISES AND COLLAPSE ..........................................................11 V. FROM SURVIVAL TO CHALLENGES AHEAD ............................................16 THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES IN 2004: THE POLITICAL FRAMEWORK ..............................................................................................................19 I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................20 II. THE OSLO ACCORDS: THE MYTH OF ENDING ISRAELI OCCUPATION..20 III. CLOSE UP: LIFE UNDER OSLO ....................................................................22 IV. 2004 IN FOCUS: SYSTEMATIC VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW CONTINUE ........................................................................................................23 A. DEVELOPMENTS AT THE ISRAELI LEVEL .......................................23 B. DEVELOPMENTS AT THE PALESTINIAN LEVEL ............................26 V. CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................29 ANNEX: HISTORIC OVERVIEW - CURRENT INTIFADA 2000 ...................30 THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK GOVERNING THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES ..............................................................................................................35 I. INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW AND ISRAEL’S OBLIGATIONS AS AN OCCUPYING POWER ...............................................................................36 A. THE ISRAELI POSITION .......................................................................37 B. THE POSITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ..............39 III Table of Contents C. ALTERING EXISTING LAWS IN OCCUPIED TERRITORY ..............40 II. ISRAEL’S OBLIGATIONS UNDER INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW..42 A. THE ISRAELI POSITION...........................................................................42 B. THE APPLICABILITY OF CUSTOMARY HUMAN RIGHTS LAW.....43 C. THE APPLICABILITY OF CONVENTIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW...........................................................................................................44 D. HUMAN RIGHTS LAW DURING TIMES OF ARMED CONFLICT AND BELLIGERENT OCCUPATION..............................................................45 III. THE PALESTINIANS AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN LAW-ARE THERE OBLIGATIONS FOR THE PALESTINIAN NATIONAL AUTHORITY? ..................................................47 A. THE POSITION OF THE PALESTINIAN NATIONAL AUTHORITY...47 B. THE POSITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY...............48 ISRAEL’S USE OF FORCE ..........................................................................................51 I. OVERVIEW ..........................................................................................................52 II. THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK REGULATING THE USE OF FORCE ...............63 A. INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW .........................................65 B. INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW ..........................................68 C. ISRAELI OPEN FIRE REGULATIONS ..................................................73 III. CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................77 MOVEMENT RESTRICTIONS .....................................................................................79 I. OVERVIEW .........................................................................................................80 II. THE INSTRUMENTS OF MOVEMENT RESTRICTIONS ..............................80 A. MOVEMENT WITHIN THE OPT ..........................................................82 B. MOVEMENT BETWEEN THE WEST BANK AND THE GAZA STRIP, AND BETWEEN EAST JERUSALEM AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WEST BANK ...................................................................................88 C. RESTRICTIONS ON INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL ................................89 D. ABUSE AT CHECKPOINTS ........................................................................90 III. THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL