EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:01 GMT APRIL 11, 2001 April 2001 CENTER OF THE STORM: A Case Study of Human Rights Abuses in Hebron District SUMMARY...................................................................................................................................................3 Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Obligations ....................................................................3 Excessive IDF force at Clashes, Unlawful Killings, Assassinations, and the Failure to Investigate....................4 Palestinian Attacks on Settlers and the Settlements, and Disproportionate IDF Response.................................5 Settler Attacks and the Lack of an IDF response ...........................................................................................6 The Impact of Curfews, Closures and Blockades...........................................................................................6 RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................................................................................8 To the Government of Israel........................................................................................................................8 To the Palestinian Authority ........................................................................................................................9 To the International Community ..................................................................................................................9 To High Contracting Parties of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 .................................................................10 To the United States..................................................................................................................................10 To the Member States of the European Union .............................................................................................10 BACKGROUND..........................................................................................................................................11 THE OBLIGATIONS OF ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW ...........................................................................................................................................................13 Applicable International Law to the Conflict...............................................................................................13 Applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Hague Regulations to Israel’s Conduct in the West Bank and Gaza Strip .................................................................................................................................14 Prohibition on Unlawful Killings and Assassinations and Israel’s Failure to Investigate.................................16 Prohibition on Indiscriminate and Disproportionate Use of Force.................................................................19 Israel’s Obligation to Protect Palestinian Civilians in the Occupied Territories..............................................21 Prohibition on Collective Punishment.........................................................................................................22 Status of Israeli Settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip under International Humanitarian Law ............23 Civilian Status of the Settler Population .....................................................................................................25 EXCESSIVE IDF FORCE AT CLASHES, UNLAWFUL KILLINGS AND SHOOTINGS, AND ASSASSINATIONS.....................................................................................................................................27 Excessive IDF Force at Clashes.................................................................................................................27 Unlawful Killings and Shootings ...............................................................................................................30 Killing of Shaker al-Manasra and Ahmad Faraj Allah, and wounding of Yusif al-Manasra, February 16, 2001 ............................................................................................................................................................30 Wounding of Jad Allah al-Jabari, January 1, 2001 ...................................................................................32 Killing of Yusif Abu ‘Awad, November 16, 2000....................................................................................33 Killing of Munib Abu Munshar, November 11, 2000 ...............................................................................35 Killing of Ra‘ed Muhtasib, November 10, 2000 ......................................................................................36 Wounding of Ibrahim Abu Turki, October 13, 2000.................................................................................36 Wounding of Shihab Sherif, October 9, 2000 ..........................................................................................37 Killing of ‘Ala Mahfouz, October 6, 2000 ...............................................................................................37 Targeted Assassinations ............................................................................................................................38 Assassination of ‘Abbas al-‘Awiwi, December 13, 2000 ..........................................................................38 Suspected Assassination of Fayez al-Qaimari, October 21, 2000...............................................................39 PALESTINIAN ATTACKS ON SETTLERS AND THE SETTLEMENTS, AND DISPROPORTIONATE IDF RESPONSE .................................................................................................................................................41 Attacks against Israeli Settlers and Settlements by Armed Palestinians .........................................................41 Wounding of Elad Pass, March 10, 2001.................................................................................................41 Killing of Shalhavet Pass and Wounding of Yitzhak Pass, March 26, 2001 ...............................................41 Physical Damage Caused by Palestinian Attacks .....................................................................................42 Roadside attacks on Israeli Settlers .........................................................................................................42 Establishing the Identity of Palestinian Gunmen......................................................................................43 EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:01 GMT APRIL 11, 2001 Disproportionate IDF Response .................................................................................................................45 Killing of Issam al-Tawil, February 16, 2001 ..........................................................................................46 Killing of Arij al-Jabali and Wounding of Ahlam al-Jabali, January 5, 2001 ..............................................46 Wounding of Samir Abu Shakdam, January 2, 2001 ................................................................................47 Killing of Mu‘ath Abu Hadwan and Wounding of Three Others, December 31, 2000 ................................47 Killing of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Abu Sneineh, October 23, 2000 .........................................................................48 Wounding of Fatina Fakhoury and Her Infant Son, October 9, 2000 ........................................................49 SETTLER ATTACKS AND THE LACK OF AN IDF RESPONSE ................................................................50 Hebron’s H-2 Area....................................................................................................................................50 Baqa‘a Valley...........................................................................................................................................56 Jabal Johar Area Near Kiriat Arba Settlement .............................................................................................60 Attacks Against Palestinian Farmers ..........................................................................................................61 Settler Attacks against Palestinian Drivers..................................................................................................62 Attacks against Humanitarian Workers, Independent Observers, and Journalists ...........................................67 THE IMPACT OF CURFEWS, CLOSURES AND BLOCKADES .................................................................70 Restrictions on Freedom of Movement, and IDF and Police attacks against Palestinian Drivers .....................71 Economic Impact......................................................................................................................................76 Educational Impact ...................................................................................................................................77 Health Care Impact...................................................................................................................................80 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...........................................................................................................................82 Human Rights Watch 2 April 2001, Vol. 13, No. 2(E) EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:01 GMT APRIL 11, 2001 SUMMARY The West Bank city of Hebron, long a flashpoint of conflict between Palestinians