B'Tselem's report deals with one of the primary, albeit lesser known, elements of Israel's restrictions on Palestinian movement in the Occupied Territories: the prohibition on Palestinian travel along certain roads in the West Bank.

The forbidden roads regime is a slippery policy, in part because its rules and regulations have never been set in writing: not in Knesset legislation, nor in decisions of the political echelon, nor in military orders, nor in press releases, nor even in road signs warning Palestinians that their travel on a road is prohibited or restricted. The regime is based on verbal orders given to soldiers, and in practices that the IDF has employed in the West Bank since the current intifada began.

The Forbidden Roads

B'Tselem's investigation indicates that the roads subject to the regime may be classified into three categories based on the severity of the restrictions on Palestinian travel on these roads: completely prohibited, partially prohibited, and restricted use roads.

Completely prohibited roads - The first category consists of roads for the exclusive use of Israeli citizens. This includes what the IDF calls "sterile roads" where the prohibition against Palestinian travel is explicit and obvious: Israel places a staffed checkpoint through which only Israeli vehicles are allowed to pass. This category also includes roads on which travel is not possible, or pointless, because the access roads leading to and from Palestinian villages are blocked.

Partially prohibited roads - The second category includes roads on which Palestinians are allowed to travel only if they have special permits issued by the Civil Administration, or if the identity cards of the driver and passengers indicate that they are residents of villages entirely dependent on the road on which they are traveling.

Restricted use roads - The third category includes roads on which Palestinian vehicles are allowed to travel without a special permit, but access to the roads is restricted by concrete blocks and other obstacles. In most cases, a driver who wants to get onto the road has to go to an intersection where soldiers check the vehicles and persons wanting to use the road.

The roads regime is enforced through a variety of means: an aggressive and discriminatory enforcement of the traffic laws against Palestinians only, prolonged delays of Palestinians, and confiscation of Palestinian vehicles with no due process. As a result, many Palestinian drivers refrain from using even those roads nominally open to them.

Issuance of Permits

The Civil Administration and the District Civil Liaison offices (DCLs) are responsible for providing Palestinians with the permits they require to travel on various roads. This bureaucracy lacks all transparency and acts in a patently arbitrary manner. There are no fixed criteria for granting or rejecting requests for permits, so the decision is based solely on the discretion of the DCL staff.

Also, notice of rejection is given verbally and without explanation. Requests by Palestinians who are considered "prevented for security reasons" are automatically denied. Only the General Security Service can remove this ground for rejection. This being the case, the GSS exploits the applicants' need for the permits and pressures them to serve as collaborators.

Disrupting All Aspects of Life

The forbidden roads regime has forced West Bank Palestinians to use long and winding routes rather than roads that lead directly from one town or district to another. Travel on these alternate roads disrupts all aspects of daily life in the West Bank, in such areas as the economy, health, and education, and gravely affects social and family life. In addition, Palestinians suffer the insult and humiliation that are part and parcel of the measures used by Israeli security forces to enforce the discriminatory roads regime.

Israel constructed an extensive road network in order to serve the Israeli settlements. To justify expropriating privately owned Palestinian land for these roads, Israel argued that the roads would also benefit the Palestinian population. Now these same roads are completely off-limits to Palestinians.

Israel contends that the restrictions on Palestinian travel along these roads result from imperative security considerations and not from racist motivations. Indeed, since the outbreak of the intifada, in September 2000, there has been an increase in the number of attacks by Palestinian organizations against Israeli civilians inside Israel and in the Occupied Territories. More than 600 Israeli civilians, including over 100 minors, have been killed. Attacks aimed at civilians violate fundamental legal and moral norms, and constitute war crimes in international humanitarian law. The attacks are unjustifiable, regardless of the circumstances. Not only is Israel entitled to take measures to defend its citizens against such attacks, it is required to do so. However, its actions must comply with Israeli and international law.

The roads regime infringes the Palestinians' right to freedom of movement and the right to equality. Israel is therefore in breach of fundamental principles of international law set forth in treaties to which Israel is party, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racism, and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Discrimination-based separation � An Apartheid Practice

The roads regime, which is based on separation through discrimination, bears clear similarities to the racist apartheid regime that existed in South Africa until 1994. An individual's national origin determines their right to use various roads. This policy is based on a racist premise: that all Palestinians are security risks, and it is therefore justifiable to restrict their movement. Thus the policy indiscriminately harms the entire Palestinian population, in violation of their human rights and of international law.

B'Tselem demands that the government of Israel immediately end the forbidden roads regime and that it respect the right of Palestinians to freedom of movement on all roads inside the West Bank.

1_March 2019, Ramallah – On the occasion of the International Women’s Day (8 March), a week-long joint campaign “My Rights, Our Power” was launched today in Palestine to raise awareness on women’s fundamental human rights. The joint effort, with participation from over 30 national and international partners from civil society organizations, media outlets, and international development agencies, targets youth, women, and men in various geographic areas in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza to promote women’s human rights in Palestine.

The campaign comes at a crucial moment when the anticipated adoption of the Family Protection Bill is at a standstill, raising concerns among national and international stakeholders about the consequences of such delay on safeguarding women’s fundamental human rights in Palestine. According to the Palestine report of the International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES), nearly one in five Palestinian men (17 percent) surveyed said they had perpetrated act of physical intimate partner violence against female partners, while 21 per cent of women surveyed reported having experienced such violence.

“Family violence, usually committed by a family member who has social or economic power over others in the family, causes enormous pain and suffering to all members of the family, especially the women and children,” said a spokesperson from civil society, which has vigorously initiated the development of the Family Protection Bill (FPB), and has strongly pushed its adoption since 2004.

“The violation of women’s human rights manifests in various levels and should be also understood from economic, cultural, and social aspects,” the spokesperson added, highlighting the lack of opportunities and freedom of choice, as well as limited access to justice and services that women in Palestine still experience.

The joint campaign aims to raise awareness of the general public, especially youth, women, and men on women’s fundamental rights in line with international standards and embedded in the Family Protection Bill draft endorsed by the previous Cabinet at the end of December 2018. Five key messages, addressing women’s right to a life free of violence, right to achieve justice and seek help in case of violation of such life, as well as the right to equal opportunities and right to make one’s own choices, will be distributed through various channels such as radio, social media, helpline (121), outreach activities, and on-site events. The closing event of the joint campaign will take place on 8 March in Jerusalem and will celebrate women’s achievements using TED-style talks, followed by art performances.

“My Rights, Our Power” joint campaign is part of the global International Women’s Day 2019 campaign under the theme of “Think equal, build smart, innovate for change”. The theme focuses on innovative ways in which we can advance gender equality and the empowerment of women, particularly in the areas of social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure, echoing the theme of the 63rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 63) taking place in New York on 11-22 March 2019.

The participating organizations of the “My Rights, Our Power” are (in alphabetical order): 17 Palestinian women’s organizations represented by Al-Muntada (coalition), British Consulate-General, Business Women Forum, CARE International, Consulate General of Sweden, Consulate General of Belgium, EUPOL COPPS, EU Representative Office, FAO, General Union of Palestinian Women, Government of Japan, CowaterSogema/GROW Project, International Labour Organization, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, Ma’an TV, MIFTAH, Netherlands Representative Office, Nisaa FM, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development, Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association, Representative Office of Canada, Representative Office of Denmark, SAWA, Sawasya II, Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, Sports for Life, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Representative Office of Norway, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNOPS, UN Women, Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling, Women’s Studies Center.

For more information, please contact Eunjin Jeong at UN Women via eunjin.jeong@unwomen.org or 059 2321 308, Majd Beltaji at UNESCO via m.beltaji@unesco.org or 059 4501 506.

Mr. President,

We thank France for organizing this important meeting and extend our appreciation to the Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary General, the Executive Director of UN Women, the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security and the Secretary-General of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie for their efforts and important briefings.

The issue before us is of relevance not only for half the planet, but to all, given the role and contribution of women in the fields of peace and security and the untapped potential that could be unleashed by mainstreaming their participation. Since the adoption by consensus of resolution 1325 by this Council, a lot has happened, and yet we are still far from the goal of full and equal participation, including in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace-building, and from ensuring the protection and empowerment of women. Gender equality and non-discrimination remain prerequisites for the fulfilment of the purposes and principles of this organization and all of our lofty, collective commitments, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The State of Palestine welcomes the Secretary General’s report and his commitment to implementing the women and peace and security agenda, including by placing gender at the centre of his prevention platform and surge in diplomacy. We appreciate all efforts by the UN in this regard, including by UN Women, OHCHR and UNDP, notably in the field of human rights, capacity building, employment and rule of law. We urge UN bodies, notably those operating in Palestine, including the Special Representative, to intensify their engagement and collaboration with women organizations.

Mr. President,

I wish to highlight some of Palestine’s own important efforts in this regard. The Palestinian women’s movement is one of the oldest and strongest in the region and beyond, with institutional and representative structures established as early as the 19th century. Within the PLO, the General Union of Palestinian Women was among the first unions to be established. A coordination of women frameworks within PLO political parties and other organizations has also been established as the “Women’s Affairs Technical Committee” in the aftermath of the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference.

There have been many achievements thereafter. Among them: In 2012, Palestine inaugurated a High-Level National Committee for the implementation of resolution 1325, led by the Ministry of Women Affairs in partnership with relevant Ministries and NGOs. In 2016, the State of Palestine was among the 68 countries and areas that adopted a National Action Plan on women, peace and security.

This Action Plan (2017-2019), adopted by both the Government and civil society organizations, identifies three primary objectives: 1. ensuring protection for women and girls both domestically and in the face of the Israeli occupation; 2. ensuring accountability through national and international mechanisms, with a particular focus on crimes and violations committed by the occupation; and 3. furthering women’s political participation in decision making at the national and international level. The State of Palestine also joined core IHL and human rights instruments, including CEDAW, without reservations. Women’s participation and empowerment are also important and cross-cutting objectives in the context of the National Policy Agenda (2017-2022).

We are, however, conscious that, despite all these efforts, much more work remains to be done. Only in 2009 was a women elected to the highest executive body of the PLO. Quotas are still decisive in allowing women’s election to Parliament and local councils. And while women organizations were among the strongest advocates of national reconciliation, they have been unfairly absent from reconciliation talks. The relevant legislative framework applicable in Palestine is also outdated and must be revised to ensure consistency with Palestine’s international commitments and obligations and avail women the protection and rights they are entitled to and the opportunities they deserve.

Mr. President,

The Palestinian women’s movement since its establishment over a century ago pursued the struggle on two fronts – the struggle for the independence of Palestine and the struggle for women’s rights and empowerment – a dual struggle the movement continues to pursue to this day. The Israeli occupation remains the main source of the violations of our women’s rights and their vulnerability and violence against their person. We have repeatedly called for protection of the Palestinian people, especially women and children. We have also called for accountability, a key element of resolution 1325, the first resolution to address the disproportionate and unique impact of armed conflict on women, as the only way to put an end to violations and crimes.

While Palestine stands ready to do its part to advance women rights and the role of women in the fields of peace and security, it is clear that the enjoyment of these rights in our country necessitates ending the Israeli occupation. We will thus continue to work for an end of the occupation and true progress on the path to independence, justice and peace, with the equal and full involvement of women, leading to an independent State of Palestine ensuring human rights for all its citizens without discrimination.

On the occasion of the ICC Prosecutor’s Office to Palestine, the Palestinian Women Coalition of UNSCR 1325, which consists of twelve different Palestinian women’s organisations, is urging the Prosecutor’s Office to take concrete actions towards investigating war crimes committed against Palestinians. The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom remains deeply concerned with the complete impunity of Israeli war crimes and firmly supports the Coalition’s call for a just accountability mechanism for Palestinian victims. WILPF also calls on the international community to recognise and fully support Palestinian women’s organisations substantial role in paving the paths to justice, accountability and peace. Read the statement of the Palestinian Women Coalition of UNSCR 1325 below.

We, the Palestinian Women Coalition of UNSCR 1325,welcome the visit of the delegation of the ICC Prosecutor’s Office as a step in the right direction. But we are deeply disappointed that the purpose of this visit was restricted to preliminary examination, while Palestinian victims of Israeli war crimes, including women, continue to suffer and urgently await justice and an end to Israel impunity.

We do not understand the decision to exclude the Gaza Strip from this visit, when Gaza has been the site of the most war crimes and where women have been most systematically impacted by Israeli collective punishment policies; a prolonged imposed siege and a severe humanitarian deterioration resulting from Israeli military aggressions .

We are further disappointed that women who have been systematically impacted, and their women’s organisations, have been excluded from the delegation’s agenda.

We call upon all future delegations of the ICC Prosecutor’s Office to include on their agenda meetings with women’s organisations and women who have experienced direct and indirect impacts of Israeli crimes.

We, the Palestinian Women Coalition of UNSCR 1325, have seen in UNSCR 1325, 2242, and other UN Resolutions a commitment to hold the Israeli perpetrators accountable for their war crimes.

We look to the ICC as the most important mechanism to end impunity for all war crimes committed, finally bringing justice for the Palestinian people. Yet, we are very concerned that the preliminary examinations will be an endless process.

Therefore, we urge, Ms. Fatou Bensouda, the Prosecutor of the ICC, to conclude the preliminary examination and move to investigations into Israeli war crimes, bringing justice to Palestinians.

We have paid the price of non-accountability and impunity of Israeli war crimes for too long. “Delaying justice is justice denied.”

Palestinian Women Coalition of UNSCR 1325: The General Union of Palestinian Women (GUPW), the Women’s Affairs Technical Committee (WATC), Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD), MIFTAH, Filastinyat, Women Media and Development (TAM), Women Stu Dies Center, Women’s Center for Legal Aid and Counseling (WACLAC), the National, YWCA of Palestine, Center for Women’s Legal Research and Consulting (CWLRC), the Culture and Free thought Association(CWLRC) and Women’s Affairs Center (GWAC).

Occupied Palestine

October 11, 2016

B’Tselem has completed an initial investigation into the IDF operation in the northern Gaza Strip. The investigation reveals that from the beginning of the operation until this afternoon (Monday October 4):

* 75 Palestinians have been killed by IDF forces. This includes 31 civilians who took no part in the fighting. Among the dead are 19 children, ages 17 and under.

* The IDF has completely demolished some 55 houses in the eastern neighborhoods of the Jabaliya refugee camp.

* Some 50 additional houses have been severely damaged.

* Some 50,000 people living in seven Palestinian neighborhoods in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya and the Jabaliya refugee camp, are under complete siege. The water and electricity supplies have been cut off and food stocks are running out.

Daud Asliya, a 33 year-old resident of the a-Sica neighborhood in the eastern part of the Jabaliya refugee camp, told B’Tselem: “Since the invasion began we have been under siege and cannot leave the house. A tank is positioned about 50 meters from my house and is intensively shelling all the time…. We have been surviving on the water that I had stored in barrels, but this has almost run out. Yesterday almost all of our food ran out, except for some bread and tea…. The children are panicked and cry around the clock.”

The Qassam rocket attacks on Sderot carried out by Palestinian militants are illegal and constitute a war crime. However, the grief for the death of Israeli civilians cannot justify such extensive harm to Palestinian civilians uninvolved in the hostilities.

B’Tselem calls on all sides involved in hostilities to respect the principles of international humanitarian law and to avoid all targeting of civilians. In addition, B’Tselem calls on the IDF to:

* Avoid firing upon combatants if such firing is liable to cause widespread civilian casualties; * Avoid destruction of houses that is not necessitated by urgent military needs; * Ensure the continuous supply of water, food and medicine, in accordance with the High Court ruling regarding the IDF operation in Rafah in May 2004

B'Tselem's report deals with one of the primary, albeit lesser known, elements of Israel's restrictions on Palestinian movement in the Occupied Territories: the prohibition on Palestinian travel along certain roads in the West Bank.

The forbidden roads regime is a slippery policy, in part because its rules and regulations have never been set in writing: not in Knesset legislation, nor in decisions of the political echelon, nor in military orders, nor in press releases, nor even in road signs warning Palestinians that their travel on a road is prohibited or restricted. The regime is based on verbal orders given to soldiers, and in practices that the IDF has employed in the West Bank since the current intifada began.

The Forbidden Roads

B'Tselem's investigation indicates that the roads subject to the regime may be classified into three categories based on the severity of the restrictions on Palestinian travel on these roads: completely prohibited, partially prohibited, and restricted use roads.

Completely prohibited roads - The first category consists of roads for the exclusive use of Israeli citizens. This includes what the IDF calls "sterile roads" where the prohibition against Palestinian travel is explicit and obvious: Israel places a staffed checkpoint through which only Israeli vehicles are allowed to pass. This category also includes roads on which travel is not possible, or pointless, because the access roads leading to and from Palestinian villages are blocked.

Partially prohibited roads - The second category includes roads on which Palestinians are allowed to travel only if they have special permits issued by the Civil Administration, or if the identity cards of the driver and passengers indicate that they are residents of villages entirely dependent on the road on which they are traveling.

Restricted use roads - The third category includes roads on which Palestinian vehicles are allowed to travel without a special permit, but access to the roads is restricted by concrete blocks and other obstacles. In most cases, a driver who wants to get onto the road has to go to an intersection where soldiers check the vehicles and persons wanting to use the road.

The roads regime is enforced through a variety of means: an aggressive and discriminatory enforcement of the traffic laws against Palestinians only, prolonged delays of Palestinians, and confiscation of Palestinian vehicles with no due process. As a result, many Palestinian drivers refrain from using even those roads nominally open to them.

Issuance of Permits

The Civil Administration and the District Civil Liaison offices (DCLs) are responsible for providing Palestinians with the permits they require to travel on various roads. This bureaucracy lacks all transparency and acts in a patently arbitrary manner. There are no fixed criteria for granting or rejecting requests for permits, so the decision is based solely on the discretion of the DCL staff.

Also, notice of rejection is given verbally and without explanation. Requests by Palestinians who are considered "prevented for security reasons" are automatically denied. Only the General Security Service can remove this ground for rejection. This being the case, the GSS exploits the applicants' need for the permits and pressures them to serve as collaborators.

Disrupting All Aspects of Life

The forbidden roads regime has forced West Bank Palestinians to use long and winding routes rather than roads that lead directly from one town or district to another. Travel on these alternate roads disrupts all aspects of daily life in the West Bank, in such areas as the economy, health, and education, and gravely affects social and family life. In addition, Palestinians suffer the insult and humiliation that are part and parcel of the measures used by Israeli security forces to enforce the discriminatory roads regime.

Israel constructed an extensive road network in order to serve the Israeli settlements. To justify expropriating privately owned Palestinian land for these roads, Israel argued that the roads would also benefit the Palestinian population. Now these same roads are completely off-limits to Palestinians.

Israel contends that the restrictions on Palestinian travel along these roads result from imperative security considerations and not from racist motivations. Indeed, since the outbreak of the intifada, in September 2000, there has been an increase in the number of attacks by Palestinian organizations against Israeli civilians inside Israel and in the Occupied Territories. More than 600 Israeli civilians, including over 100 minors, have been killed. Attacks aimed at civilians violate fundamental legal and moral norms, and constitute war crimes in international humanitarian law. The attacks are unjustifiable, regardless of the circumstances. Not only is Israel entitled to take measures to defend its citizens against such attacks, it is required to do so. However, its actions must comply with Israeli and international law.

The roads regime infringes the Palestinians' right to freedom of movement and the right to equality. Israel is therefore in breach of fundamental principles of international law set forth in treaties to which Israel is party, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racism, and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Discrimination-based separation � An Apartheid Practice

The roads regime, which is based on separation through discrimination, bears clear similarities to the racist apartheid regime that existed in South Africa until 1994. An individual's national origin determines their right to use various roads. This policy is based on a racist premise: that all Palestinians are security risks, and it is therefore justifiable to restrict their movement. Thus the policy indiscriminately harms the entire Palestinian population, in violation of their human rights and of international law.

B'Tselem demands that the government of Israel immediately end the forbidden roads regime and that it respect the right of Palestinians to freedom of movement on all roads inside the West Bank.

B'Tselem issues a new report today: The Forbidden Roads: The Discriminatory West Bank Road Regime. In its new report, B'Tselem finds that:

Israel restricts Palestinian travel on forty-one roads and sections of roads throughout the West Bank, totaling more than 700 kilometers of roadway (the report includes a detailed map of the Forbidden Roads Regime).

B'Tselem has divided the Forbidden Roads Regime into three categories of roads: "sterile roads" where Palestinian traffic is completely prohibited, roads where Palestinians require special permits, and roads with restricted access. The regime applies only to Palestinians. Israeli vehicles are allowed to travel freely along these roadways.

Permits for Palestinians to travel on restricted roads are issued at the sole discretion of the Israeli security establishment. Rejections are given verbally and without explanation. According to the head of the Civil Administration, Brig. Gen. Ilan Paz, "There are no definitive clear criteria for examining requests for a permit."

The Forbidden Roads Regime has been in operation for years, but the rules and regulations for its implementation have never been issued in writing. Thus, Israel frees itself of accountability and increases the arbitrariness with which it enforces the regime.

The Forbidden Roads Regime operates under the premise that every Palestinian is a security risk. Based on this premise, the Roads Regime violates the rights to freedom of movement and to equality of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel has an obligation to safeguard the lives of its citizens. But this obligation does not allow it to cause such harsh, extensive, indiscriminate, and prolonged harm to the local population.

By unlawfully discriminating against Palestinians based on their national origin, the Forbidden Roads Regime is reminiscent of the apartheid system that existed in South Africa. The regime violates fundamental principles of international law that are binding on the State of Israel.

B'Tselem demands that the government of Israel immediately end the Forbidden Roads Regime and that it

respect the right of Palestinians to move freely on all roads inside the West Bank.

Israeli human rights group B'Tselem issued a report on Friday elaborating on the amount of destruction caused by Israel’s military raids into Rafah over the past five days. The report also elaborated on the discrepancies between the actual destruction caused by the Israeli army’s wanton military activity and its own representation of what transpired, clearly demonstrating an Israeli attempt to downplay the amount of destruction, in particular with regard to home demolition.

According to B’Tselem’s research, at least 62 homes were demolished in the Brazil and a-Salam areas of Rafah between Thursday and Friday. Israeli army reports for the same period talk of only five buildings and hardly mention other types of destruction to local infra-structure or human casualties, focusing solely on perceived operational “success.”

A senior Israeli military officer claimed that the destruction seen in “Palestinian” footage had actually been destroyed over the course of the past three and a half years.

While talking to reporters at a briefing on Friday, Brig.-Gen. Shmuel Zakai, the Gaza division commander, described Palestinian reports of destruction in Rafah as a "well-oiled propaganda machine," adding that none of the residents were suffering from starvation.

During the hearing, the IDF claimed that medical supplies and ambulances are able to enter the camp. The IDF announced it would allow a truckload of medical equipment sent by Physicians for Human Rights Israel into the camp. The truck, which had been waiting for clearance since yesterday, entered Rafah immediately after the hearing. The judges announced their decision would be given at a later date.

Yesterday, Attorney General, Menachem Mazuz told the IDF to formulate an alternative to the plan prepared by the Southern Command for the expansion of the Philadelphi route. The original plan included the demolition of hundreds of houses along the route, which separates the Gaza Strip from Egypt. Mazuz demanded the IDF examine alternatives which would cause less harm to civilians in the area. Mazuz made these demands at a meeting he held with top IDF and Justice Ministry officials. He announced that he would convene additional meetings during the coming days to discuss the matter.

This morning, the press reported that IDF forces were pulling out of the Tel a-Sultan, Brazil and a-Salam neighborhoods of Rafah. B'Tselem continues to receive reports of humanitarian distress in the neighborhoods which remain under siege. As the IDF continues to restrict movement into and around the Rafah, some the following reports are based solely on telephone testimonies. The information provided has been verified as extensively as possible under the present circumstances. The reports are intended as examples and do not purport to provide the whole picture or the most grave events taking place in Rafah.

B'Tselem Research: IDF Destroys 62 Homes in the Brazil and a-Salam Neighborhoods

B'Tselem research reveals: Over the last two days, the IDF has demolished 62 homes in the Brazil and a-Salam neighborhoods in which 741 people lived. 44 of the homes demolished were in the Brazil neighborhood and 18 in a-Salam. These figures contradict the numbers reported by the IDF to the media. As Tel a-Sultan is still under siege, B'Tselem has been unable to ascertain how many homes the IDF demolished in the neighborhood.

An IDF bulldozer hit the house of the 'Azzam family in the Brazil neighborhood in the south of Rafah. The entire family was inside the house at the time. At around 12:30 P.M., 'Abd al-Fatah 'Azzam heard loud sounds of something being demolished nearby. The parents gathered their four children in the basement as the father reported to the Al-Mezan human rights organization and B'Tselem what was going on. Only after about three hours, did IDF soldiers allow the family to leave the house. The soldiers then blew it up.

A day earlier, an IDF bulldozer hit the home of the Bradawil family in the Tel a-Sultan neighborhood. Bilal Bardawil, age 21, told B'Tselem: “I heard the sound of a bulldozer breaking the outer door and slamming into the walls. The entire house was shaking and I thought that it was going to crash down on top of us. We heard loud knocks on the door and my mother went to open it. Dozens of soldiers were standing at the entrance. They took the ID cards of all the males in the house and demanded we expose our stomach and chest. Then they confiscated our cellular phones and gathered us all in one room. There were fourteen of us in a room of 12 meters and one window. A soldier was sitting on a chair, pointing his gun at us. The electricity was out and we didn't have any food or water. After a few hours we felt like we were going to pass out from the lack of oxygen due to the over crowding. My father who is diabetic looked weak. My mother asked the soldier to let her open the window and get food and water for the kids. He shouted at her and refused. After a few hours, a soldier came and brought water, bread and tomatoes. He allowed the children to go to the bathroom...” At 4:00 A.M., close to twenty hours after their arrival, the soldiers left the house.

Haidar Hasuna from Tel a-Sultan told B'Tselem today: “Since the army demolished our house two days ago, my family and I have been staying with our neighbors. The neighborhood's infrastructure is completely ruined. The water supply is down; the sewer system has been hit; the electricity, phone lines and roads are cut off and the asphalt has been “peeled” off the roads. The food in the houses has almost run out and all the shops are closed. Tel a-Sultan is completely surrounded. I can see tanks and bulldozers around 130 meters from my home. There are four ambulances there but they won't let them pass Now, I can see the ambulances turning around and going back.”

Hani Kashta from the a-Salam neighborhood, age 17, said yesterday: “I live about 400 meters from the Egyptian border. Ever since the tanks came into the neighborhood it's been impossible to leave the house. The streets are empty and all you hear is shooting and tanks. From my window, I can see two bulldozers uprooting our neighbor's olive trees. We're using water from our water tank because there's no water in the taps. Soon we'll run out. What little food is left will also run out soon. We're under tremendous mental pressure. We're scared. I go to high school in Rafah. I was supposed to take my final exams today.”

Woman in Labor Climbs Rope from 2nd Floor to Give Birth

On Tuesday, Asmaa Abu Ghali, resident of the Canada neighborhood in Rafah, had to climb down from the second floor on a rope on her way to give birth. Her husband, Sami Abu Ghali told B'Tselem yesterday over the phone: “She couldn't take the pain anymore and was about to give birth. I didn't know what to do. I called an ambulance, but everyone said it wouldn't be able to make it to us.”

Sami Abu Ghali spoke to nurses who live about 500 away who said they would help deliver the baby at their home. Abu Ghali said: “My wife couldn't leave the house and couldn't go down the stairs because the staircase is exposed to snipers. I had to get her down from the second floor using a rope. I got my 55-year-old mother down in the same way so she could go with her."

Abu Ghali lost contact with his wife and found out only the next day that she had given birth to a girl.

Yesterday, a Tel a-Sultan resident went into labor but could not leave her house to go to the hospital. Her sister called a local radio station and was put in touch with a physician who guided her through the labor live on air. The baby was born healthy.

Muhammad Yunis, a resident of Tel a-Sultan, told B'Tselem yesterday that his diabetic mother's insulin supply had run out on Wednesday. According to Yunis, his mother is in terrible condition since she had not taken the medicine. Yesterday morning, they got some insulin from neighbors whose son is also diabetic, but the supply had already run out by later in the day.

On Tuesday, we reported that a clinic in Tel a-Sultan had been surrounded by IDF soldiers who were preventing staff members from leaving. Later that day, staff members managed to leave the clinic on foot, leaving the ambulances behind. It was only this afternoon that coordination for the ambulances to leave was reached through the Red Cross and the Palestinian District Coordination Office. A Rafah municipality bulldozer removed the mounds of sand that had blocked the exit to the clinic's yard. At around 2:00 PM, IDF soldiers checked the ambulances and allowed them out of the complex.

Three Siblings Wounded by IDF Gunfire. Ambulance Sent to Evacuate them Sinks in IDF Dirt Mound

Yesterday at around 8:00 A.M, IDF soldiers ordered the Hassan family to leave their house in the Brazil neighborhood while waving white flags. As the family stepped onto the street, IDF soldiers fired at them from machine guns mounted on a tank. The Al-Mezan human rights organization reported that a 17-year-old daughter of the family was injured in the legs, her 15-year-old brother was hit by a bullet in the shoulder and a nine-year-old brother was lightly wounded by shrapnel.

An ambulance that was on its way to evacuate the three siblings sank in a dirt mound used by the IDF to block the road near the Bakker Mosque. B'Tselem field researchers spoke on the phone with the ambulance driver as he and the two volunteers who were with him tried to get the ambulance out and get to the wounded. Israeli soldiers in an IDF tank present at the scene were aiming their guns at the ambulance team at the time. The ambulance was eventually released at around 2:45 P.M., but did not manage to get to the Hassan family.

At present, the fate of the three injured siblings is unknown. The IDF Spokesperson claimed that the IDF had not cleared the way for the ambulance since its arrival had not been coordinated and that the passage of the ambulance was eventually made possible thanks to a tank that was present at the scene and cleared the roadblocks along the way.

Now's the Time to Act

The Attorney General has yet to finalize his decision.Write Mazuz (fax: +972-2-6274481) demanding he declares the planned house demolitions unlawful.

Following is a sample letter:

I write to express my deep concern at the government's plan to destroy hundreds of houses in the Rafah refugee camp, in order to widen the Philidelphi Route. This plan severely violates international humanitarian law, to which Israel is obligated. Israel, as the occupying force in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, is obliged to protect the local population and ensure its safety and welfare. While Israel may derogate from its obligations for military necessity, it must nevertheless balance military needs with the rights of the residents of the occupied territory. The planned demolitions will render homeless thousands of civilians who have not taken part in hostilities. I therefore urge you to determine that these planned demolitions run contrary to Israel's legal obligations.