On 14 May 2006, the Israeli High Court of Justice voted 6-5 in favor of an amendment to the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law that bars family reunification for Israelis, particularly Palestinian-Israelis, married to Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This law affects tens of thousands of couples including Palestinian-Israelis inside the Green Line and in Jerusalem, who are also subject to Israeli law and who often marry Palestinians from inside the occupied territories.

According to Amnesty International, the law violates the absolute prohibition on discrimination contained in international human rights law, notably several treaties which Israel has ratified and is obliged to uphold, including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

Israel is also violating the International Declaration of Human Rights. Article 16 of the Declaration states, “Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family,” and “The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.”

In addition, The Convention on the Nationality of Married Women, to which Israel is party, requires signatory states to enable every foreign woman married to a citizen of the state to obtain the citizenship held by her husband, at her request, through special and preferred citizenship procedures.

For Palestinian ID holders married to Israeli citizens or permanent residents of Jerusalem, this means they must either build their family outside of the country or choose to live “illegally” inside Israel, which subjects them to the constant threat of arrest, deportation and harassment. In addition, living illegally means they are not entitled to any rights of a resident/citizen and cannot therefore work, drive or conduct otherwise routine everyday actions.

Hence, we the undersigned call on the relevant parties (the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process & Personal Representative of the Secretary General, the Middle East Quartet, the Israeli High Court of Justice, and the Office of the Israeli Prime Minister) to have this discriminatory law annulled, insomuch that it prohibits Palestinian families to live in peace and prosperity with their spouses inside Israel and Jerusalem and which contravenes all laws of humanity, which respect the sanctity of the family unit. This is especially true in regards to the right of children to be brought up in a stable home without the risk of deportation and harassment on the sole basis of nationality.

The following petition has been instituted by Mossawa, The Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel. Please consider signing the petition, and passint it on.

To: All elected governments

On July 31st, 2003, the Israeli Knesset passed the Nationality and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order) 2003 prohibiting citizenship, permanent residency and/or temporary residency status to West Bank/Gaza Palestinians married to Israeli citizens. Nearly all of the affected Israeli families are Arab. According to Israel's Ministry of Interior, the law, to be applied retroactively, will affect 21,298 families. The law also denies citizenship to children born of an Israeli citizen and resident of the Occupied Territories. Via special permission from Israel's Interior Minister children will be allowed to remain with their family in Israel until the age of 12, when the child will be uprooted and forced to leave the state.

This law is considered a new level of human rights violations by the State of Israel, taking into consideration the 27 Arab citizens killed by Security Forces since October 2000 and the ongoing social, economic and political discrimination against Arab citizens. Israel's expressed security concerns related to a handful of cases, does not justify the collective punishment of over 100,000 innocent individuals. Civil rights attorneys point out that the law will not apply to settlers in the West Bank/Gaza.

The Nationality and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order) 2003 violates Israel's commitment to the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination's (ICERD) basic condemnation of racial discrimination described in articles 1, 2, and 3. The current law also relates to Article 5.d. (iv): "States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, color, or national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of the right to marriage and choice of spouse."

The current law builds upon a series of attempts by the State to limit the number of Palestinians with Israeli citizenship. As of September 2000, the issuing of residence permits for Palestinian spouses has been effectively frozen. On May 12, 2002, the Israeli cabinet formalized and expanded this policy "in light of the security situation and because of the implications of the immigration and the establishment in Israel of foreigners of Palestinian descent" (Government Decision no. 1813).

The bill highlights the "demographic debate" in Israeli society, characterized by questions of citizenship, immigration and fertility policy. Former Minister of Interior, Shas member Eli Yishai often presented his view that Arab families present "a demographic threat" to the maintenance of a Jewish majority in Israel. In 2002, Yishai reinstated the Demographic Council, a body charged with the goal of maintaining a demographic balance (i.e. a Jewish majority) in Israel. The Demographic Council recommended discouraging growth of families by cutting child-subsidies; at the same, it advocated the launching of programs encouraging Jewish births.

Therefore, we the undersigned world citizens condemn the Israeli government's passage of the Nationality and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order) 2003 and the multiple human rights violations it represents. We call upon our elected leadership to continue expressing opposition to the law by taking steps towards suspension of economic relations with the State of Israel.

Sincerely,
The Undersigned

The National Initiative to Resist the Wall

Dear Sir/Madame,

On June 23rd 2002, Israel started the construction of what it calls a “security fence,” but what the world overwhelmingly recognizes as a “separation or colonization wall.” This wall is to be built in three phases and by the time it is finished, 55% of the West Bank would be captured. The West Bank which includes east Jerusalem makes up 22% of historical Palestine and along with Gaza is intended to form a future viable and independent state for the Palestinians is accordance with President Bush’s June 2001 vision of two states living side by side in peace.

The construction of the “colonization wall” is a grave violation of human rights, international law, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention, and most importantly the international will. The Wall will seize the wealthiest Palestinian agricultural land and will manage to increase the area available for the development of illegal settlements built on privately owned Palestinian land. The Wall is designed to grant Israel control over the water resources which exist on the western and eastern sides of the West Bank. The western and eastern sides will become “security zones” providing linkage between the Green Line and the Jordan Valley while dividing the Palestinian urban areas and neighborhoods into isolated communities, which are completely surrounded by Israel.

The myth that this wall separates Palestinians form Israelis needs to be addressed. In the first phase alone, the route of the wall moved into Palestinian territories some 20 kilometers at some points in order to incorporate illegal Jewish settlements built near the Green Line, while leaving 23 settlements, home to 196,000 Israeli settlers on the Palestinian side of the wall and inside the Jerusalem envelope.

The already constructed northern part of the Wall has resulted in the uprooting of 83,000 trees, the damaging of 35,000 meters of irrigation networks and the demolishing of 280 Palestinian homes. Frighteningly, these numbers are expected to at least triple by the time the wall is completed.

This wall is a direct violation of Palestinian rights guaranteed by the UN Declaration of Human Rights. The right of movement has been severely impacted by the gates and electronic fences that are accompanied by remote controlled machine guns to assure that no one living close to the wall can move around. Concomitantly, the right to work and have an adequate standard of living has been gravely curtailed, as Palestinians are imprisoned behind concrete walls. Moreover, the right to property has all but disappeared as 55% of the land belonging to the Palestinians that forms a significant part of the West Bank will be confiscated by Israel. Last but not least, the right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of mental or physical health and education has been devastated by the inherent lack of resources brought on by the above restrictions.

Israel has disclosed plans that it intends to annex the strategic Jordan River Valley to Israel. A senior Israeli official said the plan for the wall that would cut the Jordan River Valley off from the rest of West Bank has been approved. Nineteen small illegal Israeli settlements dot the Jordan River Valley, a parched, hot strip of barren land punctuated by two main oases — the Palestinian towns of Jericho and Jiftliq.

Palestinians and the international community, including the US, fear the partition's route will harden into a de facto border and prejudice negotiations. It is clear to the international community that’s this wall encroaches beyond its ‘security’ purpose. It goes along with Sharon’s long-standing concept of a permanent arrangement with the Palestinians that would give them control over populated enclaves around the West Bank, while ensuring that Israel would maintain control over the entire periphery.

President Bush was quoted as saying: “there is a difference between security and land acquisition.” It is that kind of leadership and stance we expect from the protector of human rights, international law and democratic values, which should apply to all. While the American administration has been vocal in its opposition of the wall, it has been weak in its actions, resulting in growing mistrust for the American role and evenhandedness in making Middle East peace. It is time to take a stance with justice and with human rights. It is time to think of the future and put an end to this land theft for the sake of true peace in the region.

We call upon you, our world leaders and the Israeli Prime Minister to take a brave stance for justice and human rights. One can only lead through good will and equality for only then can one trust others’ intentions and cooperate accordingly. “With great powers come great responsibilities,” so we turn to you to save the Palestinian existence along with what is left of Palestinian land. Without justice there can never be peace, we simply turn to you and expect from you to uphold the values you preach and give peace a chance.

JERUSALEM, 31 May 2006 – THE UNITED NATIONS and a number of NGOs operating in the occupied Palestinian territory today launched an emergency Appeal for additional funding in the face of a deepening humanitarian crisis.

With the Palestinian Authority operating at only a quarter of its 2005 budget, access to food, jobs and basic services are seriously under threat.

The worsening situation has prompted humanitarian agencies to revise upwards their 2006 emergency Appeal by 80 per cent – from $215million to $385 million. The bulk of the new funding will go towards boosting emergency employment programmes, expanding food aid and increasing the amount spent on essential medical supplies to cover shortages.

“We have been compelled to revise our original Appeal in the face of the desperate need. It is particularly aimed at assisting the most vulnerable Palestinians, including children who make up half the population”, said David Shearer, Head of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

“The World Food Programme warns that growing numbers of people are unable to cover their daily food needs and other agencies report basic services such as health care and education are deteriorating and set to worsen much further”, he added.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen Koning AbuZayd says that “the impact of the deteriorating economic conditions is becoming visible by the day.”A clear sign is the dramatic increase in demands for emergency employment under our programmes," she says. "Over 100,000 refugees are waiting in line to get short-term jobs in Gaza, and the same programme in the West Bank has seen an increase of 600% in applications compared to April last year. In the West Bank, we normally get 1,500 applications for teachers' jobs every year - this year we are already at 5,000."

Humanitarian agencies revised the emergency Appeal to international donors in the wake of:

• The non-payment of salaries since March to 152,000 Palestinian Authority workers, including hospital staff and teachers
• Shortages in basic services, including medical care
• The prospect of violence increasing as a result of factional in-fighting and growing desperation in the wake of job losses
• The increasing restrictions imposed by Israel on Palestinian movement that has stifled the economy

“The humanitarian community is not in a position to provide the full range services offered by the Palestinian Authority – and has no ambitions to do so. But we are anxious to help support those structures that have delivered services such as health and education so effectively over many years and to which donors have contributed more than $7bn,” said David Shearer.

For more information please contact

- Gina Benevento, UNRWA, 054-240-2631, 059-9-428008
- Juliette Touma, OCHA, 054-81-555-46
- Chris Gunness, UNSCO, 054-5-627-825

This paper examines the humanitarian risks in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the coming months. It warns of an extremely bleak humanitarian situation for the Palestinian people.

The analysis has been organised according to three scenarios. Scenario 1 reflects the current situation. A more critical forecast is related to the withdrawal of funding to the Palestinian Authority (PA). This has prompted humanitarian agencies to initiate planning based on two further scenarios (2 and 3).

Scenario 1 The current situation follows patterns in recent months where restrictions on Palestinian movement and access to services continue and Israeli security measures have intensified. At the end of 2005, the UN and other humanitarian agencies launched a Consolidated Appeal for $215m to meet emergency needs arising from this situation. For the first three months of this year, this Appeal has largely been under-funded – funds received to date stand at 8%.1 Consequently agencies have not been able to implement many planned programmes.

Scenario 2 Israeli-enforced movement restrictions and security measures continue and the Palestinian Authority's (PA) budget and services are only partially funded.

Scenario 3 Continued movement restrictions and security measures and the PA budget and services are not funded at all.

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Introduction

1. Established in 1968 by General Assembly resolution 2443 (XXIII), the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories is composed of three Member States.

2. These Member States are Sri Lanka (represented by the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, H.E. Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam, serving as Chairperson; on 1 April 2005, he replaced the former Chairman of the Committee, H.E. Ambassador Bernard A. B. Goonetilleke); Senegal (represented by the Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations Office at Geneva, H.E. Ambassador Ousmane Camara); and Malaysia (represented by the Alternate Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the United Nations, H.E. Ambassador Mohd Radzi Abdul Rahman, who, as of 25 May 2005, replaced the former member of the Committee, H.E. Ambassador Rastam Mohd Isa).

3. The Special Committee reports to the Secretary-General. Its reports are reviewed in the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) of the General Assembly.

Mandate

4. The mandate of the Special Committee, as set out in resolution 2443 (XXIII) and subsequent resolutions, is to investigate Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the population of the occupied territories. For the purposes of the present report, the occupied territories are those remaining under Israeli occupation, namely the occupied Syrian Golan, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. The persons covered by resolution 2443 (XXIII) and therefore the subject of the investigation of the Special Committee are the civilian population residing in the areas occupied as a result of the hostilities of June 1967 and those persons normally resident in the areas that are under occupation but who left those areas because of the hostilities.

5. The human rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs in the occupied territories are referred to by the Security Council in its resolution 237 (1967) as “essential and inalienable human rights” and also find their legal basis in the protection afforded by international law, in particular in such circumstances as military occupation and, in the case of prisoners of war, capture. By resolution 3005 (XXVII), the General Assembly requested the Special Committee to investigate as well allegations concerning the exploitation and the looting of the resources of the occupied territories, the pillaging of its archaeological and cultural heritage and interferences in the freedom of worship in its holy places. 6. The “policies” and “practices” affecting human rights that come within the scope of investigation by the Special Committee refer, in the case of “policies”, to any course of action consciously adopted and pursued by the Government of Israel as part of its declared or undeclared intent; while “practices” refer to those actions which, irrespective of whether or not they were in implementation of a policy, reflect a pattern of behaviour on the part of the Israeli authorities towards the civilian population in the occupied areas.

7. The Special Committee bases its work on human rights standards and obligations as defined in particular by the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War and the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, the Hague Convention of 14 May 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, and the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land. The Special Committee also relies on those resolutions relevant to the situation of civilians in the occupied territories adopted by the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission on Human Rights.

8. As in previous years, the General Assembly, in its resolution 59/121 requested “the Special Committee, pending complete termination of the Israeli occupation, to continue to investigate Israeli policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967, especially Israeli violations of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, and to consult, as appropriate, with the International Committee of the Red Cross according to its regulations in order to ensure that the welfare and human rights of the peoples of the occupied territories are safeguarded and to report to the Secretary-General as soon as possible and whenever the need arises thereafter”. The Assembly also requested the Special Committee “to continue to investigate the treatment of prisoners and detainees in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967”.

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Summary

During the past year, Israel’s decision to withdraw Jewish settlers and troops from Gaza has attracted the attention of the international community. This focus of attention on Gaza has allowed Israel to continue with the construction of the wall in Palestinian territory, the expansion of settlements and the de-Palestinization of Jerusalem with virtually no criticism. This report focuses principally on these matters.

Although uncertainty surrounds the full extent and consequences of Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, it seems clear that Gaza will remain occupied territory subject to the provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilians in Time of War, of 12 August 1949 (Fourth Geneva Convention) as a result of Israel’s continued control of the borders of Gaza. The withdrawal of Jewish settlers from Gaza will result in the decolonization of Palestinian territory but not result in the end of occupation.

In its advisory opinion of 9 July 2004, the International Court of Justice held that the wall currently being built by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is contrary to international law. It accordingly held that construction of the wall should cease and that those sections of the wall that had been completed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory should be dismantled. The Government of Israel has paid no heed to the advisory opinion and continues with the construction of the wall.

The wall has serious consequences for Palestinians living in the neighbourhood of the wall. Many thousands are separated from their agricultural lands by the wall and are denied permits to access their lands. Even those who are granted permits frequently find that gates within the wall do not open as scheduled. As a result, Palestinians are gradually leaving land and homes that they have occupied for generations.

Most Jewish settlers in the West Bank are now situated between the Green Line (the accepted border between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory) and the wall. Moreover, existing settlements in this zone — known as the “closed zone” — are expanding and new settlements are being built. Emboldened by the support they receive from the Government and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), settlers have become more aggressive towards Palestinians and settler violence is on the increase.

The construction of the wall, the de-Palestinization of the “closed zone” and the expansion of settlements make it abundantly clear that the wall is designed to be the border of the State of Israel and that the land of the “closed zone” is to be annexed.

Israel has embarked upon major changes in Jerusalem in order to make the city more Jewish. Jewish settlements within East Jerusalem are being expanded and plans are afoot to link Jerusalem with the settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim with a population of 35,000, which will effectively cut the West Bank in two. Palestinian contiguity in East Jerusalem is being destroyed by the presence of Jewish settlements and byhouse demolitions. Some 55,000 Palestinians presently resident in the municipal area of East Jerusalem have been transferred to the West Bank by the construction of the wall. The clear purpose of these changes is to remove any suggestion that East Jerusalem is a Palestinian entity capable of becoming the capital of a Palestinian State.

The international community has proclaimed the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the need to create a Palestinian State living side by side in peace and security with Israel. This vision is unattainable without a viable Palestinian territory. The construction of the wall, the expansion of settlements and the de-Palestinization of Jerusalem threaten the viability of a Palestinian State.

The occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory continues to result in major violations of human rights. There are some 8,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, whose treatment is alleged to fall well below internationally accepted standards. Freedom of movement is radically undermined by over 600 military checkpoints. Social and economic rights are violated. A quarter of the Palestinian population is unemployed and half the population lives below the official poverty line. Health and education services suffer and Palestinians have severe difficulties in accessing safe water. Housing remains a serious problem as a result of house demolitions conducted by the IDF in previous years. Women suffer disproportionately from these violations of human rights.

In 2004 the International Court of Justice handed down an advisory opinion in which it condemned as illegal not only the construction of the wall but many features of the Israeli administration of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The advisory opinion was endorsed by the General Assembly on 20 July 2004 in resolution ES- 10/15. Since then little effort has been made by the international community to compel Israel to comply with its legal obligations as expounded by the International Court. The Quartet, comprising the United Nations, the European Union, the United States of America and the Russian Federation, appears to prefer to conduct its negotiations with Israel in terms of the so-called road map with no regard to the advisory opinion. The road map seems to contemplate the acceptance of certain sections of the wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the inclusion of major Jewish settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in Israeli territory. This process places the United Nations in an awkward situation as it clearly cannot be a party to negotiations that ignore the advisory opinion of its own judicial organ.

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