Physicians for Human Rights-Israel and "Machsom Watch" have released a new report today entitled "The Bureaucracy of Occupation". The focus of the report is on the District Coordination Offices (DCOs) which are responsible, inter alias, for issuing passage permits and traveling permits to Palestinian residents of the Occupied Territories- and thus have a great affect on the populations' health.

Data:

* 16 Israeli DCO clerks are responsible for all the residents of the West Bank- approximately 2 million people.

* 3 additional DCO clerks are responsible for health in the West Bank and 3 more for Gaza with a population of about 1.2 million.

* Only about 2.4% of the West Bank residents received permits allowing some freedom of movement inside the West Bank .

* Freedom of movement is needed to maintain a proper health system.

* Palestinians are denied freedom of movement, even for health reasons, due to "security concerns", in an arbitrary manner.

* The report gives an in depth analysis of 4 Israeli DCOs and 3 Palestinian DCOs.

* The Palestinian DCOs cannot issue permits.

* The denial of freedom of movement is a human rights violation. The DCOs, together with the permit policy, are a mechanism allowing for human rights abuses to take place.

* A new movie (DVD format) is available from Machsom Watch and PHR-Israel - the film shows what takes place at the DCOs. Summary

For over a decade Physicians for Human Rights-Israel has been involved in the issue of freedom of movement in the Occupied Territories , specifically in relation to the right to health. In the last three and a half years the situation has deteriorated tremendously. Currently, nearly all Palestinian movement in the Occupied Territories , or from the Occupied Territories to Occupied East Jerusalem or to Israel , is dependant on permits which are issued by the DCOs. Machsom Watch women monitor the events taking place at various checkpoints and their research was crucial for this report.

The new report, entitled "The Bureaucracy of Occupation", discusses the theory behind establishing the DCO, the structure of the system and the reality of the DCOs in day to day activity. For example, according to the agreements from 1995, Israel only has the right to restrict Palestinian movement from the Occupied Territories to Israel and according to the Declaration of Principles from 1993 "the two sides view the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as a single territorial unit, whose integrity will be preserved". Even so, the passage between Gaza and the West Bank was allowed only if the traveler held the proper permit- this was the case even prior to September 2000. Similarly, travel to East Jerusalem was conditioned upon obtaining the proper permit.

In addition, Israel constantly restricted the movement of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories and continues to do so today, with the use of hundreds of checkpoints, roadblocks and gates located throughout the Occupied Territories . The large majority of these obstructions and barriers divide areas within the Occupied Territories and not between them and Israel . Only slightly over two percent of the Palestinians were able to obtain permits in the past year- thus about 98% were simply not allowed freedom of movement at any level- proving that the permit system failed to create even an illusion of normal civil life.

In the West Bank there are 8 Israeli DCOs. At each DCO there are two clerks who handle permit issues. Thus, approximately two million Palestinians are reliant on the good will of 16 clerks. For health related issues three additional people- a Health Coordinator, a secretary and an assistant- are added. For the over 1.2 million people in Gaza there are another three such people

The report discusses the arbitrary actions of the DCOs towards the Palestinian civilian population. For example, in many cases people are deemed "security blocked" and are unable to receive a permit- in many cases, however, the intervention of rights groups can change this. With this in mind, it should be clear that people can be considered a security risk through no fault of their own. For instance: "if your brother was killed by the IDF, whether by accident or not- you will likely be blocked, since the probability of you committing an attack has risen" (Yedioth Aharonot Newspaper, 23 January 2004).

The report also goes into an in depth look at 4 of the Israeli DCOs in the West Bank: Hebron , Etsion, Hawara and Qdumim. The Palestinian DCOs are also discussed in the report. Three Palestinain DCOs are examined in great detail. In addition to examining the connection between the Israeli DCOs and the restrictions on movement , the report also looks at the various types of permits and clearances- including permits for health reasons- that can be granted by the Israeli DCOs; the Palestinian DCOs cannot grant permits.

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel and Machsom Watch repeat at this opportunity their objection to any restrictions on freedom of movement inside the Occupied Territories , and believe that this policy must end immediately. The organizations also inherently oppose all aspects of the permit policy. The DCOs, as explained in the report, are part of the occupation and are another mechanism that violates human rights.