WEST BANK AND GAZA
Israel’s overall human rights record in the West
Bank and Gaza remained poor and worsened in
the treatment of foreign human rights activists.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) also had a poor
human rights record. Israel’s security forces
killed at least 573 Palestinians and one foreign
national and injured 2,992 Palestinians and other
persons during the year. Israeli security units
often used excessive force in their operations that
resulted in numerous deaths. Israel carried out
policies of demolitions, strict curfews and closures
that directly punished innocent civilians.
Israeli forces often impeded the provision of
medical assistance to Palestinian civilians by
strict enforcement of internal closures, harassed
and abused Palestinian pedestrians and drivers at
the approximately 430 Israeli-controlled
points in the occupied territories and conducted
mass, arbitrary arrests in the West Bank. Israel
restricted the freedom of the Palestinian media
and placed strict limits on freedom of assembly
and movement for Palestinians.
The PA continued to commit numerous, serious
abuses. Palestinian terrorists and gunmen were
responsible for the deaths of 376 Israelis killed in
the occupied territories. Many members of
Palestinian security services and the Fatah faction
of the Palestine Liberation Organization participated
with civilians and terrorist groups in violent
attacks against Israeli civilians inside Israel,
Israeli settlers, foreign nationals and soldiers.
Palestinian security forces used excessive force
against Palestinians during demonstrations. PA
security officials abused prisoners and arbitrarily
arrested and detained persons. PA courts were
inefficient and failed to ensure fair and expeditious
trials, and PA executive and security services
frequently ignored or failed to enforce court
decisions. Internal closure in the occupied territories
obstructed courts from holding sessions or
issuing rulings. The PA security forces infringed
on the right to privacy and restricted freedom of
speech and the press.
The U.S. human rights and democracy strategy
for the West Bank and Gaza supported implementation
of President Bush’s two-state vision, the
end of violence and the restart of a political
process within Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.
The United States utilized bilateral and multilateral
diplomacy to emphasize the unacceptability
of violence on all sides and demand PA actions
against terrorism in the West Bank and Gaza as
well as in Israel. The Roadmap explicitly calls
on both parties to end incitement, and calls on the
Palestinians to undertake comprehensive reforms.
U.S. programs worked to improve the rule of law
in the West Bank and Gaza. Approximately $1.9
million in assistance was provided to introduce
advanced caseload management techniques and
equipment to seven Palestinian courts. This same
program improved the capabilities of the
Palestinian Attorney General’s office, helping the
state prosecutor’s office modernize its administrative
functions and raise its technical capacity.
Programs offered judicial training, specifically
addressing complex areas of modern law such as
international property rights, international banking,
commercial transactions and ethics.
Assistance further helped establish two
Alternative Dispute Resolution centers that are available to mediate and arbitrate legal claims outside the court system.
U.S. officials continued to encourage Palestinian
legislators to pursue governmental reform.
Video-conferencing equipment financed by the
U.S. Agency for International Development
enabled the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)
to deliberate and conduct parliamentary sessions
despite frequent closures and travel restrictions in
the West Bank and Gaza. Such sessions included
the historic Spring 2003 session during which the
PLC revised the Palestinian Basic Law to create
the position of the Prime Minister. In addition,
the United States funded other programs totaling
approximately $3 million to strengthen the institution
of the PLC. Assistance improved its capacity
to conduct oversight of the executive branch,
raised the quality of its lawmaking, deepened its
management controls and capacity and extended
its reach to ensure that the PLC effectively represented
the interests of its constituents.
Other funding supported preparations for
Palestinian elections, including assistance for
women candidates and women’s political organizations,
and training in building and promoting
political platforms. These activities offered leadership
and organizational training to emerging
young Palestinian activists, mid-career managers
and mid-level government workers.
Support for civil society development in the West
Bank and Gaza remained a U.S. priority, and its
flagship program, “Tamkeen,” was allocated $33
million for 2000-2005. To date, the project has
awarded 193 grants totaling $10 million to
Palestinian civil society organizations to promote
democracy and provide training in advocacy,
finance and strategy. A $1 million “Moderate
Voices” project supported Palestinian civil society
organizations that have developed creative means,
including a popular radio soap opera series, to
teach non-violence, conflict resolution and mediation.
The U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative
helped launch an Arab Civitas project to introduce
civic education into Palestinian schools.
The United States provided assistance to
strengthen media professionalism, content and
independence. Programs provided instruction to
print journalists on investigative reporting and
trained television media professionals on the production
and airing of topical talk shows.
Public diplomacy programs sought to improve
human rights awareness in the West Bank and
Gaza among all citizens. The Consulate General
in Jerusalem hosted numerous speakers on the
topics of rule of law and democratization, sponsored
Palestinians’ participation in international
conferences addressing these topics and provided
books and other publications in Arabic and
English on human rights and democracy to local
schools, libraries, PA officials and other contacts.
Palestinians were also regular participants in the
Salzburg Seminar, International Visitor and
Fulbright Summer Institute programs, which
focused on democracy and human rights topics.
The State Department’s Bureau of Population,
Refugees and Migration administered $1.4 million
in special projects to promote human rights,
tolerance and conflict resolution skills among
Palestinian refugee children. Under a multi-year
grant to the UN Relief and Works Agency
(UNRWA) for Palestine refugees, projects introduced
supplementary educational materials and
peer mediation training in all UNRWA schools in
the West Bank and Gaza in grades 4 through 9.
The materials included illustrated storybooks that
introduce basic concepts of human rights, tolerance
and responsibility for one’s actions as well
as worksheets that introduce human rights and
tolerance concepts at pre-selected points in the
Palestinian curriculum.