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Israeli Violations of
International Law
Compiled by Thomas
Free Palestine Now!
01/21/03
Fourth
Geneva Convention Article 33 (ratified by Israel July 1951)
No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not
personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of
intimidation or terrorism are prohibited.
Israeli Violations: Israel has decided to use collective punishment in the
occupied territories by forcibly demolishing the homes of innocent
civilians who happen to be related to Palestinian suicide bombers. These
men, women, and children have no part in the decision of a relative to
become a suicide bomber, and defiantly do not aid that person in his
endeavor. These men, women, and children are subsequently left homeless
and destitute by the Israeli military in a system of collective
punishment. In addition to this, during the first Palestinian Intifada the
Israeli military closed all Palestinian schools for three years as a
collective punishment on schoolchildren. In terms of intimidation and
state sponsored terrorism, the Israeli military often intimidates
Palestinian civilians with indiscriminate fire into housing developments,
at shoppers in markets, and into civilians on the streets. The Israeli
military also intimidates the Palestinian people by randomly firing
missiles and dropping bombs into densely packed residential neighborhoods
(in the quest to extra-judiciously murder Palestinian activists), often
resulting in the deaths of countless innocent civilians.
Fourth Geneva Convention Article 39 (Ratified by Israel July 1951)
Where a party to the conflict applies to a protected person methods of
control which result in his being unable to support himself...is prevented
for reasons of security from finding paid employment...the said party
shall ensure his support and that of his dependents.
Israeli Violations: The Israeli military has instituted an economic and
physical stranglehold over the occupied territories. In many areas Israel
has implemented a 24-hour curfew. This curfew and the many others like it
instituted in most Palestinian areas of the illegally occupied territories
prevents any and all Palestinians from working and traveling to their
jobs. In addition to this the Israeli army has actively been embarked upon
a campaign of forcibly shutting down or destroying Palestinian businesses,
forcing Palestinian workers to search for work inside Israel. The Israeli
army has now forcibly stopped all Palestinians from working inside Israel.
The Israeli military has not provided support for the Palestinians it has
put out of work due to their occupation, in fact they have made it their
goal to force as many Palestinians out of work as possible, and not give
them any compensation in return. Palestinian olive farmers in the occupied
territories also have to contend with Israeli settlers who routinely tear
down the Palestinians olive trees and assault Palestinian and western
workers who attempt to harvest the olives.
Geneva Convention Article 49 (Ratified by Israel July 1951)
Part I: An occupier does not have any sovereignty over an occupied
territory.
Israeli Violations: Israel has illegally annexed the Palestinian territory
of East Jerusalem captured in 1967. They now call all of Jerusalem “The
undivided and eternal capital of the Israeli State”
Part II: The occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own
civilian population into the territory it occupies.
Israeli Violations: The Israeli government has made it part of government
policy to offer tax breaks and tax incentives to any and all Israeli
citizens who want to colonize the Occupied Territories. Since the
occupation of the territories began in 1967 hundreds of thousands of
Israeli settlers have been transferred to the territories in an Israeli
attempt to change the ethnic makeup of the areas to a point where they can
be annexed into Israeli territory. The lands are forcibly appropriated by
the Israeli government acting through the Israeli military, and then
populated by Settlers from Israel. The Settlements are racially segregated
from the rest of the Palestinian population of the occupied territories
and defended by the Israeli military. Often times Palestinian olive groves
are destroyed to make way for the settlements, Palestinian water supplies
diverted to feed the swimming pools of the settlers, and Palestinian roads
destroyed or occupied by the Israeli military to provide “security” to
the settlement.
Part III: Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations
of protected persons from occupied territory...are prohibited regardless
of their motive.
Israeli Violations: Two times in the past century the Israeli military and
government has actively involved itself in transferring the Palestinian
occupants of its territory out of its newly acquired territories. In 1948
when the Israeli state was created, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians
were forcibly removed from their homes inside what was to become the state
of Israel and forced to become international refugees. These lands have
never been offered back, or compensation returned for them. In 1967 when
Israel conquered the Palestinian areas of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip
and East Jerusalem from the Jordanian and Egyptian militaries
respectively, they engaged on another period of forcible transfer, this
time directed at the Palestinian occupants of the newly conquered West
Bank and Gaza Strip and the newly annexed territory of East Jerusalem.
Part IV: No acquisition of land purposed for settlement or to provide
services to settlers.
Israeli Violations: Since 1967 the Israeli government has set up thousands
settlements now containing over 300,000 settlers in the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip all on lands illegally acquired for settlement by the Israeli
military. This also includes the acquisition of roads for Israeli
settlers, the establishment of thousands of military checkpoints to
control the movement of everybody but the settlers, the acquisition of
Palestinian water supplies for use in the settlements.
Geneva Convention Article 53 (ratified by Israel July 1951)
Any destruction by the occupying power of real or personal property is
prohibited.
Israeli Violations: During the Israeli military occupation of Palestine
Israel has destroyed thousands of buildings; Civilian, political, and
commercial. Included in these destructions are Palestinian offices, banks,
schools, police stations, radio and television stations, as well as
hundreds of civilian houses and farms. The most prime example of this is
the destruction of the Palestinian airport. In addition to these
destructions there is widespread evidence of massive looting by the
Israeli military in the wake of their destruction of Palestinian
infrastructure and property.
Geneva Convention Article 55 (Ratified by Israel July 1951)
The occupying power has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies
of the population: it should, in particular, bring in the necessary
foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of the
occupied territory are inadequate.
Israeli Violations: Far from supplying the medical and food needs of the
Palestinians in the occupied territories, Israel has deliberately cut off
the occupied territories from adequate supplies and international aid
groups. Palestinians face dire food shortages as 24-hour Israeli military
curfews force them to miss work, and not be able to procure food for their
families. The Israeli military also has cut off the occupied territories
from regular supplies of medicine from the international community. Almost
all childbirths have to be performed in home as Palestinian doctors are
swamped with sickness, and malnutrition on top of horrific war type
injuries inflicted upon the civilians by Israeli gunfire, tank fire,
missiles, bombs, and rockets.
Geneva Convention Article 56 (Ratified by Israel July 1951)
The occupying power has the duty of ensuring and maintaining...the medical
and hospital establishments and services, public health and hygiene in the
occupied territory...Medical personnel of all categories shall be allowed
to carry out their duties.
Israeli Violations: In addition to the Israeli military firing on a
hospital, the Israeli military forces Palestinian ambulances to wait at
the thousands of Israeli checkpoints littering the Occupied territories.
This process can often take hours, in which time the Palestinian patient
in the ambulance often dies. This takes an exceptional toll on women
having problems giving birth and the transport to hospitals of the
hundreds of Palestinians injured each day by the Israeli military.
Ambulances are often fired on by Israeli military forces whilst on their
way to collect the Palestinian dead and injured from the streets. At
points during the Israeli military re-occupation of Palestinian towns,
ambulance crews were detained and forced to be human shields for Israelis
going door to door to kill and abduct Palestinians.
1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Everyone has a right to nationality.
Israeli violations: Palestinian occupants of the occupied territories are
denied the right to have a nation of their own, yet they are also denied
the rights to become citizens of their occupying government, Israel. The
Palestinians live in limbo as stateless peoples militarily occupied by a
foreign government through a brutal military.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 9(1)
(ratified by Israel 1991)
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention
Israeli Violations: Israel routinely conducts random arrests of
Palestinians in the occupied territories. Very few actually have committed
any crime, and some may stay detained with little or no outside contact
with their relatives for as long as the Israeli army and government deem
fit. These detentions without trial can sometime last numbers of years.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article
12(1)(ratified by Israel 1991)
Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that
territory, have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his
residence.
Israeli Violations: The Israeli government has implemented a system of
checkpoint criss-crossing the occupied territories. Palestinians are given
one color licence plate and settlers another color. The settlers go
straight through all of the checkpoints, while the cars with Palestinian
plates have to wait upwards of 2 hours at each checkpoint whilst the whole
time being verbally abused by Israeli soldiers, searched, researched, and
often turned back with no reason. A simple 20-minute drive from ones home
to the city market takes upwards of three hours for a Palestinian. In
addition to this the illegal settlements constructed by the Israeli
government in the occupied territories a racially pure; Palestinians and
anyone of Arab decent is forbidden from buying homes in these illegal
settlements. Palestinians are even forbidden from coming within a certain
distance of the settlements that used to be their lands.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 26(ratified
by Israel 1991)
All Persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any
discrimination to equal Protection of the Law
U.N. Resolution 465 of 1980 “we determine that all measures taken by
Israel to change the physical character, demographic composition,
institutional structure or status of the Palestinian and other Arab
territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, or any part thereof,
have no legal validity and that Israel's policy and practices of settling
parts of its population and new immigrants in those territories constitute
a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the
Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and also constitute a
serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace
in the Middle East.
UN Security council Resolution 242 of 1967 “Calls for the withdrawal of
Israeli forces from territories occupied in the war that year and
"the acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and
political independence of every state in the area and their right to live
in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts
of force."
UN Security Council Resolution 446 of 1979 “Determines that the policy
and practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and
other Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity and
constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and
lasting peace in the Middle East."
UN General Assembly Resolution 194 of 1948 “Resolves that the refugees
wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors
should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that
compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to
return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of
international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or
authorities responsible."
UN General Assembly Resolution 3236 of 1974 “Affirms "the
inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in Palestine...to
self-determination without external interference" and "to
national independence and sovereignty."
UN Security Council Resolution 1397 of 2002 “Affirms "a vision of a
region where two states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within
secure and recognized borders."
The Rome statute of the International Criminal Court (1998) "the
transfer directly or indirectly by the Occupying power of parts of its own
civilian population into the territory it occupies" as a War Crime
indictable by the International Criminal Court
Resolution 106: condemns Israel for Gaza raid.
Resolution 127: recommends Israel suspend its no-man's zone' in Jerusalem.
Resolution 162: urges Israel to comply with UN decisions.
Resolution 237: urges Israel to allow return of new 1967 Palestinian
refugees.
Resolution 250: calls on Israel to refrain from holding military parade in
Jerusalem.
Resolution 251: deeply deplores Israeli military parade in Jerusalem in
defiance of Resolution
Resolution 252: declares invalid Israel's acts to unify Jerusalem as
Jewish capital.
Resolution 259: deplores Israel's refusal to accept UN mission to probe
occupation.
Resolution 271: condemns Israel's failure to obey UN resolutions on
Jerusalem.
Resolution 444: deplores Israel's lack of cooperation with UN peacekeeping
forces.
Resolution 446: determines that Israeli settlements are a serious
obstruction to peace and calls on Israel to abide by the Fourth Geneva
Convention
Resolution 452: calls on Israel to cease building settlements in occupied
territories.
Resolution 465: deplores Israel's settlements and asks all member states
not to assist its settlements program.
Resolution 468: calls on Israel to rescind illegal expulsions of two
Palestinian mayors and a judge and to facilitate their return.
Resolution 469: strongly deplores Israel's failure to observe the
council's order not to deport Palestinians.
Resolution 471: expresses deep concern at Israel's failure to abide by the
Fourth Geneva Convention.
Resolution 476: reiterates that Israel's claim to Jerusalem is null and
void.
Resolution 478: censures (Israel) in the strongest terms for its claim to
Jerusalem in its Basic Law.
Resolution 484: declares it imperative that Israel re-admit two deported
Palestinian mayors.
Resolution 497: decides that Israel's annexation of Syria's Golan Heights
is null and void and demands that Israel rescinds its decision forthwith.
Resolution 573: condemns Israel vigorously for bombing Tunisia in attack
on PLO headquarters.
Resolution 592: strongly deplores the killing of Palestinian students at
Bir Zeit University by Israeli troops.
Resolution 605: strongly deplores Israel's policies and practices denying
the human rights of Palestinians.
Resolution 607: calls on Israel not to deport Palestinians and strongly
requests it to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Resolution 608: deeply regrets that Israel has defied the United Nations
and deported Palestinian civilians.
Resolution 636: deeply regrets Israeli deportation of Palestinian
civilians.
Resolution 641: deplores Israel's continuing deportation of Palestinians.
Resolution 672: condemns Israel for violence against Palestinians at the
Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount.
Resolution 673: deplores Israel's refusal to cooperate with the United
Nations.
Resolution 681: deplores Israel's resumption of the deportation of
Palestinians.
Resolution 694: deplores Israel's deportation of Palestinians and calls on
it to ensure their safe and immediate return.
Resolution 726: strongly condemns Israel's deportation of Palestinians.
Resolution 799: strongly condemns Israel's deportation of 413 Palestinians
and calls for their immediate return.
Sources Used:
Jews Against The Occupation
www.jewsagainsttheoocupation.org
the Red Cross www.redcross.lv/en/conventions.htm
the Palestinian Center for Human Rights www.pchrgaza.org/
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