Israeli occupation and Palestinian rights/Letter to the members of the Dutch parliament

Author: 
Astrid Essed
Locality: 

ISRAELI OCCUPATION AND PALESTINIAN RIGHTS/LETTER
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE DUTCH PARLIAMENT

SEE ALSO

https://www.astridessed.nl/israeli-occupation-and-palestinian-rights-letter-to-the-members-of-the-dutch-parliament/

INTRODUCTION:

Dear Readers,

Underlying letter has been sent, in Dutch, to the members of the
Dutch parliament [House of Commons] [1], except for the
fascist parties the Party for Freedom and the Forum
for Democracy. [2]
This letter has also not sent to the SGP [abbreviation of
Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij], a Dutch christian
fundamentalist party, which is fanatical pro
zionist.

SEE THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION [ESPECIALLY
FOR YOU!] OF MY LETTER UNDER THE NOTES

Astrid Essed

NOTES

[1]

IN DUTCH

ISRAELISCHE BEZETTING EN PALESTIJNSE RECHTEN/BRIEF
AAN DE LEDEN VAN DE TWEEDE KAMER
ASTRID ESSED

https://www.astridessed.nl/israelische-bezetting-en-palestijnse-rechten-brief-aan-de-leden-van-de-tweede-kamer/

ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
iSRAELI OCCUPATION AND PALESTINIAN RIGHTS/LETTER TO THE MEMBERS OF THE DUTCH HOUSE OF COMMONS
ASTRID ESSED

[2]

FASCIST PARLIAMENTARY PARTIES IN THE NETHERLANDS

A

PARTY FOR FREEDOM

DUTCH ELECTIONS 2017/PVV IN POWER OR NOT/
TERROR REIGN OR FREEDOM
ASTRID ESSED
14 MARCH 2017

https://www.astridessed.nl/dutch-elections-2017pvv-in-power-or-notterror-reign-or-freedom/

RACISM IN THE NETHERLANDS/PARTY FOR FREEDOM/
PVV, WILDERS AND THE POISON OF RACISM
ASTRID ESSED
1 MARCH 2014

https://www.astridessed.nl/party-for-freedom-pvv-wilders-and-the-poison-of-racism/

SEE ALSO

https://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2014/03/515705.html

A TSUNAMI OF RACISM/POLITICAL VIEWS MR WILDERS
ASTRID ESSED

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/ en/regions/world/2007/04/ 369132.html

WIKIPEDIA
PARTY FOR FREEDOM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_for_Freedom

B

FORUM FOR DEMOCRACY

WIKIPEDIA
FORUM FOR DEMOCRACY

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forum_for_Democracy_(Netherlands)

GOOD ARTICLE, WHICH REVEALS DUTCH XENOPHOBIC PARTIES
THE PVV AND FORUM FOR DEMOCRAC Y
WITH REGARD TO POLITICAL PARTY THINK [DENK[ I DISAGREE,
SINCE I CONSIDER THIS ANTI RACIST PARTY NOT AS AN ISOLATION
OF MINORITIES, BUT MINORITIES RIGHT ON A PARTY OF THEIR
OWN, SINCE THE REGULAR PARTIES NOT OR BARELY
FIGHTING RACISM

''Supported by the Dutch alt-right, the FvD is often considered an intellectual alternative to Wilders. Its leader, the controversial 34-year-old Thierry Baudet, has a PhD in law and the academic heft to intellectually underpin his extreme right views. Quite recently he talked about the “homeopathic dilution of the Dutch people,” a potential allusion to racial theories popularized by the Nazis. Baudet’s party got nearly 190,000 votes last week, resulting in two seats in the House of Representatives.''

QUARTZ.COM
DON'T BE RELIEVED BY THE DUTCH ELECTION-IT'S DONE NOTHING TO STOP
POPULISM IN EUROPE
22 MARCH 2017

https://qz.com/938736/dutch-election-results-and-xenophobia-dont-be-relieved-by-the-dutch-election-its-done-nothing-to-stop-populism-in-europe/

END OF THE NOTES

MY LETTER TO THE MEMBERS OF THE DUTCH PARLIAMENT

SEE ALSO

https://www.astridessed.nl/israeli-occupation-and-palestinian-rights-letter-to-the-members-of-the-dutch-parliament/

LETTER TO THE MEMBERS OF THE DUTCH PARLIAMENT

TO THE MEMBERS OF THE ''TWEEDE KAMER'' [HOUSE
OF COMMONS IN THE NETHERLANDS]

Subject:

End to the Israeli occupation and colonisation
For equal Palestinian rights

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

”THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”

DECLARATION OF ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE OF ISRAEL

https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/peace/guide/pages/declaration%20of%20establishment%20of%20state%20of%20israel.aspx

The year 2019 can be a turning point in the struggle against
more than 50 years injustice, from which it is high time
it is put to an end!
You read my subject already:

The Israeli occupation and colonisation of
the occupied Palestinian territories.
But also the acknowledgment of equal rights for the
Palestinians, the most elementary human right, also
described in the Declaration of Establishment of the State of Israel. [1]

But those words of equality are not confirmed into practice.
Recently [december 2018], Israel's parliament, the Knesset, has even voted AGAINST equality for Palestinian inhabitants. [2]

In july of the same year [2018] the Knesset approved the Jewish
Nation State Law, which at one stroke wiped out the rights of all non-Jewish inhabitants, in contradiction with the Declaration of
Establisment of the State of Israel [4], with which I started this letter.

An appalling violation on the fundamental principle of equality,
which is the right of all inhabitants of a country alike!

It is not high time, members of the House of Commons, to stand
up against this, not only in words, but in deeds and to show to
the Israeli government, that such an undemocratic and discriminatory
measure has consequences?

How you can act, I will show you at the end of this letter.

INEQUAL LAW SYSTEM/MILITARY COURTS FOR CIVILIANS

Now in Israeli society there already was inequality and discrimination,
although it was not so shamelessly formulated as in this Jewish Nation
State Law.
Apartheid was already there, by using two inequal systems of law.

One, the ''usual'' [comparable with our law system] in Israel itself
and the military courts for the Palestinians in the occupied
territories. [5]
Now military courts for civilians are ''not done'' anyway, but
here it concerns the inequal treatment of Palestinians in the
occupied territories!
Because the Jewish settlers in the settlements are not subjected to
those military courts! [6]

OCCUPATION

Inequality between Jewish Israeli's and Palestinians, now
confirmed by the Jewish Nation State Law, military
courts for Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories, applying
even to minors [7] and extreme Israeli violence against the
Palestinian civilian population [8], has as main cause the more than 50 years Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, which implies
oppression, humiliations, warcrimes and crimes
against humanity. [9]

Crimes against humanity like the Gaza Blockade [10]
which is actually attacking the cilivialn population in Gaza,
who lacks the elementary basic needs, is mostly lacking
medical help [11], is being humiliated [12] and slowly
strangled.

This inhuman situation which demands
human lives [13] has been regularly condemned by
human rights organisations like Amnesty International,
Human Rights Watch, Btselem, but also by
the International Red Cross, to no avail.

SETTLEMENTS

Other wicked results of that occupation are the settlements, which
are illegal according to International Law [14].
Not only they are landtheft, but by the extreme expa nsion [15]
Israel is creating facts on the ground and is ac tually annexing occupied
Palestinian land, which makes an independent and free Palestinian
State impossible.

And if not worse enough, the violence of the settlers increases [16],
leading to more terror against the occupied Palestinian civilian population.
This has to be stopped!
NOW!

OTHER INJUSTICE

I can go on and on like this.
About the illegal Israeli Wall for example [17],
which not only annexated occupied Palestinian territory,
but also is hindering extremely Palestinioan daily
life. [18]

About the numerous Israeli attacks on Gaza, in fact a war against
the Palestinian civilian population [19], with thousands of dead and wounded, leading to sharp condemnations of human
rights organisations. [20]

FINALLY

Much can be said and written about the terror of these [in june this year]
52 years occupation with as destructyive effects besides warcrimes
and other human rights violations, the illegal settlements and the illegal
Wall.

But this is already clear enough.
There must be put an end on this and immediately!

And therefore:

AN APPEAL TO YOU!

Put pressure for:

The acknowledgment for equal rights for ALL inhabitants
in Israel.
As you know, a bill to maintain equal rights for all citizens
has been rejected by the Knesset. [21], which, as I wrote,
is in contradiction with the Declaration of the State
of Israel. [22]

You must pressure for an immediate end to the Israeli occupation
of the occupied Palestinian territories the Westbank, East-Jerusalem and
Gaza [23], as demanded in 1967 in UN Security Council Resolution
242, many times repeated and confirmed by the United Nations.

An immediate demolition of ALL settlements in occupied
Palestinian territory, which are illegal according International
Law.

Demolition of the illegal Israeli Wall.

And of course the source of all misery and suffering:

End the Israeli occupation!

Use your influence in EU politics for this!

As members of parliament, I may expect your serious efforts,
since the Constitution [article 90] states, that the government
''shall promote the development of the international legal order.''
[24]

Because the Netherlands and any other country is subjected to
International Law, which has condemned as well the Israeli
occupation, as the illegal settlements. [25]

EU ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT

And to fulfill your actions, you have tools and means!

Because if Israel is not maintaining its obligations
according International Law, it is possible to threaten
with the ending of the Association Agreement, that holds
an article about maintaining human rights [26]

And when that doesn't help, economic sanctions is a good
pressure too!

EPILOGUE:

It is 2019.
Enough is enough!

It is too crazy for words, that Israel occupies the Palestinian
territories nearly 52 years, is building illegal settlements, builds
an illegal Wall, maintains a starving Gaza Blockade, commits
warcrime after warcrime and all that in impunity!

This must be over now and put an end to it now.

The year 2019 can be a turning pouint and you, ladies and
gentlemen of the parliament, can play a very important part
in this.

So play that part and make an end to this injustice, committed
with impunity.

I expect this from you.

Kind greetings

Astrid Essed
Amsterdam
The Netherlands

NOTES

[1]'

ISRAEL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
DECLARATION OF ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE OF ISRAEL

https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/peace/guide/pages/declaration%20of%20establishment%20of%20state%20of%20israel.aspx

TEXT
ERETZ-ISRAEL [(Hebrew) – the Land of Israel, Palestine] was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books.After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom.

Impelled by this historic and traditional attachment, Jews strove in every successive generation to re-establish themselves in their ancient homeland. In recent decades they returned in their masses. Pioneers, ma’pilim [(Hebrew) – immigrants coming to Eretz-Israel in defiance of restrictive legislation] and defenders, they made deserts bloom, revived the Hebrew language, built villages and towns, and created a thriving community controlling its own economy and culture, loving peace but knowing how to defend itself, bringing the blessings of progress to all the country’s inhabitants, and aspiring towards independent nationhood.

In the year 5657 (1897), at the summons of the spiritual father of the Jewish State, Theodore Herzl, the First Zionist Congress convened and proclaimed the right of the Jewish people to national rebirth in its own country.

This right was recognized in the Balfour Declaration of the 2nd November, 1917, and re-affirmed in the Mandate of the League of Nations which, in particular, gave international sanction to the historic connection between the Jewish people and Eretz-Israel and to the right of the Jewish people to rebuild its National Home.

The catastrophe which recently befell the Jewish people – the massacre of millions of Jews in Europe – was another clear demonstration of the urgency of solving the problem of its homelessness by re-establishing in Eretz-Israel the Jewish State, which would open the gates of the homeland wide to every Jew and confer upon the Jewish people the status of a fully privileged member of the comity of nations.

Survivors of the Nazi holocaust in Europe, as well as Jews from other parts of the world, continued to migrate to Eretz-Israel, undaunted by difficulties, restrictions and dangers, and never ceased to assert their right to a life of dignity, freedom and honest toil in their national homeland.

In the Second World War, the Jewish community of this country contributed its full share to the struggle of the freedom- and peace-loving nations against the forces of Nazi wickedness and, by the blood of its soldiers and its war effort, gained the right to be reckoned among the peoples who founded the United Nations.
On the 29th November, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a Jewish State in Eretz-Israel; the General Assembly required the inhabitants of Eretz-Israel to take such steps as were necessary on their part for the implementation of that resolution. This recognition by the United Nations of the right of the Jewish people to establish their State is irrevocable.

This right is the natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate, like all other nations, in their own sovereign State.

ACCORDINGLY WE, MEMBERS OF THE PEOPLE’S COUNCIL, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF ERETZ-ISRAEL AND OF THE ZIONIST MOVEMENT, ARE HERE ASSEMBLED ON THE DAY OF THE TERMINATION OF THE BRITISH MANDATE OVER ERETZ-ISRAEL AND, BY VIRTUE OF OUR NATURAL AND HISTORIC RIGHT AND ON THE STRENGTH OF THE RESOLUTION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, HEREBY DECLARE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A JEWISH STATE IN ERETZ-ISRAEL, TO BE KNOWN AS THE STATE OF ISRAEL.

WE DECLARE that, with effect from the moment of the termination of the Mandate being tonight, the eve of Sabbath, the 6th Iyar, 5708 (15th May, 1948), until the establishment of the elected, regular authorities of the State in accordance with the Constitution which shall be adopted by the Elected Constituent Assembly not later than the 1st October 1948, the People’s Council shall act as a Provisional Council of State, and its executive organ, the People’s Administration, shall be the Provisional Government of the Jewish State, to be called “Israel”.

THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

THE STATE OF ISRAEL is prepared to cooperate with the agencies and representatives of the United Nations in implementing the resolution of the General Assembly of the 29th November, 1947, and will take steps to bring about the economic union of the whole of Eretz-Israel.

WE APPEAL to the United Nations to assist the Jewish people in the building-up of its State and to receive the State of Israel into the comity of nations.

WE APPEAL – in the very midst of the onslaught launched against us now for months – to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the upbuilding of the State on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions.

WE EXTEND our hand to all neighbouring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighbourliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East.

WE APPEAL to the Jewish people throughout the Diaspora to rally round the Jews of Eretz-Israel in the tasks of immigration and upbuilding and to stand by them in the great struggle for the realization of the age-old dream – the redemption of Israel.

PLACING OUR TRUST IN THE “ROCK OF ISRAEL”, WE AFFIX OUR SIGNATURES TO THIS PROCLAMATION AT THIS SESSION OF THE PROVISIONAL COUNCIL OF STATE, ON THE SOIL OF THE HOMELAND, IN THE CITY OF TEL-AVIV, ON THIS SABBATH EVE, THE 5TH DAY OF IYAR, 5708 (14TH MAY,1948).

David Ben-Gurion
Daniel Auster
Mordekhai Bentov
Yitzchak Ben Zvi
Eliyahu Berligne
Fritz Bernstein
Rabbi Wolf Gold
Meir Grabovsky
Yitzchak Gruenbaum
Dr. Abraham Granovsky
Eliyahu Dobkin
Meir Wilner-Kovner
Zerach Wahrhaftig
Herzl Vardi Rachel Cohen
Rabbi Kalman Kahana
Saadia Kobashi
Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Levin
Meir David Loewenstein
Zvi Luria
Golda Myerson
Nachum Nir
Zvi Segal
Rabbi Yehuda Leib Hacohen Fishman
David Zvi Pinkas
Aharon Zisling
Moshe Kolodny
Eliezer Kaplan
Abraham Katznelson
Felix Rosenblueth
David Remez
Berl Repetur
Mordekhai Shattner
Ben Zion Sternberg
Bekhor Shitreet
Moshe Shapira
Moshe Shertok
* Published in the Official Gazette, No. 1 of the 5th, Iyar, 5708 (14th May, 1948).

[2]

ISRAELI KNESSET REJECTS BILL TO ”MAINTAIN EQUAL
RIGHTS AMONGST ITS CITIZENS”
12 DECEMBER 2018

https://mondoweiss.net/2018/12/israeli-maintain-citizens/

THE HAARETZ
KNESSET COUNCIL BANS BILL TO DEFINE ISRAEL AS STATE
FOR ALL CITIZENS

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-knesset-council-bans-bill-to-define-israel-as-state-for-all-citizens-1.6145333

[3]

THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
FINAL TEXT OF JEWISH NATION STATE LAW, APPROVED BY
THE KNESSET ON JULY 19

https://www.timesofisrael.com/final-text-of-jewish-nation-state-bill-set-to-become-law/

BASIC LAW: ISRAEL AS THE NATION STATE OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE
1 — Basic principles

A. The land of Israel is the historical homeland of the Jewish people, in which the State of Israel was established.

B. The State of Israel is the national home of the Jewish people, in which it fulfills its natural, cultural, religious and historical right to self-determination.

C. The right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people.

2 — The symbols of the state

A. The name of the state is “Israel.”

B. The state flag is white with two blue stripes near the edges and a blue Star of David in the center.

C. The state emblem is a seven-branched menorah with olive leaves on both sides and the word “Israel” beneath it.

D. The state anthem is “Hatikvah.”

E. Details regarding state symbols will be determined by the law.

3 — The capital of the state

Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel.

4 — Language

A. The state’s language is Hebrew.

B. The Arabic language has a special status in the state; Regulating the use of Arabic in state institutions or by them will be set in law.

C. This clause does not harm the status given to the Arabic language before this law came into effect.

5 — Ingathering of the exiles

The state will be open for Jewish immigration and the ingathering of exiles

6 — Connection to the Jewish people

A. The state will strive to ensure the safety of the members of the Jewish people in trouble or in captivity due to the fact of their Jewishness or their citizenship.

B. The state shall act within the Diaspora to strengthen the affinity between the state and members of the Jewish people.

C. The state shall act to preserve the cultural, historical and religious heritage of the Jewish people among Jews in the Diaspora.

7 — Jewish settlement

A. The state views the development of Jewish settlement as a national value and will act to encourage and promote its establishment and consolidation.

8 — Official calendar

The Hebrew calendar is the official calendar of the state and alongside it the Gregorian calendar will be used as an official calendar. Use of the Hebrew calendar and the Gregorian calendar will be determined by law.

9 — Independence Day and memorial days

A. Independence Day is the official national holiday of the state.

B. Memorial Day for the Fallen in Israel’s Wars and Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day are official memorial days of the State.

10 — Days of rest and sabbath

The Sabbath and the festivals of Israel are the established days of rest in the state; Non-Jews have a right to maintain days of rest on their Sabbaths and festivals; Details of this issue will be determined by law.

11 — Immutability

This Basic Law shall not be amended, unless by another Basic Law passed by a majority of Knesset members.

THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

ISRAEL PASSES JEWISH STATE LAW, ENSHRINING

”NATIONAL HOME OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE”

19 JULY 2018

https://www.timesofisrael.com/knesset-votes-contentious-jewish-nation-state-bill-into-law/

[4]

ISRAEL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
DECLARATION OF ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE OF ISRAEL

https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/peace/guide/pages/declaration%20of%20establishment%20of%20state%20of%20israel.aspx

[5]

”A new report published by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) outlines the nature of the legal regime currently operating in the West Bank. Two systems of law are applied in a single territory: one – a civilian legal system for Israeli citizens, and a second – a military court system for Palestinian residents. The result: institutionalized discrimination.”

ACRI [ASSOCIATION FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IN ISRAEL]
ONE RULE, TWO LEGAL SYSTEMS: ISRAEL’S REGIME OF LAWS
IN THE WEST BANK
24 NOVEMBER 2014

http://www.acri.org.il/en/2014 /11/24/twosysreport/

REPORT
14 OCTOBER 2014
ACRI [ASSOCIATION FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IN ISRAEL]
ONE RULE, TWO LEGAL SYSTEMS: ISRAEL’S REGIME OF LAWS
IN THE WEST BANK

http://www.acri.org.il/en/wp-c ontent/uploads/2015/02/Two-Sys tems-of-Law-English-FINAL.pdf

”The laws implemented in the West Bank are inequitable and discriminate against Palestinians. Although the settlers live in the same geographical area in which martial law is imposed, Israel has decided that they are not subject to military law, but rather to Israeli law. The application of two distinct legal systems in a single territory constitutes gross discrimination”

BTSELEM.ORG
MILITARY COURTS

https://www.btselem.org/military_courts

INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF THE RED CROSS
THE JUDICIAL ARM OF THE OCCUPATION:
THE ISRAELI MILITARY COURTS IN THE
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

https://www.icrc.org/eng/asset s/files/other/irrc_866_weill.p df

[6]

”Officially, military courts are authorized to try anyone who commits an offense in the West Bank, including settlers, Israeli citizens residing in Israel, and foreign nationals. However, in the early 1980s, the Attorney General decided that Israeli citizens would be tried in the Israeli civilian court system according to Israeli penal laws, even if they live in the Occupied Territories and the offense was committed there, against residents of the Occupied Territories. That policy remains in effect to this day. This means that people are tried in different courts, under different laws, for the exact same offense committed in the exact same place: Palestinian defendants are tried in military courts, their guilt or innocence determined according to the evidence laws followed in this court system, and their sentences according to the provisions of military orders. Israeli defendants are tried in a civilian court in Israel, exonerated or convicted under Israeli evidence laws, and sentenced under Israeli law as well.”

BTSELEM.ORG
MILITARY COURTS

https://www.btselem.org/military_courts

[7]

BTSELEM.ORG
MINORS IN JEOPARDY
VIOLATIONS OF THE RIGHTS OF PALESTINIAN MINORS
BY ISRAEL’S MILITARY COURTS

https://www.btselem.org/publications/summaries/201803_minors_in_jeopardy

FULL REPORT

https://www.btselem.org/sites/default/files/publications/201803_minors_in_jeopardy_eng.pdf

MILITARY COURT WATCH
MONITORING THE TREATMENT OF CHILDREN IN ISRAELI
MILITARY DETENTION

http://www.militarycourtwatch.org/

[8]

UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF
HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

2018: MORE CASUALTIES AND FOOD INSECURITY, LESS
FUNDING FOR HUMANITARIAN AID

https://www.ochaopt.org/content/2018-more-casualties-and-food-insecurity-less-funding-humanitarian-aid

TEXT

2018: More casualties and food insecurity, less funding for humanitarian aid
Trends affecting humanitarian affairs in the occupied Palestinian territory
Today, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) released a summary of data collected during 2018. Further breakdowns and statistics from previous years are available through the links below.

Record numbers of Palestinian deaths and injuries

A total of 295 Palestinians were killed and over 29,000 were injured in 2018 by Israeli forces. This is the highest death toll in a single year since the Gaza conflict of 2014 and the highest number of injuries recorded since OCHA began documenting casualties in the oPt in 2005.

About 61 per cent of the fatalities (180 people) and 79 per cent of the injuries (over 23,000) were in the context of Gaza’s ‘Great March of Return’ demonstrations by the fence. Across the oPt, 57 of the Palestinian fatalities and about 7,000 of the injuries were under 18 years of age. At least 28 of the Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in 2018 were members of armed groups in Gaza and another 15 were perpetrators or alleged perpetrators of attacks against Israelis in the West Bank.

A total of 14 Israelis were killed during the year by Palestinians and at least 137 others were injured. While the number of fatalities is nearly the same as in 2017 (15 people), the proportion of civilians among these fatalities (50 per cent) increased compared to the previous year (27 per cent).

Uptrend in attacks by settlers

In 2018, OCHA recorded 280 incidents where Israeli settlers killed or injured Palestinians or damaged Palestinian property, marking a 77 per cent increase compared with 2017; as a result, one Palestinian woman was killed, and another 115 Palestinians were injured (another two Palestinian suspected perpetrators of attacks were killed by Israeli settlers). Palestinian property vandalized by settlers includes some 8,000 trees and about 620 vehicles.

There were at least 181 incidents where Palestinians killed or injured settlers and other Israeli civilians in the West Bank or damaged Israeli property, a 28 per cent decline compared with the previous year. However, the number of Israelis killed in these incidents in 2018 (seven), increased compared to 2017 (four).

West Bank demolitions continue, but fewer Palestinians are displaced

In 2018, the Israeli authorities demolished or seized 459 Palestinian structures across the West Bank, mostly in Area C and East Jerusalem, overwhelmingly on the grounds of a lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain, slightly more than in 2017. Such incidents displaced 472 Palestinians, including 216 children and 127 women, the lowest such figure since OCHA began systematically recording demolitions in 2009. In Area C alone, there are over 13,000 pending demolition orders, including 40 issued against schools.

The blockade on Gaza still extremely restrictive

The land, sea and air blockade on the Gaza Strip, imposed by Israel citing security concerns, continued, with people being able to exit on an exceptional basis only. On a monthly average, in 2018 (Jan-Nov) there were some 9,200 exits from Gaza by permit holders through the Israeli-controlled Erez crossing, a 33 per cent increase compared to 2017, but 35 per cent less than the 2015-2016 average. The Egyptian-controlled RafahCrossing has opened on a regular basis since May, recording about 56,800 exits in all of 2018, up from a yearly average of less than 19,000 in 2015-2017.

The rate of approval of permit applications for UN national staff to leave Gaza stood at 59 per cent during 2018, up from 47 per cent in 2017. However, the total number of applications submitted in 2018 dropped by 24 per cent, primarily due to the larger number of staff that were denied for security reasons and banned for reapplying for 12 months, currently 131 compared to 41 staff by the end of 2017.

Kerem Shalom, controlled by Israel, remained the almost exclusive crossing for the movement of commodities to and from Gaza, with limited imports also allowed via the Salah Ad Din Gate on the border with Egypt. On a monthly average, about 8,300 truckloads of goods entered Gaza via both crossings in 2018, 17 per cent below the equivalent average in the previous two years, while 209 trucks exited Gaza on average, mostly to West Bank markets, nearly the same as in 2016-2017. Access to fishing areas and to farming lands near the fence inside Gaza remained restricted.

More people in Gaza food insecure

About 1.3 million people in Gaza, or 68 per cent of the population, were identified as food insecure in 2018, primarily due to poverty, up from 59 per cent in 2014, when a similar survey was conducted. The unemployment rate in Gaza reached an average of almost 53 per cent in the first three quarters of 2018, an all-time record, with youth unemployment at 69 per cent. By contrast, in the West Bank, 12 per cent of the Palestinians are food insecure, down from 15 per cent in 2014, while unemployment stood at an average of 18 per cent.

Record-low in humanitarian funding

While humanitarian needs across the oPt rose during 2018, funding levels for humanitarian interventions declined significantly: only US$221 million had been received, against the $540 million requested in the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan

Note: Data on casualties and demolitions is as of 26 December 2018 and is subject to caveats and definitions available in these links. Israeli fatalities exclude a baby delivered prematurely after the injury of his mother. Data on exits via Erez crossing is up to 30 November 2018, and data on imports and exports, as well as on the Rafah crossing are as of 15 December 2018. Some figures were amended after original publication following confirmation of additional incidents.

[9]

BTSELEM.ORG
REALITY CHECK
ALMOST FIFTY YEARS OF OCCUPATION

https://www.btselem.org/publications/201606_reality_check

REPORT
https://www.btselem.org/download/201606_reality_check_eng.pdf

[10]

BBC
UN OFFICIAL SLAMS ISRAEL ”CRIMES”
10 DECEMBER 2008

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/ middle_east/7774988.stm

BLOCKADE ON GAZA/CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY
ASTRID ESSED

http://la.indymedia.org/news/2008/02/213864.php

[11]

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
ISRAEL: RECORD LOW IN GAZA MEDICAL PERMITS
13 FEBRUARY 2018

https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/02/13/israel-record-low-gaza-medical-permits

[12]

THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS
DIGNITY DENIED IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/other/0941_002_dignity_denied_ot_palestine.pdf

[13]

”54 Died in 2017 Awaiting Israeli Permit
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
ISRAEL: RECORD LOW GAZA MEDICAL PERMITS
13 FEBRUARY 2018

https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/02/13/israel-record-low-gaza-medical-permits

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
GAZA: LOOMING HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE NEED TO LIFT
ISRAEL’S 10 YEAR’S ILLEGAL BLOCKADE

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/06/gaza-looming-humanitarian-catastrophe-highlights-need-to-lift-israels-10-year-illegal-blockade/

INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS
ELECTRICITY SHORTAGES AFFECT ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE IN GAZA

https://www.icrc.org/en/document/Gaza-power-fuel-crisis

”In early September 2015, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development published a report on the situation in Gaza after eight years of blockade and three rounds of fighting between Israel and the Palestinians. The report cautioned that without significant changes to Israel’s policy, Gaza has no chance of recovery and will become unlivable by 2020. Rather than change its policies in the time that has elapsed since the report, Israel has made them stricter and the situation has deteriorated.”

BTSELEM.ORG
THE GAZA STRIP
11 NOVEMBER 2017

https://www.btselem.org/gaza_strip

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
ISRAEL: RECORD LOW GAZA MEDICAL PERMITS
13 FEBRUARY 2018

https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/02/13/israel-record-low-gaza-medical-permits

THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS
DIGNITY DENIED IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/other/0941_002_dignity_denied_ot_palestine.pdf

[14]

ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS/
ILLEGAL ACCORDING TO ARTICLE 49, 4TH GENEVA CONVENTION
AND THE HAGUE CONVENTION

STATUS OF SETTLEMENTS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW

''Israel’s policy of settling its civilians in occupied Palestinian territory and displacing the local population contravenes fundamental rules of international humanitarian law.
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” It also prohibits the “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory”.

The extensive appropriation of land and the appropriation and destruction of property required to build and expand settlements also breach other rules of international humanitarian law. Under the Hague Regulations of 1907, the public property of the occupied population (such as lands, forests and agricultural estates) is subject to the laws of usufruct. This means that an occupying state is only allowed a very limited use of this property. This limitation is derived from the notion that occupation is temporary, the core idea of the law of occupation. In the words of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the occupying power “has a duty to ensure the protection, security, and welfare of the people living under occupation and to guarantee that they can live as normal a life as possible, in accordance with their own laws, culture, and traditions.”''

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

CHAPTER 3: ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS AND

INTERNATIONAL LAW

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2019/01/chapter-3-israeli-settlements-and-international-law/

”Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive.”

ARTICLE 49, FOURTH GENEVA CONVENTION

https://www.icrc.org/applic/ih l/ihl.nsf/Article.xsp?action=o penDocument&documentId=77068F1 2B8857C4DC12563CD0051BDB0

THE HAGUE CONVENTION 1907

https://www.loc.gov/law/help/us-treaties/bevans/m-ust000001-0631.pdf

[15]

THE HAARETZ
ISRAEL APPROVES 1450 NEW HOMES IN WEST BANK SETTLEMENTS
26 DECEMBER 2018

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-approves-1-450-new-homes-in-west-bank-settlements-1.6785734

THE WASHINGTON POST
ISRAEL APPROVES PLANS FOR THOUSANDS OF NEW
SETTLEMENT UNITS IN THE WESTBANK
10 OCTOBER 2017

https://www.washingtonpost.com /world/middle_east/israel-appr oves-plans-for-thousands-of-ne w-settlement-units-in-the-west -bank/2017/10/10/a3fd5058-ad29 -11e7-9b93-b97043e57a22_story. html?utm_term=.44c240ca09f8

[16]

BTSELEM.ORG
SETTLER VIOLENCE

https://www.btselem.org/topic/settler_violence

[17]

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

LEGAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF

A WALL IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

https://www.icj-cij.org/en/case/131

[18]

”When it erected the barrier, Israel cut off residents of some 150 Palestinian communities from their land – including farmland and pastureland – leaving the communities east of the barrier and their land on the other, between the barrier and the Green Line. By so doing, Israel blocked thousands of Palestinians from freely accessing and cultivating their land”
…..
……
”As a result of not having free access to their farmland, Palestinian landowners have been forced to abandon lucrative branches of farming that require daily, year-round cultivation, and many have replaced them with olive trees, one of the most durable crops in the region. Yet even olive trees suffer without regular cultivation. The trees grow sick, yield less fruit, and harvesting even these meager crops is greatly impeded by the thorny weeds whose wild growth among the trees cannot be checked by the farmers who do not have regular access to the land.”

BTSELEM.ORG
THE SEPARATION BARRIER

https://www.btselem.org/separation_barrier

[19]

THE INDEPENDENT
”FIRE AT EVERY PERSON” ISRAELI SOLDIERS REVEAL
THAT THEY WERE ORDERED TO SHOOT TO KILL IN GAZA
COMBAT ZONES-EVEN IF TARGETS MAY HAVE BEEN CIVILIANS
4 MAY 2015

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/fire-at-every-person-you-see-israeli-soldiers-reveal-they-were-ordered-to-shoot-to-kill-in-gaza-even-10223427.html

[20]

ISRAELI ATTACKS ON GAZA/DIRTY WAR AGAINST THE
PALESTINIAN CIVILIAN POPULATION
ASTRID ESSED
8 JANUARY 2009

https://athens.indymedia.org/post/964136/

BTSELEM.ORG
FATALITIES DURING OPERATION CAST LEAD

https://www.btselem.org/statistics/fatalities/during-cast-lead/by-date-of-event

BTSELEM.ORG
FATALITIES DURING OPERATION PROTECTIVE EDGE

https://www.btselem.org/2014_gaza_conflict/en/

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
OPERATION CAST LEAD: 22 DAYS OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION
2009

https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/48000/mde150152009en.pdf

“During 50 days of attacks, Israeli forces wreaked massive death and destruction on the Gaza Strip, killing close to 1,500 civilians, more than 500 of whom were children,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme Director.”

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
ISRAEL/OPT: TWO YEARS ON, STILL NO JUSTICE FOR
WAR CRIMES VICTIMS
7 JULY 2016

https://www.amnesty.org/en/lat est/news/2016/07/israel-opt-tw o-years-on-still-no-justice-fo r-war-crimes-victims/

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
ISRAEL/OPT: USE OF EXCESSIVE FORCE IN GAZA AN ABHORRENT
VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
14 MAY 2018

https://www.amnesty.org/en/lat est/news/2018/05/israelopt-use -of-excessive-force-in-gaza-an -abhorrent-violation-of-intern ational-law/

[21]

ISRAELI KNESSET REJECTS BILL TO ”MAINTAIN EQUAL
RIGHTS AMONGST ITS CITIZENS”
12 DECEMBER 2018

https://mondoweiss.net/2018/12/israeli-maintain-citizens/

THE HAARETZ
KNESSET COUNCIL BANS BILL TO DEFINE ISRAEL AS STATE
FOR ALL CITIZENS

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-knesset-council-bans-bill-to-define-israel-as-state-for-all-citizens-1.6145333

[22]

ISRAEL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
DECLARATION OF ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE OF ISRAEL

https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/peace/guide/pages/declaration%20of%20establishment%20of%20state%20of%20israel.aspx

[23]

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
ISRAEL: ”DISENGAGEMENT” WILL NOT END
GAZA OCCUPATION
28 OCTOBER 2004

https://www.hrw.org/news/2004/ 10/28/israel-disengagement-wil l-not-end-gaza-occupation

[24]

Article 90 Promotion of the international legal order
The Government shall promote the development of the international legal order.

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS
CHAPTER V
LEGISLATION AND ADMONISTRATION

http://www.dutchcivillaw.com/legislation/constitution055.htm

[25]

KEY UN SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION
ABOUT THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION

WIKIPEDIA
UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 242

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_242

TWO IMPORTANT UN SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS
ABOUT THE SETTLEMENTS

WIKIPEDIA
UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 452
1979

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_452

TEXT

https://undocs.org/S/RES/452(1979)

WIKIPEDIA
UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 465
1980

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_465

TEXT

https://undocs.org/S/RES/465(1980)

[26]

”Relations between the Parties, as well as all the provisions of the Agreement itself, shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement.”

ARTICLE 2, EURO MEDITERRIAN AGREEMENT
ESTABLISHING AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND THEIR MEMBER STATES OF THE
ONE PART, AND THE STATE OF ISRAEL, OF THE OTHER PART
21 JUNE 2000

http://trade.ec.europa.eu/docl ib/docs/2010/april/tradoc_1460 89.pdf

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