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[6 June 2007] - On the 40th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Amnesty International called on the Israeli authorities to end the land-grabbing, blockades and other violations of international law carried out under the occupation. These have resulted in widespread human rights abuses and have also failed to bring security to the Israeli and Palestinian civilian populations. A 45-page report, Enduring Occupation: Palestinian under siege in the West Bank, illustrates the devastating impact of four decades of Israeli military occupation. The report documents the relentless expansion of unlawful settlements on occupied land that deprives the Palestinian population of crucial resources and documents a plethora of measures that confine Palestinians to fragmented enclaves and hinder their access to work, health and education facilities. "Palestinians living in the West Bank are blocked at every turn. This is not simply an inconvenience - it can be a matter of life or death. It is unacceptable that women in labour, sick children, or victims of accidents on their way to hospital should be forced to take long detours and face delays which can cost them their lives," said Malcolm Smart, Director for Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme. "For forty years, the international community has failed adequately to address the Israeli-Palestinian problem; it cannot, must not, wait another forty years to do so." Amnesty International is calling for the urgent deployment of an effective international human rights monitoring mechanism to monitor compliance by both parties, Israeli and Palestinian, with their obligations under international law. In its report, Amnesty International acknowledges Israel’s legitimate security concerns and the government’s obligation to protect the population within its borders, but says this does not justify blatant violations of international law, such as construction of much of the fence/wall inside the West Bank on Palestinian land. "Most Palestinians are now relying on aid for subsistence, with families reducing the quality and quantity of the food they consume and selling assets essential for their livelihoods." Children suffer, as two more killed Meanwhile, UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy has deplored the number of casualties and the suffering of children in the 40 year conflict between Israel and Palestine. “Two generations of Palestinian and Israeli children have already suffered from the consequences of the conflict. The figures are alarming. Peace must come for the sake of these children and the future generations”, she said. Ms. Coomaraswamy strongly condemned the killing of two children by the Israeli Defence Forces in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza strip, on 1 June, as well as the continuous indiscriminate rockets firing from Gaza into Israeli civilian areas that recently forced families to flee their home. “The situation continues to feed the vicious circle of trauma on both sides and it has to stop. Security for children needs to be ensured in the OPT and in Israel”, added the UN Representative. Since September 2000, Israeli forces have killed some 800 Palestinian children and the Palestinian armed groups some 120 Israeli children. Moverover, according to UNICEF, since January 2007, at least 20 Palestinian children have died in the Palestinian internal fighting and more than 11 due to the conflict with Israel. In addition, 380 children remain in Israeli detention facilities outside the West Bank and Gaza, in contradiction to the Geneva Conventions. Further information
pdf: http://www.crin.org/docs/Israelreport.pdf