Updates

Area C

Easing of restrictions on Palestinians’ movement in the West Bank, 2012

In 2012, the Israeli military removed several of the many restrictions that had been imposed on Palestinians’ movement in various areas of the West Bank since the beginning of the second Intifada. In recent years, Israel has scaled back these restrictions, and Palestinians can now travel relatively freely within the West Bank. However, the military continues to treat Palestinians’ freedom of movement as a privilege rather than as a right.

20 December 2012

Area C

E1 not Israeli territory

Miriam Leedor, director of public outreach at B'Tselem , in an Op-ed originally published by Ynetnews website: According to int'l law, 'state-owned' lands in West Bank can be used only for the benefit of the local Palestinian population.

18 December 2012

Beating and Abuse

Israeli Military Must Permit Video Documentation in Occupied Territories and Conduct Investigation of Attack on Photographers

B’Tselem wrote to OC Central Command Major General Nitzan Alon requesting that he issue an immediate notice to Israeli security forces in Hebron, reminding them that B’Tselem employers and volunteers as well as any other photographers must be permitted to document events in the city. B’Tselem’s letter was written in light of an incident in which Israeli soldiers attacked Reuters’ photographers in Hebron, and "accused” them of working for B’Tselem.

18 December 2012

Freedom of Expression

Israeli human rights organizations condemn Israeli raid on Palestinian human rights & civil society organizations

Nine Israeli organizations issued a joint press release today to protest yesterday's aggressive treatment of three Palestinian civil society organizations by the Israeli military and to demand that all property seized be restored and that the work of civil society organizations—and especially those comprised of human rights defenders – be protected and respected.

12 December 2012

The Gaza Strip

Testimony: Living in Gaza in the shadow of hostilities: Amani Nawajha, 30, eight-months pregnant and mother of toddler

"On ordinary days, when I go to work, I leave Rama with my parents who live seven, eight kilometers away from us, in the a-Sheikh Radwan neighborhood. Rama is very attached to them. Now she cries a lot and asks to go to her grandpa and grandma, and repeats the names of her uncles and aunts. She goes to her closet, takes out her clothes and her little bag and walks to the door. I don’t know what to say to her, how to explain that we cannot go to grandpa and grandma".

6 December 2012

General

A special message from acclaimed Israeli author David Grossman

We in Israel are facing a real crisis. Israel's occupation of the West Bank appears unending while the Gaza Strip grows more isolated and impoverished. The recent fighting in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel, with millions of civilians on both sides paying such a heavy price, only emphasized how far we are from negotiations to resolve this situation. B'Tselem's work is a real source of pride and I hope you will join me in supporting their efforts to ensure the dignity of all human beings.

5 December 2012

Demonstrations

One year on, investigation into the killing of Mustafa Tamimi still not completed

B'Tselem sent a letter to the MAG Corps stating that a year is unreasonably long for this kind of investigation. The longer the process is drawn out, the greater the damage to the prospects for an effective criminal proceeding. B'Tselem added that it intends to seek legal remedy if no progress is made in the handling of the case.

5 December 2012

The Gaza Strip

Killing under the cover of clouds

Yael Stein, Research Director, B’Tselem, in an op-ed originally published 3 December 2012 in the Hebrew Haaretz: Israeli legal experts pronounced lawful all actions taken in Operation Pillar of Defense. That said, they seem to treat international humanitarian law as a combat manual designed to help them identify targets, rather than as guidelines designed to protect civilians from the dire consequences of warfare and to minimize, insofar as possible, harm to civilians.

4 December 2012

Beating and Abuse

Unlawful detention for questioning of boy under age of criminal responsibility, al-'Esawiyah, 12 October 2012

According to testimonies collected by B’Tselem, plainclothes police detained Amir Darwish, at midday on Friday, 12 October 2012, two days before his tenth birthday. The policemen took Amir to a police station, using force against the boy and his mother, who tried to prevent the arrest. Amir was questioned in his mother’s presence for allegedly throwing stones, and was released following the investigation. The minimum age of criminal responsibility in Israel is 12. The arrest or even temporary detention of a minor under the age of 12 is absolutely prohibited.

4 December 2012

General

B’Tselem’s Camera Distribution project wins Israeli Documentary Filmmakers Forum award

The B’Tselem Camera Distribution Project Saturday, 1.12.2012, won first prize in the Freeform Documentary category of the 2012 documentary film competition of Israel’s Documentary Filmmakers Forum. B’Tselem Video Department Director Yoav Gross accepted the prize on behalf of more than 200 project volunteers and organization staff in a ceremony in Tel Aviv.

3 December 2012

Area C

The E1 plan and its implications for human rights in the West Bank

Israel has reportedly decided to advance construction in the E-1 area of Ma'ale Adumim, connecting the settlement to Jerusalem. Such a move would have severe implications for human rights in the West Bank, cutting the West Bank in two, exacerbating the isolation of East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank and posing a particular threat to Bedouin communities living in the area.

2 December 2012

Agriculture

Access eased for Gaza farmers and fisherman

Media reports state that in the ceasefire negotiations to end Operation Pillar of Defense, Israel and Hamas reached understandings that include the easing of restrictions on the movement of farmers and fishermen in the Gaza Strip. Among other things, it was agreed that the Israeli military would permit Gaza farmers to cultivate plots located up to 100 meters from the Israel-Gaza perimeter fence. This is a change from the official Israeli prohibition of recent years which forbade any approach closer than 300 meters from the fence. In addition, Gaza fishermen may now fish up to six nautical miles (approximately 11 km) from the Gaza coast, compared with the 3-mile limit imposed prior to Operation Pillar of Defense.

27 November 2012

Settlements

Attempt at bus segregation appalling

In response to the planned segregation, B’Tselem executive director Jessica Montell said, “The attempt at bus segregation is appalling, and the current arguments about ‘security needs’ and ‘overcrowding’ must not be allowed to camouflage the blatant racism of the demand to remove Palestinians from buses.”

27 November 2012

Attacks on Israeli Civilians by Palestinians

Testimonies: Grad rocket hits Beersheba apartment building, 20 November 2012

I returned from a night shift at the factory. I changed and was getting ready for bed when I heard the alert. I took my daughter in my arms; she was barefoot and hadn't dressed yet. We all ran to the stairwell and went down one floor. We heard a huge explosion... I was afraid that the entire apartment had been destroyed. Mainly I thought about the children, and about what I would do with them if we had nowhere to live.

25 November 2012

The Gaza Strip

Testimony: Iyad Abu Khusah, a year-and-a-half-year old toddler, killed in bombing while playing in yard of his al-Bureij home with two 4-year-old cousins, both injured

"I was in shock when I discovered that a missile [sic] had fallen right next to the wall surrounding the compound and destroyed it. I saw my grandson Iyad lying dead on the ground. He had been hit by shrapnel from the shell. My other grandson, Suhaib, was lying next to him but he was moving. Also my granddaughter Sarah was lying on the ground. I called an ambulance immediately. I picked up Iyad. We stood there crying for help."

22 November 2012

Demonstrations

Two killed by soldiers’ live fire in the West Bank: Suspicion that the military permits lethal firing on stone throwers

B'Tselem has written urgently to the IDF OC Central Command, the Commander of Military Forces in Judea and Samaria, and the Legal Advisor for Judea and Samaria, demanding that it be made unequivocally clear to soldiers and commanders in the West Bank that there is an absolute prohibition on shooting live ammunition at stone throwers. The letter follows the killing of two Palestinians and the wounding of dozens by live ammunition fired at stone throwers, and by the unlawful use of crowd control weapons, during clashes and demonstrations against operation "Pillar of Defense" in the past week.

22 November 2012

The Gaza Strip

Testimony: Samaher Qdeih, 28, was killed in her yard in an air strike. She is survived by a two-month-old infant daughter, 17 November 2012

"I felt as if I was about to fly through the air, and the window shattered. I saw that the bomb had landed in our yard. I found Samaher in the yard. She had several injuries. I tried to talk to her, but she was already dead. There was nothing I could do. I am left with Mayar, a baby not even two months old. Up to now, she had been nursing."

21 November 2012

The Gaza Strip

Illegally fired tank shells kill four civilians in the Gaza Strip, 10 November 2012

According to media reports, on 10 November 2012 armed Palestinians fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli military jeep. Four soldiers were wounded, one seriously. In response, the Israeli military fired four tank shells - in short intervals - at a populated civilian area in eastern Gaza City, about 1.5 kilometers from the Gaza Strip perimeter fence. Four Palestinian civilians, including two minors, were killed. It is doubtful if firing a tank shell at a populated area constitutes a proportional response. An investigation by B'Tselem indicates that, after the first shell was fired, civilians came to aid the injured. Under such circumstances, the military should not have fired additional shells.

21 November 2012

The Gaza Strip

Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip executed Palestinians suspected of collaboration with Israel

It has been reported in the media that, since the beginning of Operation Pillar of Defense, members of Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip have killed seven Palestinians suspected of collaboration with Israel. These reports state that one man was shot to death on Friday, 16 November 2012, and the other six were shot to death on Tuesday, 20 November 2012. The body of one man was tied to a motorcycle and dragged through the streets. Photographs of the bodies, some of which had been mutilated, were published in the press.

21 November 2012

Attacks on Israeli Civilians by Palestinians

Testimony: Rocket from Gaza hits yard of home in southern Israel while resident inside in her secure room, 17 Nov. 2012

"We live with this routine, and no one thinks it will happen to them. But now, it actually happened to me. It has happened to many people in my community. Mine is not the first house that's been hit. When it happens to someone else, I feel their pain. But it’s different, it’s impossible to really understand it. Suddenly there I am, saying, my goodness – it's happened to me. It unbalances you, makes you irrational. Why? What happened? What is this? What have they done to me?"

21 November 2012

Freedom of Expression

Israeli military bombed the buildings housing the offices of Al-Quds TV and Al-Aqsa TV, 18 Nov.

On the morning of November 18, 2012, the Israeli Air Force struck two buildings in Gaza City in which both local and foreign news agencies maintain their offices. Seven employees of Al-Quds TV were injured, two of them seriously. The IDF Spokesman said in a statement that the attacks were directed against the communications infrastructure of Hamas, which it claims Hamas uses to communicate operational orders and disseminate propaganda. B’Tselem is not in a position to determine whether there is any basis for this claim. However, international humanitarian law holds that the media, including those outlets belonging directly to parties to the conflict, are not legitimate military targets.

21 November 2012

Economic & Social Rights

Let Gaza Breathe

In a short piece published in the New York Times, B'Tselem's Executive Director puts the current fighting in the broader context of Israel's closure of the Gaza Strip. A ceasefire must protect both Israelis and Palestinians from rocket-fire, she writes. It must also ensure that Gazans can live a life with dignity.

21 November 2012

Attacks on Israeli Civilians by Palestinians

Initial Findings: 40 of the Palestinians killed by the Israeli military up to the night of 19 Nov. were civilians, among them 19 minors.

Initial B’Tselem investigations indicate that 102 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip between the launch of the Israeli military’s “Pillar of Defense” operation on the afternoon of November 14, 2012 and the night of November 19. The investigations indicate that at least 40 of those killed were civilians, among them 19 minors, and 10 women. Three Israelis were killed in the course of the operation up to the night of the 19th, as a result of rocket fire from Gaza by Palestinian militant organizations.

21 November 2012