Mr. Chair,
On behalf of the State of Palestine, I express our deep appreciation to the members of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories. We thank Ambassador Palitha Kohona of Sri Lanka, Chair of the Committee, Ambassador Hussein Haniff of Malaysia and Ambassador Fode` Seck of Senegal for their efforts and for the report (A/69/355) submitted on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the Occupied Syrian Golan and the serious recommendations made therein.
We also thank the Secretary-General and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for the comprehensive reports prepared pursuant to the General Assembly resolutions regarding “Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan” (A/69/348) and “Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem” (A/69/347). These reports attest to a systematic pattern of human rights violations as a result of the illegal, oppressive and destructive policies and measures that continue to be carried out by Israel, the occupying Power.
The facts presented in these reports are alarming and indicate a steep deterioration of the human rights situation in the past year. These facts are consistent with those contained in the recent reports of the Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, as well as the reports of other special mandate holders and relevant UN agencies, including UNRWA, OCHA, UNICEF and ESCWA, all of which examine the situation on the basis of the relevant human rights covenants, including, inter alia, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as on the basis of the Fourth Geneva Convention, all of which are applicable to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, as clearly confirmed by the General Assembly, Security Council, Human Rights Council, and International Court of Justice.
Thus, any claims that these reports as biased or one-sided are nullified. Even a basic review of the situation reveals gross human rights violations and grave breaches of international law by Israel against the peoples suffering under its 47-year belligerent military occupation.
We deplore Israel’s continuing refusal to cooperate with the Special Committee, violating its obligations to respect resolutions and cooperate with UN mechanisms. We echo the call made by the Special Committee for the General Assembly to consider Israel’s persistent refusal to respect its obligations as a Member State and to act accordingly to hold it accountable.
For its part, Palestine has fully cooperated with the Special Committee and reaffirms respect for its mandate and the UN resolutions and instruments of international law guiding its work. In this connection, we are proud that this year, on 1 April, the State of Palestine acceded to the core human rights covenants and core international humanitarian law conventions, reaffirming Palestine’s acceptance of the principles and provisions therein, its readiness to uphold legal obligations, and its commitment to advancing the rights of the Palestinian people in accordance with international law.
We do this with the support of the international community for development of our national institutions, including those integral for promotion of human rights, for which we are grateful. However, we must reiterate our appeal to the international community to uphold its obligations in respect of human rights and the protection of civilians in armed conflict, including situations of foreign occupation. The international community must be resolute in demanding full respect by Israel, the occupying Power, for all of its legal obligations and must act to hold Israel accountable in the case of continuing violations, in order to end impunity and serve the cause of peace.
Mr. Chair,
There is a human rights crisis in Palestine. Every aspect of life is being infringed upon and every human right is being violated as Israel, the occupying Power, continues to subjugate the Palestinian people and to entrench its occupation, in total contempt of international law and the global consensus on a peaceful settlement. Every passing day reconfirms that Israel is more interested in consolidating its control over the Palestinian land, rather than achieving a just peace and security. While 2014 began on a hopeful note with renewed peace efforts under United States sponsorship, we approach the year’s end in a critical state, with peace prospects gravely diminished in the wake of Israel’s war against the Gaza Strip and intensification of its destructive colonization campaign throughout the West Bank, including Occupied East Jerusalem, and its ongoing collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
Israel, its military forces and settlers continue to systematically violate the Palestinian people’s rights to life, to self-determination, to property, to food, to housing, to water, to education, to healthcare, to livelihood, to development, to family life, to freedom of movement and to freedom of worship. Through an escalation of violence, repressive measures, provocation and incitement, the occupying is inflicting widespread hardship, impairing the fabric of our society, destroying the viability of our State, aggravating tensions, destroying trust, and obstructing all peace efforts.
The carnage, trauma, terror and devastation inflicted by the Israeli war against Gaza are the most shocking reflection of the grave situation that prevails. The human and material toll is massive, with the Secretary-General describing “mile after mile of wholesale destruction” and a situation that brings “shame to the international community”. While we await the results of the investigations by the Human Rights Council’s Independent Commission of Inquiry, as well as the Secretary-General’s Board of Inquiry, it is clear that gross human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law amounting to war crimes were committed by Israel in its July and August military aggression and a humanitarian disaster was deliberately inflicted by the occupying Power.
- The Israeli occupying forces killed more than 2,180 Palestinians, the overwhelming majority civilians, including 516 children and 283 women. Children were killed on beaches as they played, in the sanctity of their homes, in their beds as they slept, in UNRWA schools, in playgrounds, in the arms of their parents who could not save them from the Israeli onslaught. 142 families lost three or more members in the same incident and in some case entire families were decimated. 739 people perished in such attacks, including in Israeli bombings that flattened homes atop men, women, children and elderly, as occurred in Shujaiyah, Khuzza’a, and Rafah, among other areas, where Israel pursued a scorched earth policy, destroying homes and massacring families with a vengeance, laying waste to entire communities and terrorizing the whole population.
- More than 11,000 Palestinians were injured, including 3,000 children, of whom 1,000 will be disabled for life. Until now, civilians are dying due to severity of wounds or lack of necessary medical treatment in Gaza, and some victims are still be found in the rubble.
- 1,500 children have been orphaned and more than 373,000 traumatized children require psychosocial support, deepening the disfigurement of our society, which continues to suffer from lingering trauma and psychosocial issues from the 2008/2009 and 2012 wars, as well as from the ongoing illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.
- More than half a million people were displaced at the height of the aggression, the largest displacement of the Palestinian civilian population since 1967.
- More than 80,000 homes were damaged by the occupying forces, with 20,000 homes either completely destroyed or damaged beyond habitation, rendering 108,000 people homeless and in need of shelter, more than 30,000 of who remain displaced in UNRWA schools.
- 75 hospitals and medical facilities were damaged in Israeli strikes that repeatedly forced the evacuation of patients and led to civilian casualties. Ambulances were also targeted. 23 health personnel were killed and 83 injured.
- More than 100 UN facilities were damaged, including UNRWA schools, where civilians sought safety under the UN flag, yet where many, including children, lost their lives in Israeli attacks.
- More than 33,000 meters of water and waste networks were damaged, exacerbating the water crisis in Gaza, where 90% of the water is unfit for human consumption. Damage of electricity networks, including the main power plant, continue to cause up to 18-hour outages, which along with lack of fuel impair the running of hospitals, sanitation systems and all aspects of life.
- 500 economic and industrial properties, constituting 60% of Gaza’s production capacity, were destroyed, causing extensive loss of livelihood, with 35,000 jobs directly or indirectly affected. Mosques, public institutions and historical sites were also not spared in the Israeli attacks, which left many such structures in ruins.
- 8,000 unexploded ordnance – 10% of the thousands of munitions launched by Israel at Gaza – remains scattered in civilian areas, impeding rubble removal and reconstruction and endangering lives, with several civilians killed by such explosions.
- All the while, the illegal Israeli blockade on Gaza – a repugnant form of collective punishment amounting to a war crime and the source of countless human rights violations – has persisted, deepening poverty, food insecurity (over a million people in Gaza live in food-insecure households and a shocking 80-88% of the population is dependent on food aid), unemployment (now over 41%), health problems (malnutrition, anemia and stunted-growth are rampant and at least 45% of Palestinian families suffer from post-traumatic stress disorders) and many other social and economic ills. Now in its eighth year, this blockade has in effect imprisoned and isolated the entire population and has suffocated socio-economic life, with exports banned, imports severely restricted and humanitarian aid still obstructed, and impeded all efforts for recovery.
These facts, as appalling as they are, only partly convey the horrific reality and devastating impact on our people as a result of Israel’s aggressions and blockade. As noted in the report, “the effects of the blockade of Gaza are wide-reaching and threaten the very future of Gaza” (as dismally conveyed in the UN report “Gaza 2020”, which calls into doubt the human habitability of Gaza in a few short years if the current situation persists un-remedied), and “repeated Israeli military attacks on Gaza had not only inflicted upon the population the burden of rebuilding and dealing with a high number of physical disabilities but also produced a generation of children in Gaza with psychological trauma”.
Extraordinary efforts will be required to heal the wounds and allay the suffering of grieving families, as well as to reconstruct the destroyed homes and infrastructure vital for civilian life. But beyond human and physical rehabilitation, it is essential to ensure accountability for these human rights violations and crimes by the occupying Power, because justice is also essential for healing and for any future reconciliation between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples. The value of humanitarian assistance and recovery efforts will be fleeting if the root causes of the conflict remain unaddressed. Therefore, while grateful for the support and generosity of donor countries at the Cairo International Conference on Palestine – Reconstructing Palestine, we reiterate the urgency of lifting the Israeli blockade of Gaza, consolidating the fragile ceasefire, and ensuring a political horizon for justly, finally and peacefully resolving the core issues of the conflict without delay.
Mr. Chair,
Regrettably, the picture is equally grim in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, where Israel continues its repressive occupation policies, in violation of the human rights of the Palestinian people and grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, unabated:
- Israeli occupying forces continue to use excessive and lethal force, killing and injuring Palestinian civilians, including in non-violent demonstrations against the occupation. 27 Palestinians were killed in 2013 and more than 1,600 were injured, with casualties prevalent in particular in and around refugee camps. In the first half of this year, 12 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank, followed by the killing of at least 32 civilians from June to August. Casualties continue to be caused by daily Israeli military raids in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with the recent period witnessing the killing of yet another Palestinian teenager, in an incident similar to the killing of two other teenage boys in May of this year in what appear to amount to extrajudicial executions under international human rights law and willful killings under international humanitarian law. The occupying forces also continue to use civilians as human shields, with several such incidents documented in the past year.
- Daily, violent arrest operations continue to be carried out by Israel, as it persists imposing this nightmare on Palestinian men and boys in particular and destroying thousands of lives. As reported, since the occupation began in 1967, more than 850,000 civilians have been held in Israeli prisons and detention facilities. This summer alone, 1500 Palestinians were arbitrarily arrested and detained in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
- Children continue to be arrested by the occupying forces, with children as young as 7 years old detained by the army for “stone-throwing”, and many children seized from their family homes in the dead of night. An average of 500-700 Palestinian children are imprisoned yearly by the occupying Power. And, as noted in the report, despite the 2013 UNICEF recommendations regarding Palestinian children imprisoned by Israel, “the ill-treatment of children appears to continue with impunity”.
- At this time, more than 6,000 Palestinians are captive in Israeli prisons and detention centers, including children, women and parliamentarians. Israel has continued its abuse, ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, subjecting them, inter alia, to forced interrogations, violent beatings, psychological harassment, assaults to religion and culture, sexual threats, humiliation, unhygienic conditions, solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, denial of adequate food and water, denial of access to education, restrictions on family visits, denial of due process, and systematic medical neglect, all with long-term and vastly detrimental physical, mental and societal consequences and all in grave breach of humanitarian and human rights law.
- Among the many deplorable incidents reported by the Special Committee, there have been several instances “where pregnant women had been forced to give birth chained and shackled to their beds” and “more than 1,500 detainees are suffering at present from various serious illnesses, such as kidney failure, heart diseases and cancer, for which most detainees reportedly only receive painkillers as treatment from Israeli doctors”, an unconscionable and inhumane situation. We also recall the ordeals of detainees who have held hunger strikes, endangering their own lives in peaceful protest against their detention without charge and the abuse meted out against them. We recognize here the tireless efforts of the ICRC in particular to ensure access to the thousands of Palestinian prisoners being held by Israel and to facilitate family visits.
Mr. Chair,
The reports before the Committee make abundantly clear the fact that in the past year, Israel, the occupying Power, continued and intensified its illegal settlement colonization campaign, in breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Additional Protocol 1 and the relevant provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and resulting as well in the violation of numerous human rights, including, inter alia, the right to self-determination, to liberty, security of person, freedom of movement, adequate housing, health, education, work and an adequate standard of living. Such Israeli actions, perpetrated willfully and systematically, constitute war crimes. Israel’s refusal to cease its settlement activities also constitutes flagrant disrespect of UN resolutions, the 2004 ICJ Advisory Opinion, Roadmap obligations and the international consensus on this matter and the repeated calls for a cessation of all such activities, in full recognition of their illegality and their destructive impact on the two-State solution and the prospects for peace.
- Settlement construction has been relentless throughout Occupied Palestine, particularly in and around Occupied East Jerusalem, even during the peace negotiations, and has resulted in a tangled and vast web of violations. More than 23,000 new settlement units were announced or planned by Israeli officials over the past year, including the announcement of at least 1,600 new units in just this past week, revealing the occupying Power’s mal-intent and expansionist aims through the imposition of facts altering the demography, character and status of Territory.
- This has involved the transfer of more Israeli settlers, illegal construction and expansion of settlements and Israeli-only bypass roads linking the settlements, as the occupying Power is blatantly attempting to create contiguity between its illegal settlements, while destroying the contiguity of the Palestinian State. Israel also continues its confiscation of vast land areas under various schemes, including military orders for seizure of lands and demolition of properties, declarations of areas as so-called “closed military zones”, “national parks” and “archaeological sites”, as well as for so-called “settler agriculture projects”, especially in the Jordan Valley, where 37 illegal settlements control 86% of the land and coincidentally constitute 85% of the Israeli agricultural area in the West Bank, starkly exposing Israel’s annexation aims and giving lie to Israeli claims regarding security in the Jordan Valley.
- 10 years after the ICJ Advisory Opinion and the unequivocal demand on Israel to cease its construction of and dismantle the Wall, Israel continues this illegal project, a major part of its colonization campaign, further fragmenting the Territory, separating Palestinian towns and villages, completely isolating some areas in walled enclaves and displacing civilians. Hundreds of checkpoints and movement obstacles and a permit regime also continued to severely restrict movement and impair normal social and economic life, violating numerous human rights, including to property, health, education and livelihood. Exploitation of natural resources, particularly water, rock quarries and agricultural lands, another massive violation being perpetrated and intimately linked to the Israeli settlement enterprise, also continues unabated.
- Israeli settlement activities have been a main factor in the occupying Power’s forced displacement of hundreds of Palestinian civilians, and, in direct connection with this illegal de-population campaign, Israel has continued to destroy Palestinian property. The majority of these illegal demolitions are carried out based such pretexts as a “lack of permit” or “security”, with over 565 Palestinian homes and structures demolished in 2013, rendering homeless and forcibly displacing hundreds of families. At this moment, 12,000 Palestinian Bedouins, the majority Palestine refugees, are threatened with mass forcible transfer, in grave breach of international humanitarian law, as part of Israel’s plans for further settlement expansion. As noted in the reports, “Area C”, including East Jerusalem and surrounding area and the Jordan Valley, is most acutely affected by this situation.
- The violence and terror that continue to be perpetrated by extremist Israeli settlers also constitute an illegal and disgraceful situation. The terror of extremist settler is most prevalent in the Nablus, Jenin, Al-Khalil, Ramallah and Jerusalem areas, with particular intensity in the Old City. Settlers continue violent attacks against civilians, including children, farmers and elderly, causing death and injury and creating widespread fear and trauma. Settlers also continue routinely destroying and vandalizing Palestinian homes and property and uprooting and burning olive trees, killing and stealing livestock, contaminating water supplies and agricultural lands, including with raw sewage. As noted in the report, settler violence appears “to aim at intimidating Palestinians in order to obtain control of certain geographic locations”, a strategy attested to by the relentless attempts by settlers to seize land and establish so-called “outposts”. Settler lawlessness and depravity has also extended to attacks on desecration of mosques and churches and repugnant affronts to Muslims and Christians. All of this is being perpetrated under the watch and protection of the Israeli occupying forces and with the support of the Israeli Government, which bears ultimate responsibility for these crimes.
- This brings me to the crisis in Occupied East Jerusalem, which is under siege as Israel, the occupying Power, continues its illegal and destructive attempts to alter its demographic composition, character, status and identity and to negate the Palestinian rights, presence in and connection to the City. Israeli settlement activities have been rabid in the City, with plans being advanced for the construction of thousands of settlement units and continued seizure of Palestinian homes by extremist settlers. Palestinian residents of Jerusalem also continue to be forcibly displaced – with more than 14,000 residency permits revoked since 1967 – and also suffer from raging violence, intimidation and discrimination against them by the Israeli occupying forces and by settler extremists, who persist in their attacks against Palestinian civilians, including children.
- Provocations and incitement by Israeli government officials and extremists, particularly at Al-Haram Al-Sharif, which houses the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque, have been reckless and relentless, as reflected in recent alarming events. Such actions are seriously fueling this highly volatile situation, inflaming religious sensitivities, deepening mistrust and anger, and threatening to ignite another cycle of violence, including precipitation of a religious conflict. The situation has dramatically escalated in the past days, compelling our calls for immediate attention and action by the international community, particularly the Security Council, to prevent the explosion of the situation in Occupied East Jerusalem, which would impact the region and far beyond.
Mr. Chair,
Despite the gravity of this situation, we have not given up on peace, and we call on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities at this crucial juncture to salvage the small prospects that remain to make it a reality. Israel, the occupying Power, must be demanded to cease immediately and completely all of its illegal policies and practices, in Occupied Palestine, including East Jerusalem, and to abide scrupulously by all of its legal obligations, and it must be held accountable should it persist with its violations. Accountability is fundamental for ending impunity.
Israel must also be demanded to commit in word and deed to the two-State solution on the basis of the pre-1967 borders, in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions, Madrid principles, Arab Peace Initiative and Quartet Roadmap. Moreover, we urge all States to uphold their responsibilities under international law, including by undertaking measures to ensure respect by Israel of its legal obligations under human rights law and the 4th Geneva Convention, and here we reiterate the call for a Conference of the High Contracting Parties. The ultimate objective of all these efforts must be to expedite an end to this illegal situation and bring an end to the occupation that began in 1967.
We are all too aware that the status quo is unsustainable and that peace will remain elusive if the prevailing conditions persist. We are also aware that, actually, the status quo is non-existent, for, in the absence of a solution, the situation has only continued to deteriorate, with extremely grave consequences. The State of Palestine is ready to uphold its obligations and commitments to make peace a reality. However, a real partner for peace is missing. Here, the role of the international community, including the Security Council, is vital; it must demand and act collectively to ensure Israel’s respect for its legal obligations and foster the appropriate conditions for achieving a just, lasting, comprehensive and peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-State solution.
The Palestinian people will never forgo their legitimate national aspirations and inalienable rights. The Palestinian national consensus government under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas will thus continue to undertake all necessary political, diplomatic, legal and peaceful efforts for the achievement of justice, freedom, security and dignity for our people and the fulfillment of their rights, including their right to independence in their State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem, as its capital, living side by side with Israel and its neighbors in peace and within recognized borders.
In closing, we once again appeal for the international community’s support in this noble endeavor, and we reaffirm our deep appreciation to the Special Committee for its important contribution in this regard.
I thank you, Mr. Chair.
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