Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

The Centre is an independent Palestinian human rights organization based in Gaza

City. It is an affiliate of the International Commission of Jurists-Geneva, the
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and The Euro-Mediterranean
Human Rights Network, a recipient of the 1996 French Republic Award on Human
Rights. The Centre was established in 1995 by a group of Palestinian lawyers and
human rights activists in order to:

* Protect human rights and promote the rule of law in accordance with international
standards.
* Create and develop democratic institutions and an active civil society, while
promoting democratic culture within Palestinian society.
* Support all the efforts aimed at enabling the Palestinian people to exercise its
inalienable rights in regard to self-determination and independence in accordance
with international Law and UN resolutions.

The work of the Centre is conducted through documentation and investigation of

human rights violations, provision of legal aid and counseling for both individuals
and groups, and preparation of research articles relevant to such issues as the
human rights situation and the rule of law. The Centre also provides comments on
Palestinian Draft Laws and urges the adoption of legislation that incorporates
international human rights standards and basic democratic principles. To achieve
its goals the Centre has recruited a committed staff of well-known human rights
lawyers and activists.

The Philosophy of the Centre’s Work

The Centre determined after a thorough legal assessment of the peace accords
signed by the PLO and the Israeli government that the occupation would continue
both physically and legally. According to these agreements Israel has redeployed
its forces inside the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, while Israeli settlements and
military installations maintain their presence in Palestinian territory. The major legal
aspects of the Israeli occupation remain in place. Israeli military orders that
safeguard Israeli control over the Palestinian people and their land remain valid in
accordance with the peace agreement. The Israeli military court is still functioning
and to this day thousands of Palestinians languish in Israeli prisons. The essential
elements of the Palestinian issue remain unresolved -- the right to self-
determination, the right to an independent Palestinian state with its capital in
Jerusalem, the right of return for Palestinian refugees, and the right to remove illegal
Israeli settlements from the Occupied Territories. All of these constitute basic
unfulfilled rights of the Palestinian people. In light of this wide-ranging disregard for
Palestinian rights, the Centre concludes it must continue its work to protect
Palestinian human rights from ongoing violations by the Israeli government and
courts.

The peace accords and the major political changes resulting from the agreement,
including the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority in part of the
Occupied Territories, has led to a vital and active role for the Centre in protecting
civil and political rights and in promoting the development of democratic institutions,
an active civil society, and a democratic legal system in Palestine.
Work Units of the Centre
The Centre is composed of specialised working units which carry out their activities in an
autonomous but integrated manner.

* Field Work Unit

The field work is considered the basic activity of the Centre. Well-trained field
workers located in different areas of the Gaza Strip obtain accurate and
documented legal information on human rights violations in the Gaza Strip. They
gather information in the field from victims and witnesses of human rights
violations. The information is received by the co-ordinator of the unit and other
researchers to verify accuracy. Through the field workers’ presence in the field the
Centre has been able to maintain close contacts with the community. In this way,
the community is able to influence the work of the Centre and the Centre is able to
meet the community’s interests and demands.

* Legal Unit
This unit is composed primarily of a team of lawyers who give free legal aid and
counselling to individuals and groups. The unit also carries out legal intervention
with concerned bodies and makes legal representations before courts in cases that
involve broad principles of human rights that affect not just the individual before the
court but the community as a whole. Furthermore, the unit attempts to support the
independence of the judiciary and the rule of law.

* Democratic Development Unit

This unit specialises in the promotion of democracy and the promotion of civil
society and the rule of law. The unit’s team carries out research and organises
workshops and seminars to discuss issues on human rights and democracy. The
unit’s team also prepares comments on draft laws prepared by the Palestinian
Authority in an effort to influence the decision-making process and the adoption of
democratic laws. The unit has been also involved in providing training on human
rights and democracy for youth groups.

* Economic and Social Rights Unit

This unit seeks to ensure the importance of economic and social rights through
research and study. Such work is particularly important because it tends to be
neglected, to some extent, by other human rights organisations. To achieve its
goals the unit conducts studies, workshops, and seminars that focus attention on
economic and social rights in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The unit seeks to
develop recommendations and standards for each of these rights to be fulfilled in
the Palestinian situation. Moreover, the unit reviews and assesses the legislation
and draft laws pertaining to these rights adopted by the Palestinian Authority in an
effort to secure legislation that is in harmony with international standards. The unit
further seeks to provide an informative training base for governmental and non-
governmental personnel who are empowered to set plans and implement
programs and policies relevant to these rights. The goal of such training is to help
bring economic and social rights into alignment with the standards accepted
internationally and to ensure the maximum degree of implementation of these
rights.
* Woman Rights Unit
This Unit was established as a pilot project in May of 1997 for one year, renewable
upon assessment of its accomplishments. The initial project was established after
a thorough and comprehensive study of the conditions of Palestinian women and
the work of women’s institutions in the Gaza Strip. The Unit aims to provide legal
aid for women and women’s organisations. Intervention on behalf of women in
Shari’a courts is included in its mandate. The Unit further aims to raise
awareness of women’s rights established by international human rights
conventions and to raise the awareness of Palestinian women in regard to their
rights under local law. Finally, the Unit is carrying out studies on Palestinian
women and the law, while supporting the amendment of local laws inconsistent
with women’s rights.

* The Library
The Centre has established a specialised legal library in subjects related to local
and international law, human rights, and democracy. The library includes books
and periodicals in both Arabic and English and includes all Palestinian laws and
Israeli military orders. Documents pertaining to laws of neighbouring Arab
countries are also available. Furthermore, the library includes a variety of books
and periodicals detailing the Palestinian question and the Arab-Israeli conflict. The
library is open for the free use of researchers, academics, and students.

* Funding of the Centre

The Centre is funded by the generous contributions of a number of international
non-governmental organizations in the fields of human rights, democracy, and
social justice and a number of Governments which has friendly relationships with
the Palestinian people. The funding organizations include:

1. The Swedish International Commission of Jurists - Sweden

2. Ford Foundation - U.S.A
3. NOVIB - Holland
4. Open Society Fund - U.S.A
5. Christian Aid - U.K
6. CAW Social Justice Fund - Canada
7. Dan Church Aid - Denmark
8. Grassroots International - U.S.A
9. European Commission
10. Royal Danish Representative Office
11. Representative Office of Norway
12. Ireland Aid – The Official Overseas Development
Assistance Programme of the Irish Government
Board of Trustees
Dr. Anis Qassem
Dr. Hanan Ashrawi
Dr. Ibrahim Abu Loghud
Dr. Muhammed Juda
Dr. Khalil Sheqaqi

Administrative Board
Raji Sourani
Jaber Weshah
Iyad Alami
Hamdi Shaqqura

Director General
Raji Sourani

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights is an independent legal body dedicated to
the protection of human rights, the promotion of the rule of law, and the upholding of
democratic principles in the Occupied Territories. Most of the Centre’s activities and
interests concentrate on the Gaza Strip due to the restriction on movement between
the West Bank and Gaza Strip imposed by the Israeli government and its military
apparatus.

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

Gaza City: 29 Omar El Mukhtar Street, Near Amal Hotel, PO Box 1328
Tel/Fax (972) 8 2824-776 / (972) 82825-893
Khan Yunis Branch: El Amal Street, Branch of Jamal Abdul-Nasser Street, near the
College of Education
Tel/Fax: (972) 8 2061-025/ (972) 8 2061-035
Jabalya Branch: Jabalya Refugee Camp, Opposite to Timraz Fuel Station
Tel/Fax: (972) 8 2454-150/ (972) 8 2454-160
E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org
Webpage: www.pchrgaza.org
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights is an independent legal agency

dedicated to protecting and promoting human rights, respect for the rule of law,
and democratic principles in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Established
in April 1995 by a group of Palestinian lawyers and human rights activists in the
Gaza Strip, the Centre enjoy Consultative Status with the ECOSOC of the
United Nations, the Centre an affiliate of the Geneva-based International
Commission of Jurists, a member of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights
Network, and partner to the Paris-based Federation Internationale des Ligues
des Droits de l’Homme. The Centre is a 1996 recipient of the Republic of
France’s Human Rights Award, “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite.”

International Commission of Jurists

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), headquartered in Geneva, is a

non-governmental organisation in consultative status with the United Nations
Economic and Social Council, UNESCO, and the Council of Europe and the
OAU. Founded in 1952, its task is to defend the Rule of Law throughout the
world and to work towards the full observance of the provisions in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is composed of 30 distinguished
jurists from around the globe and has 75 national sections and affiliated
organisations.

Federation Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l’Homme

The Federation Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l’Homme (FIDH) is an

international non-governmental organisation dedicated to the world-wide
defence of human rights as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights of 1948. Founded in 1922, FIDH has eighty-nine national affiliates in
all regions.

Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (Euro-Med Network) is a

network of human rights organisations and individuals from the Middle East,
North Africa and the European Union, established in 1997. The overall
objective of the Network is to contribute to the protection of the human rights
principles embodied in the Barcelona Declaration of 1995.
 Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

ANNUAL REPORT

2000

NARRATIVE AND

FINANCIAL REPORTS

1 JANUARY – 31 DECEMBER 2000

Consultative Status with the ECOSOC of the United Nations

Affiliate of the International Commission of Jurists - Geneva
Member of:
The International Federation for Human Rights - Paris
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network
REPORT 2000 OF THE PALESTINIAN CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
(PCHR)........................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................11

PART 1: ISRAELI VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS...................................17

(1) THE EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE AND EXTRA-JUDICIAL KILLINGS PERPETRATED BY THE
ISRAELI OCCUPATION FORCES: AL-AQSA INTIFADA .................................................... 18
1) Targeting the Upper Part of the Body........................................................................................21
2) Targeting Children.....................................................................................................................22
3) Assassination of Palestinian Political Activists..........................................................................22
4) Settlers Involvement in Palestinian Civilian Deaths ..................................................................24
5) Palestinian Deaths Resulting from Israeli Shelling ...................................................................26
6) Shooting at Medical Personnel ..................................................................................................29
7) Attacks on Journalists ................................................................................................................30
(2) LAND LEVELING AND CIVILIAN FACILITIES DEMOLITION IN THE GAZA STRIP ................ 32
Other Israeli Violations Regarding Palestinian Land and Property in the Gaza Strip ..................34
(3) SETTLEMENT ACTIVITIES AND PRACTICES OF SETTLERS IN THE GAZA STRIP UNDER FULL
PROTECTION OF THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION FORCES ..................................................... 38
Settlement Activities in the Gaza Strip in the Year 2000 ................................................................39
Palestinian Victims as a Result of Attacks by Settlers in 2000 .......................................................41
(4) COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT: A CONTINUED POLICY OF IMPOSING CLOSURE .................... 42
Impact of the Siege on Human Rights.............................................................................................43
Restrictions on Free Movement inside the Gaza Strip....................................................................52
“Closure” Update on the Closure Imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip........................................53
(5) CONTINUED SUFFERING OF PALESTINIAN PRISONERS IN ISRAELI JAILS ........................... 53
Palestinian Prisoners’ Hunger Strike.............................................................................................54
Partial Release of Palestinian Prisoners........................................................................................55
Continued Use of Torture Methods against Palestinian Prisoners ................................................56
The Death of a Palestinian Prisoner in an Israeli Jail ...................................................................58
Administrative Detention................................................................................................................58
Legal Aid Provided for the Detainees in Israeli Jails.....................................................................59
Commemoration of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day (April 17) ............................................................60
Conclusions and Recommendations of the Expert Meeting on the Legal Status of Palestinian
Prisoners in Israeli Jails.................................................................................................................60
(6) PRESS RELEASES BY PCHR ON ISRAELI VIOLATIONS OF PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTS IN
2000 ............................................................................................................................... 62
PART 2: PROMOTING THE RULE OF LAW AND DEMOCRACY IN AREAS
UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE PALESTINIAN NATIONAL
AUTHORITY.............................................................................................................69
(1) PALESTINIAN SECURITY FORCES CONTINUE ILLEGAL ARRESTS OF CITIZENS .................. 70
Torture and Mistreatment of Detainees by the Palestinian National Authority .............................71
Legal Aid for the Detainees ............................................................................................................71
(2) INDIVIDUAL SECURITY SERVICE PERSONNEL SHOOTING AND KILLING CIVILIANS .......... 72
(3) THE CONTINUING OPERATION OF THE STATE SECURITY COURT ...................................... 75
Issuing Death Penalty Sentences ....................................................................................................76
(4) THE NON-IMPLEMENTATION OF COURT DECISIONS .......................................................... 76
(5) THE FORMATION OF HIGHER JUDICIARY COUNCIL WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE LAW
OF THE JUDICIARY.......................................................................................................... 77
An International Commission to Observe the Situation of the Judiciary in Palestine....................78
A Workshop on the Role of the Judiciary in Civil Society ..............................................................79
(6) CONTINUED INTERVENTION IN THE WORK OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL ........................ 79
(7) THE PALESTINIAN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ........................................................................ 80
Conclusions and Recommendations: Evaluation of PLC’s Fourth Session (March 1999-March
2000)...............................................................................................................................................81
(9) THE APPOINTED ACTING COUNCIL OF THE PALESTINIAN BAR ASSOCIATION TARGETS
HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS ................................................................................. 84
Lawsuits against the Appointed Acting Council .............................................................................85
(10) CONTINUED RESTRICTIONS ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY . 86
The Neglect of Law 12 of 1998 Regarding Public Meetings ..........................................................91
A Report on the Rights to Freedom of Expression and Peaceful Assembly....................................95
(11) ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND CULTURAL RIGHTS UNIT ....................................................... 96
Infrastructure in the Gaza Strip: A Case Study on Economic and Social Rights ...........................96
(12) WOMEN’S RIGHTS UNIT................................................................................................... 97
Legal Aid Program for Women and Women’s Organizations ........................................................97
Legal Awareness Program for Women...........................................................................................98
(13) PCHR’S PRESS RELEASES ON THE RULE OF LAW AND DEMOCRACY PROMOTION ON THE
PALESTINIAN LEVEL AND OTHER VIOLATIONS ........................................................... 101
PART 3: PCHR’S RELATIONSHIP WITH LOCAL SOCIETY ......................104
(1) STRENGTHENING RELATIONS WITH THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AND EXPANDING THE
NUMBER OF BENEFICIARIES ........................................................................................ 105
(2) LEGAL AID FOR VICTIMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS ............................................ 105
(3) RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY: DEVELOPING A
TRAINING PROGRAM .................................................................................................... 106
(4) AL-MENTAR – PCHR’S NEWSLETTER............................................................................. 108
(5) PARTICIPATION IN LOCAL WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES .......................................... 108
(6) PROMOTING RELATIONS WITH CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS .................................... 110
PART 4: PCHR’S ACTIVITIES ON THE REGIONAL AND
INTERNATIONAL LEVEL...................................................................................111
(1) PCHR’S CAMPAIGN TO SECURE THE DE JURE APPLICATION OF THE FOURTH GENEVA
CONVENTION IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES ...................................... 112
A Letter to the European Union to Activate the Fourth Geneva Convention ...............................113
A Study on the Fourth Geneva Convention ..................................................................................114
(2) PCHR’S INTERVENTIONS BEFORE UN BODIES ................................................................ 115
Special Consultative Status to PCHR with ECOSOC...................................................................115
The UN Commission on Human Rights ........................................................................................115
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights ...........................................................................117
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian and Arab Territories .........................119
The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights .....................................................122
United Nations Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of
the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories ..........................................123
(3) PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS .... 123
(4) COOPERATION AND COORDINATION WITH OTHER REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
ORGANIZATIONS .......................................................................................................... 124
An Inquiry Commission Established by Human Rights Organizations to Investigate Crimes
Committed by the Israeli Occupation Forces ...............................................................................125
(5) MEETINGS IN GAZA WITH POLITICIANS, DIPLOMATS, UN REPRESENTATIVES, AND OTHER
INTERNATIONAL NGOS ............................................................................................... 126
(6) RECEIVING VISITING DELEGATIONS ................................................................................ 130
(7) INTERVIEWS WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ........... 132
PART 5: PARTICIPATION IN TRAINING SESSIONS TO UPGRADE PCHR
STAFF’S EXPERTISE............................................................................................135

PART 6: ASSESSMENT OF PCHR’S ANNUAL PLAN 2000 ...........................138

ANNEXES ................................................................................................................147
ANNEX (1): A LIST OF PALESTINIANS KILLED IN AL-AQSA INTIFADA FROM SEPTEMBER 29 TO
DECEMBER 31, 2000 .......................................................................................... 147
ANNEX (2): PALESTINIANS KILLED BY THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION FORCES FROM JANUARY 1
TO SEPTEMBER 8, 2000, BEFORE THE AL AQSA INTIFADA. ............................... 164
ANNEX (3) A TABLE OF THE AREAS AND LOCATIONS OF LAND RAZED BY THE ISRAELI
OCCUPATION FORCES IN THE GAZA STRIP, SEPTEMBER 28 – DECEMBER 30, 2001
........................................................................................................................... 168
ANNEX (4): A TABLE OF PALESTINIAN HOUSES ON AGRICULTURAL LAND DEMOLISHED BY
THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION FORCES FROM SEPTEMBER 29, 2000 TO DECEMBER 31,
2001 ................................................................................................................... 175
FINANCIAL REPORT ...........................................................................................179
 Report 2000 of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR)

The PCHR’s 2000 Annual Report contains a narrative and financial

report for the period from January 1 – December 31, 2000. Like PCHR’s
previous annual reports, the aim of this report is three-fold. First, this
report documents PCHR’s objectives, activities, and programs to provide
an indication of the progress achieved by PCHR.

Second, it also seeks to provide a comprehensive picture of the human

rights situation through the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including
areas under Palestinian National Authority (PNA) control. Although
PCHR’s mission and activities are directed at serving the Palestinian
community, because PCHR is an organization based in the Gaza Strip and
dedicated to serving this community, the emphasis in this report is on the
Gaza Strip. PCHR hopes that this report will provide information and
the necessary tools to help cease human rights violations.

Third, the report also includes the financial report for 2000. Its is
prepared by a professional auditing institution. The publication of the
financial report reflects our deep belief and our fundamental policy of
maintaining the transparency of PCHR as a non-governmental, non-profit
organization that provides services to the community.
INTRODUCTION
The year 2000 came to an end with a record of increasing Israeli human rights
violations and war crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). The final
quarter of the year 2000 witnessed an unprecedented, continuous and systematic
escalation in the excessive use of lethal force by the Israeli occupation forces against
Palestinian civilians. According to PCHR’s investigations, in dozens of incidents
when Israeli forces killed Palestinian civilians, there were no threats posed to the lives
of Israeli soldiers. In all cases where Palestinian civilians were killed, Israeli forces
never resorted to the use of less lethal means before live or rubber-coated metal
bullets were used against peaceful Palestinian demonstrations. Israeli actions were
not limited to either indiscriminate opening of fire on Palestinian civilians or the use
of snipers or silenced guns. In fact, for the first time since 1967 when Israel first
occupied the West Bank (including Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces
employed combat helicopters, gunboats and tanks to shell Palestinian cities and
residential areas as well as used heavy and medium caliber machine guns.

Attacks by Israeli forces and settlers have killed 273 Palestinian civilians, including
103 children under 18 and 11 people over 50 only in the last quarter of the year 2000.
The total number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli occupation forces and settlers
from January 1 until December 31, 2001 was 297, including 111 children under 18.
This number also included 15 Palestinians who were killed extra-judicially as part of a
declared Israeli policy of political assassination. In nine cases of extra-judicial
killing, Israeli forces killed or injured Palestinian civilian by-standers. The number of
Palestinian civilians wounded by Israeli bullets or artillery shells in the last quarter of
the year 2000 was approximately 10,000, including 2,500 in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces also often targeted the upper part of the body. According to medical
reports, 1,305 out of the 2,500 wounded in Gaza, were wounded in the upper part of
the body. Of these, 531 were wounded in the head and the neck and 774 were
wounded in the chest and the abdomen. According to the same reports, 1,492 children
under 18 were wounded by the Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip in the same
period.

Furthermore, Israeli forces also targeted medical personnel and ambulances—despite

the fact that they were always clearly marked and easily identifiable. Israeli forces
shot and killed three Palestinian nurses in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with live
bullets. A German physician and resident of Bethlehem was killed with an artillery
shell when he was trying to offer help to Palestinian civilians who were wounded
during Israeli shelling of the city. Furthermore, dozens of medical personnel were
wounded during the period of September 29 to December 31, 2000.

Similarly, members of the local and international press were not immune to
violations. The press was frequently fired upon by the Israeli occupation forces and
settlers. These attacks particularly targeted cameramen and photographers, whose
visual media capture powerful images such as Mohammed al-Durreh’s death that
attracted intense international attention. Israeli occupation forces’ attacks represent a
deliberate attempt to terrify journalists and deter them from carrying out their duties,
which are protected by international humanitarian law and relevant international
instruments.
The Israeli occupation forces also targeted Palestinian security forces, especially in
the last quarter of the year 2000. Despite the limited number of armed confrontations
between Palestinian security forces or armed Palestinians and Israeli forces, PCHR
documented many incidents during which Israeli forces fired live bullets or artillery
shells at Palestinian security men. These forces were fired upon when they were
attempting to move Palestinian civilians (who were either participating in peaceful
marches or throwing stones at Israeli forces) away from Israeli forces. PCHR also
documented several cases in which the Israeli forces fired live bullets and artillery
shells at Palestinian security man without warning when no clashes were occurring.
In all circumstances, the Israeli occupation forces did not comply with the principles
of the international law and the international humanitarian law. Israeli forces did not
distinguish between civilian and military targets. This not only killed or injured many
Palestinian civilians, but also resulted in the death of 36 Palestinian security men.
When the number of Palestinian security men killed is included, the total number of
Palestinians killed by the Israeli occupation forces in the year 2000 was 335.

Moreover, a number of Palestinian civilians were killed or wounded as a result of the

continuous and systematic Israeli shelling of Palestinian cities and residential areas.
In addition, public and private properties were severely damaged. Dozens of houses
were completely destroyed and hundreds were severely damaged. Hundreds of
Palestinian families became homeless after their houses were destroyed or after they
fled to escape the constant Israeli shelling. Although no city escaped Israeli shelling,
some cities have been systematically targeted during the last three months of 2000:
Hebron, Khan Yunis, Rafah, Bethlehem, Beit Jala and Ramallah.

Also during the last quarter of the year 2000, Israeli occupation forces attacked
Palestinian properties on a massive scale. Israeli forces razed thousands of donums of
Palestinian agricultural land, which constitute the basic resource of the Palestinian
economy. They uprooted fruit-bearing trees and destroyed hundreds of greenhouses,
irrigation systems, wells, and agricultural facilities and equipment. Furthermore, the
Israeli occupation forces demolished dozens of Palestinian houses and their contents
after expelling the residents – often without prior warning. Israeli forces also
demolished a number of factories, workshops and other civilian facilities. According
to PCHR’s documentation, Israeli forces razed 4,698 donums of Palestinian
agricultural and wooded land in the Gaza Strip from October to December 2000.
During the same period, these forces also demolished 62 Palestinian houses in the
Gaza Strip.

Also during the last quarter of the year 2000, Israeli occupation forces imposed a
total, strict siege on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The new siege was not
limited to preventing many commercial transactions and the approximately 50,000
Palestinian laborers from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip who work in Israel from
going to their places of work. New measures included closing all crossings between
the Gaza Strip and Israel as well as the so-called “Safe Passage,” which opened on
October 25, 1999 in order to facilitate movement between the Gaza Strip and the West
Bank. In addition, Israel prohibited movement between the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip across the Israeli territories. Israeli also closed the border with Egypt in Rafah
and Al-Karama Crossing on the border with Jordan for long periods, preventing the
travel of Palestinian civilians to and from the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Additionally, in one of the worst examples of Israeli collective punishment of
Palestinian civilians, Israeli closed Gaza International Airport to tighten the siege on
the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

At the same time, the Israel reinforced its military presence in the OPT, particularly at
the entrances of Palestinian cities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces
have imposed restrictions on movement between these cities which transformed the
OPT into Bantustan-like isolated areas, in a manner unprecedented since the
beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967. Israeli occupation forces also imposed
strict curfews on Palestinian areas under their security control. In the part of Hebron
under Israeli control, more than 30,000 Palestinian civilians were forced to stay at
home for the benefit of approximately 300 Jewish settlers living in settlements inside
the city. These policies cannot be explained except by reference to the now extinct
system of apartheid in South Africa.

It is inaccurate to interpret the unprecedented escalation of Israeli violations as a

response to massive clashes that erupted in the Occupied Palestinian Territories at the
end of last September in what come to be known as “Al-Aqsa Intifada.” It is equally
unreasonable to view such clashes as merely a reaction to the provocative visit of the
extremist rightist leader Ariel Sharon (the present Prime Minister of Israel) to Al-
Haram Al-Sharif (the Holy Sanctuary) on September 28, 2000. The outbreak of
clashes between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli forces was the result of years of
Israeli oppression and persecution of Palestinian civilians and the continued denial of
their rights to freedom. The most fundamental right that has been violated is the right
to self-determination, including an end to the occupation and the establishment of an
independent state with Jerusalem as its capital and the return of Palestinian refugees to
their homes.

The outbreak of clashes was thus the outcome of a ten-year-old peace process in
which human rights and international humanitarian law were victimized under
continuous US pressure exerted on the Palestinian side, and the endless US support
for Israel and its oppressive practices against the Palestinian people. These are
matters about which PCHR had warned. This is also what the final statement of the
October 2000 Sharm al-Sheikh Summit in the middle of October 2000, in which the
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak
participated, failed to understand.1

During the year 2000, before the outbreak of violence in September 2000, Israeli
forces continued to destroy and confiscate Palestinian land in order to expand existing
settlements, establish new ones, and build bypass roads. In addition, Israeli forces and
settlers continued to kill Palestinian civilians. Furthermore, more than 1,600
Palestinian prisoners were still detained in Israeli jails, living under dire conditions
and facing torture. Israel also tightened its siege on the Occupied Palestinian
Territories, imposing restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians and goods,
and thus suffocating the Palestinian economy. These cumulative violations resulted in
an escalating crisis in the economic and social rights of Palestinian civilians.

The deadline for the interim period, May 4, 1999, also passed without Israeli
compliance with its obligations under the Interim Agreement regarding the
redeployment of its forces in the West Bank. The interim period and its agreements
were based on steps to build mutual confidence and to reach a final settlement, such
as redeployment of forces from the OPT. However, the end of the year 2000 came
after more than one year and a half years passing since the end of the interim period,
with neither a final agreement nor compliance with the interim agreement.

With regard to expectations for the future, PCHR maintains that the latest
developments in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the unprecedented
escalation in Israeli human rights violations and war crimes in the last quarter of the

1
The US President summed up what was agreed upon in the following three points:
1. Both sides agreed to issue public statements unequivocally calling for an end of violence.
They also agreed to take immediate, concrete measures to end the current confrontation,
maintain calm and prevent recurrence of recent events. In order to achieve this, both sides
agreed to return to the situation that existed previous to the current crisis.
2. The United States will develop with the Israelis and Palestinians, as well as in consultation
with the United Nations Secretary General, a committee of “fact-finding” on the recent
events and how to prevent their recurrence. The committee’s report will be shared by the
US President with the UN Secretary General and the parties prior to publication. A final
report shall be submitted under the auspices of the US President for publication.
3. The United States will consult with the parties within the next two weeks about how to
move forward, resume efforts to reach a permanent status agreement based on UN Security
Council Resolutions 242 and 338, and subsequent understandings.

PCHR expressed its view of that summit and the understandings between the Palestinian side and
the Israeli side, as summarized by President Clinton, did not: solve the crisis; put an end to Israeli
violations; or provide a viable mechanism for a fair investigation by an international commission
under the auspices of the United Nations. PCHR also regarded calls to return to the pre-intifada
status quo merely a call to return to the explosive conditions in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories before September 28, 2000. In PCHR’s view, the US led inquiry commission would
not be able to determine responsibility and would not be mandated to investigate blatant human
rights violations, killings and the excessive use of force by the Israeli occupation forces. It would
not publish its conclusions except upon agreement by the parties and under the auspices of the US
President himself. In short, it was a political commission rather than a professional one. Such a
commission contradicts calls by Palestinian, Arab and international human rights organizations to
establish an international commission of inquiry – rather than a fact-finding committee – under the
auspices of the UN-to investigate Israel’s blatant human rights violations. For further discussion
of PCHR’s view of the Summit, see the PCHR’s Position Paper on the Sharm El-Sheikh Summit
issued on October 17, 2000
year 2000 undermines any hope of the situation coming to an end in the near future.
In light of these blatant human rights violations, the international community and the
High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention should act and intervene to
put an end to the violations. The provision of immediate international protection for
Palestinian civilians is needed now more than ever. The High Contracting Parties to
the Fourth Geneva Convention should reconsider their decision to delay its conference
called for by the UN General Assembly which was convened on July 15, 1999 for
only ten minutes without any action. In PCHR’s view, not only has the continuing
HCP inaction led to an unprecedented politicization of the international humanitarian
law, but it also implies encouragement for Israeli violations against Palestinian
civilians and increasingly constitutes an international conspiracy of silence.

On the Palestinian internal level, democratic change met obstacles as a result of the
ascendancy of the executive over the legislature and the judiciary, especially in the
first nine months. During the last quarter of the year 2000, under worsening
conditions of Israeli violations against Palestinian civilians and the Palestinian
National Authority (PNA), there was no chance to talk about a process of democratic
change and institutionalization. Despite the impact of the continuing occupation on
Palestinian democratic development, the Palestinian National Authority is primarily
responsible for these problems in democratic development especially in the first nine
months. It can be said that the PNA did not make real efforts to promote the principle
of the separation of powers, the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law. It
did not take necessary measures to ensure the protection of Palestinian human rights.

Justice faced concrete challenges and obstacles and the PNA did not take crucial
measures to promote the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law. The year
2000 ended without the PNA issuing the judiciary law, which is the foundation of an
independent judiciary. The law was not issued despite the fact that the bill was
ratified in its third reading in the Palestinian Legislative Council in November 1998.
Instead of issuing the law, a Presidential decree was issued ordering the establishment
of a high judiciary council. Despite the importance of establishing such a council,
PCHR expressed its reservations about the means by which it was established and also
called for the judiciary law to be issued.

Furthermore, the implementation of Palestinian court decisions, particularly those

relating to the release of political prisoners, faced serious challenges by law
enforcement officials. As such, this issue remained one of the most important open
files of the PNA agenda. During the first nine months of the year 2000, the PNA
continued to wage illegal arrest campaigns and did not release those prisoners even
after the High Court ruled in favor or their release. Nevertheless, during the last
quarter of the year 2000, the issue of political prisoners saw considerable
improvement following the release of most of the political prisoners. PCHR
expressed its satisfaction with this improvement.

One the most significant obstacles to the functioning of Palestinian judiciary system
was the continued operation of the State Security Courts which dramatically
undermined the independence of the judiciary. Moreover, the mandates of these
courts increasingly expanded to include civil cases. Trials in these courts are
conducted rapidly without legal representation for those indicted or right of appeal.
The State Security Courts lack the requirements for fair trials. The abolishment of the
State Security Courts is one of the basic demands by human rights organizations.
During the year 2000, the Palestinian State Security Courts sentenced a number of
those indicted to death, with no possibility of appeal.

During the first nine months of the year 2000, the PNA continued to restrict the right
to free expression and peaceful assembly. The order issued by the Palestinian Chief
of Police on February 29, 2000 prohibiting public meetings without his prior approval
was strongly condemned by PCHR and other Palestinian human rights organizations.
This order, as well as the executive bill issued by the Palestinian President, in his
capacity as Minister of Interior, on April 30, 2000, violates the Law 12 of 1998
regarding public meetings in both word and spirit. However, it should be noted that
these restrictions were significantly eased in the last quarter of the year. During this
time, dozens of marches and public meetings were organized without prior approval
of the Palestinian Chief of Police. All of these activities were organized to protest
Israeli occupation and practices and were not related to the PNA.

During the last quarter of the year, the work of the Palestinian legislature was
profoundly affected by the total Israeli siege imposed on the Occupied Palestinian
Territories. Members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) were not able to
move freely between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and even between cities, to
attend the sessions of the PLC and its committees. However, during the first nine
months of the year, the PLC failed to meet the expectations of Palestinian people as a
legislative body. Although the tenure of the PLC came to its de jure end in May
1999, according to the Interim Agreement after the public authorization expired, no
public election was held. In addition, the election is not expected to be held any time
in the near future. This is a major obstacle to democratic development, particularly
given the failure of the PNA to hold elections for Palestinian local councils, which are
currently administered by appointed committees rather than elected ones.
 PART 1

ISRAELI VIOLATIONS OF
HUMAN RIGHTS
(1) The Excessive Use of Force and Extra-judicial Killings Perpetrated by the
Israeli Occupation Forces: Al-Aqsa Intifada

The year 2000 witnessed a significant escalation in the use of lethal force by the
Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians. This escalation has been the
most serious since the Israeli occupation forces re-deployed in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories in May 1994. It reached its climax in the last quarter of 2000,
during which time Israeli occupation forces killed 309 Palestinians and wounded
approximately 10,000. During what has come to be known as Al-Aqsa Intifada,
clashes erupted between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces in the
aftermath of a provocative visit by the extremist Likud leader Ariel Sharon to Al-
Haram Al-Sharif (the Holy Sanctuary) on September 28, 2000. Not only did the
Israeli occupation forces used live ammunition and rubber-coated metal bullets on a
large scale and in an unprecedented fashion, but they also fired heavy and medium
caliber bullets fired from combat helicopters. Furthermore, combat helicopters,
gunboats and tanks of the Israeli occupation forces shelled civilian buildings and
facilities, and targeted governmental buildings and Palestinian police sites in the areas
under the control of the Palestinian National Authority.

Israel’s grave breaches of international law in the last quarter of the year 2000
constituted no less than war crimes against Palestinian civilians. These practices were
also part of a larger shoot-to-kill policy adopted by the Israeli occupation forces
against Palestinian civilians since the beginning of the year 2000.2 Since the
beginning of the year 2000 until the outbreak of Al-Aqsa Intifada, the Israeli
occupation forces killed 24 Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This
included an old woman from Hebron, who died from a heart attack when the Israeli
occupation forces burst into her house, searching for her “wanted” son. It also
included a woman from Gaza who was killed and her son wounded, when Israeli
occupation forces positioned in a settlement, opened fire on them while they were

2
On Thursday 1 June 2000, at 2pm, the Israeli occupation forces fired at the Palestinian officials
working at the Rafah border entrance. According to information received by PCHR, more than 150
Israeli soldiers, armed with automatic weapons, tear gas and a water cannon, burst into the transit
hall in order to arrest Nabil Midires Oukal from Jabalya refugee camp, North of Gaza, who was
intending to travel to Jordan through Gaza International Airport. The Israeli occupation forces
opened fire on Palestinian Authority employees at the border, including Palestinian border liaison’s
Officers, and tax counter’s employees, injuring ten of them with live bullets. Six of them were
immediately transported to Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis, and the other four were admitted to Rafah
Central Clinic. In addition, ten others were severely affected by tear gas and given emergency
treatment on the spot. According to medical reports from Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis, the
condition of the six wounded officials admitted to the surgery Unit was not critical.
According to information gathered by PCHR from the wounded, the attack of the Israeli soldiers was
deliberate. They also added that two weeks prior, the Israeli soldiers attempted to arrest one of the
Palestinian civilians who were crossing, but the Palestinian Authorities managed to prevent the
arrest.
traveling home by car.3 In addition, a Palestinian youth from Nablus died from an
injury received in 1989, during the first Intifada.4 The Israeli occupation forces killed
four Palestinians from Gaza, when these forces laid siege to a house located in the
town of al-Taybeh inside Israel where they were taking refuge. Israeli claimed that
they were members of a military cell who came from Gaza to carry out a military
operation against Israeli civilians.5

Furthermore, Israeli occupation forces opened fire on Palestinian civilians when there
was no threat posed to their lives. For example, in May, Israeli occupation soldiers
opened fire on demonstrating Palestinian civilians on the 52nd anniversary of Al-
Nakba, the anniversary of the uprooting and dispersal of the Palestinian people. As a
result, six Palestinians were killed and about 1,000 were wounded. Moreover, four
Palestinian civilians were killed in separate incidents after land mines left by the

3
On July 8, 2000, around 12:30 local time, Israeli occupation forces fired upon two Palestinian civilian
cars, killing a woman and critically injuring both her husband and their six-month old child. Their
other child, a four-year old, was moderately injured. Another man in a different car was also shot.
According to information gathered by PCHR, the shooting took place right before the Kfar Darom
settlement bridge situated in the middle area of the Gaza Strip. The bridge connects the settlement to
an Israeli military installation on the other side of the road and is permanently manned by armed
soldiers. A driver was passing a car on the road when Israeli soldiers shot automatic weapons from
above the bridge. The passing car, which contained the Palestinian family, was passing an Israeli
settler’s car. As a result, Mr. E’tedal Hamza Mo’ammar, 29, from Rafah was killed with three live
bullets. In addition, her husband Sharif ‘Eid Mo’ammar, 37, and their six-month-old child were
seriously wounded, and their other child Rae’d, 4, was moderately wounded. Another Palestinian
civilian, Saleh Mahmoud Saleh, 43, from Rafah, was wounded with a live bullet in the right thigh.
According Saleh, a Palestinian from Rafah who was a passenger in the third car driving behind and
who was also shot, the intensive shooting started without warning. Mr. Saleh reported that the
passing car stopped, but the shooting continued. Mr. Saleh and his friend continued driving to get
away from the shooting. They drove to a nearby ambulance station about 2 km away and returned to
take the wounded.

On August 1, 2000, the Israeli English daily Ha’aretz published a report in which it said that the
Israeli occupation forces investigated the incident. These forces claimed that their site near Kfar
Darom settlement was fired upon. However, the report said that Israeli occupation soldiers opened
fire inappropriately and that some of them opened fire without identify the source of fire. The
newspaper also claimed that an Israeli occupation forces officer was dismissed from service in Gaza.

4
Hussein ‘Abdel-Hadi, 15, was wounded with a live bullet that paralyzed him, when an under cover
unit of the Israeli occupation forces attacked members of the Palestinian Black Panther Group in
Nablus in 1989 and killed a member of the group.

5
The Israeli occupation forces very often kept the bodies of Palestinians after they have killed them.
On June 15, 2000, PCHR issued a press release on agreement by the Israeli occupation forces to
release the body of a Palestinian from Gaza. PCHR received a reply from the legal advisor of the
Israeli army which informed that the Israeli occupation forces finally agreed to transfer the body of
Na’el Yassin Abu ‘Awad to his family in the Gaza Strip, in response to his family’s demand. Israel
had kept Abu ‘Awad’s body since he was killed on March 2, 2000 in an exchange of fire with Israeli
occupation forces in the town of Taubeh inside Israel. PCHR stated that Israel was still keeping
bodies of 28 Palestinians that had been killed, in blatant violation of international conventions and
instruments, and without consideration for human and religious values. PCHR considered this issue
with maximum interest to ensure the retrieval of the bodies of all Palestinians that had been killed to
their families.
Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank exploded.6 The Israeli occupation forces
also attempted to assassinate a Palestinian citizen from the village of Al-Ebeideya
near Bethlehem.7 In one of the most brutal killings, the Israeli occupation forces killed
an elderly Palestinian man while arresting his son.

Incidents of May

In May 2000, on the 52nd anniversary of Al-Nakba, when the Palestinian people were
uprooted and dispersed, bloody clashes erupted between Palestinian citizens and the
Israeli occupation forces. On May 14 and 15, four Palestinian citizens were killed and
approximately 1,000 were wounded. In addition, another two Palestinians were killed
on May 20 and 21.8 Furthermore, demonstrations and marches were organized in
solidarity with Palestinian prisoners who had been in a hunger strike since April 30,
2000. These demonstrations called for their release and improved conditions.

The Outbreak of Al-Aqsa Intifada on September 29, 2000

The last quarter of the year 2000 witnessed an unprecedented escalation of the use of
lethal force by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians during
clashes. These clashes broke out on September 29, 2000, in the aftermath of a
provocative visit by the extremist Likud leader Ariel Sharon to Al-Haram Al-Sharif
(the Holy Sanctuary). In most cases where Israeli occupation forces killed Palestinian
civilians, either during clashes or not, there were no threats posed to the lives of
Israeli occupation soldiers nor to settlers.

6
On July 5, 2000, the child Khalil Yousef Makhamra, 15, from Kherbet Janba near hebron, was killed
when a leftover Israeli landmine exploded as he was grazing animals near a settlement. On the
following day, the child Safwan Ahmed ‘Assi, 12, from Beit Leqia near Ramallah, was killed by a
landmine. On August 20, 2000, the child Mo’in Suleiman Talahma, 13, from Al-Borj village near
Hebron, was killed as a result of a landmine explosion when he and his brother were cultivating
olives from their farm, approximately 400m away from home. On August 29, 2000, Nassar ‘Abed
‘Ali K’abneh, 18, from Beit Dajn, was killed when a landmine exploded while he was grazing
animals in the Jordan Valley. It is worth mentioning that there are 15 minefields leftover from Israeli
occupation in Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem, Jenin, Tulkarm and Qalqilya. Six Palestinian civilians
have been killed and another 15 had been wounded as result of landmine explosions since the
beginning of 1999. The Annex of the Eighth Day, July 13, 2000, p. 3.

7
At the end of June 2000, the Israeli occupation forces prepared an ambush for Radhi Mohammed Safi,
40, from Al-‘Obeideya village near Bethlehem, in Be’r Helwa area between Beit Sahour and Al-
‘Obeideya village, under control by these forces. They opened fire on him, wounding him in the
intestines and the shoulder. He was evacuated to the intensive care unit at Hadassa hospital in
Jerusalem in serious condition. The Israeli occupation forces did not allow his wife to visit him in
hospital. Safi had been wanted by the Israeli occupation forces for more than five years for having
been member of the Islamic Jihad. He was imprisoned for ten years in Israeli jails.

8
On June 28, a Palestinian policeman, Yousef Mahmoud Mohammed Abu Nahel, 23, from Gaza, died
from an injury he received during clashes between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation
forces on May 17, 2000.
Israeli snipers showed their skills in targeting the upper part of the body of
Palestinians from short distances with the aim of killing, wounding, or permanently
disabling many. In a clear evidence of the use of lethal force by the Israeli occupation
forces, investigations carried out by PCHR proved that 12 Palestinians died after
being shot from behind when there were no threats posed to the lives of the soldiers.
Furthermore, four Palestinians died due to inhaling tear gas used by Israeli occupation
forces.

In the early stages of the clashes, the Israeli occupation forces used heavy and
medium machine guns, helicopters, gunboats, and tanks to shell Palestinian cities and
civilian facilities. This serious escalation led to a significant increase in the number of
Palestinian civilians who were killed by either Israeli occupation forces or settlers.
During the last quarter of the year 2000, 309 Palestinians, including 273 civilians
(including103 children under 18 and old people over 50), were killed by the Israeli
occupation forces and settlers. In addition, extra-judicial killings, which amount to
political assassinations, resulted in the deaths of 14 Palestinians, including civilian by-
standers.

Furthermore, Israeli occupation forces targeted Palestinian security forces in areas of

clashes. Although military confrontations between Palestinian security forces and the
Israeli occupation forces were often limited, Israeli occupation forces used heavy
weapons and combat helicopters, causing significant numbers of deaths and property
damage. In many incidents, Israeli occupation forces shelled Palestinian security
force sites in the absence of clashes, thus increasing the number of casualties. In
addition, a number of off-duty Palestinian security men were killed during clashes
between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli occupation forces. During the last
quarter of the year 2000, Israeli occupation forces killed 36 Palestinian security men.

Israeli occupation forces also did not comply with the principles of international
humanitarian law in dealing with clearly marked medical personnel and ambulances.
In many incidents, Israeli occupation forces willfully opened fire on Palestinian
medical personnel, killing three Palestinian medical relievers in the West Bank and
the Gaza Strip. In addition, a German physician living in Bethlehem was killed while
offering assistance to Palestinians who were wounded when the Israeli occupation
forces shelled Bethlehem. Dozens of Palestinian medical personnel were also
wounded by Israeli occupation forces.

Members of the local and international press were not immune to these violations.
They were chased, beaten, and fired upon by the Israeli occupation forces in order to
conceal from the world Israel’s blatant human rights violations against Palestinian
civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In addition, Israeli occupation forces
shelled the headquarters of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, cutting
broadcasting and causing severe damage. Israeli claimed that through broadcasting
images of Israeli violations, the PBC was inciting Palestinians against Israel.

1) Targeting the Upper Part of the Body

Israeli occupation forces resorted to the excessive use of force against Palestinian
civilians. From September 29 to December 31, 2000, 309 Palestinians were killed
by Israeli occupation forces and settlers. Of the victims 273 (88.34%) who were
shot in the upper part of the body, including 124 (40%) who were shot in the head
and the neck, and 149 (48.12%) who were shot in the chest and the abdomen. The
rest of the victims were killed by settlers, during shelling by tanks and helicopters,
by bullets in the lower part of the body, or by tear gas inhalation.

Taking into consideration the age and number of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza
Strip who were wounded in the upper part of the body, it is clear that excessive force
was employed by the Israeli occupation forces, in order to wound or permanently
disable a maximum number of Palestinian civilians, is clear. According to PCHR’s
statistics, 2,500 Palestinians were wounded in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli
occupation forces from September 29 to December 31, 2000. This figure does not
include the hundreds who fainted and suffered from suffocation due to tear gas
inhalation. Among those who were wounded in the Gaza Strip, 1305 (51.97%) were
wounded in the upper part of the body, including 531 (21.14%) were wounded in the
head and the neck, and 774 (30.82%) were wounded in the chest and the abdomen.
In addition, 1206 were wounded in the lower part of the body. Furthermore, during
the same period, 30 Palestinians from the Gaza strip were wounded in the eyes,
some lost their eyes and dozens were permanently disabled.

2) Targeting Children9

Israeli occupation forces indiscriminately employed lethal force against Palestinian

civilians, mainly children under 18. During the last quarter of the year 2000, the
Israeli occupation forces killed 103 (37.31%) children out of a 273 Palestinian
civilians and 36 security men killed by Israeli occupation forces and Jewish settlers.
In addition, 2,500 Palestinians, including 1,492 children under 18 (59.41%) were
wounded by the Israeli occupation forces in the last quarter of the year 2000. The
high number of children who were killed or wounded by Israeli occupation forces
indicates that these forces willfully targeted children, without any respect for
international law, which ensure additional protections and special treatment for
children.

3) Assassination of Palestinian Political Activists

During the last quarter of the year 2000, Israeli occupation forces carried out several
assassinations of Palestinian political activists, accusing them of resistance activities.
As a result of this policy, Israeli occupation forces killed 14 Palestinian civilians
(including 6 by-standers) during the last quarter of the year 2000. These extra-
judicial killings are part of a stated official policy of political assassination,
sanctioned by the Israeli judiciary. These assassinations were committed through
ambush, direct shooting, car bombs, or helicopter launched missiles. Following are
the list of assassinations committed by the Israeli occupation forces during the last
quarter of the year 2000:

9
PCHR includes in the category of children all those under the age of 18 in accordance with Article 1
of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which states, “a child means every human being
below the age of eighteen years of age.”
On November 9, 2000, an Israeli combat helicopter fired three rockets at the jeep of
Hussein ‘Ebayyat, 37, from the village of Al-Ta’amreh near Bethlehem, killing him
instantly. At the time of the attack, the jeep was travelling on a road in Beit Sahour.
In addition, ‘Azziza Dannoun Jobran, 52, and Rahma Rashid Shoe’ibat, 50, from
Beit Sahour were killed while they were passing near the road.10

On November 22, 2000, an Israeli tank intercepted two Palestinian cars near an
Israeli roadblock on the road leading to Morag settlement east of Rafah. Without
warning, the tank opened fire on the two cars, killing four. Those were, Jamal
‘Abdel-Razeq, 30, from Rafah; ‘Awni Ismail Dhuheir, 38, from Rafah; Na’el Salem
Al-Leddawi, 22, from Rafah; and Sami Nasser Abu Laban, 29, from Sheikh Radwan
neighborhood in Gaza City. The Israeli occupation forces transferred the four
bodies to a nearby settlement and handed them over to the Palestinian side only after
several hours.11

On November 23, 2000, Israel assassinated Ibrahim ‘Abdel-Karim Bami ‘Oudeh, 34,
from the village of Tammoun near Jenin, through a remote control car bomb that
was placed under the driver’s seat of his car. He was instantly killed when the car
exploded as soon as he started the car.

On December 11, 2000, Israeli occupation forces assassinated Anwar Mahmoud

Hamarn, 28, from the village of ‘Arrabeh near Jenin. Israeli occupation forces
positioned on Jarzim Mount in Nablus fired 19 live bullets throughout Hamarn’s
body. At the time he was shot, he was in front of the campus of Al-Quds Open
University, located approximately 1,000m west of the Israeli occupation forces’
position.

On December 12, 2000, Israeli occupation forces assassinated Yousef Ahmed Abu
Sawi, 28, from the village of Al-Khader near Bethlehem by firing upon him from a
distance of approximately 200m. Abu Sawi was killed with 17 live bullets
throughout the body.

On December 13, 2000, Israeli snipers assassinated ‘Abbas Othman Al-‘Oweiwi, 26,
from Hebron, when they fired upon him from a distance of approximately 250m.
There were no clashes in the area.

10
The Israeli military spokesman stated in a press conference that the Israeli occupation forces
intentionally assassinated Hussein ‘Ebayyat and accusing him of shooting at Gilo settlement near
Beit Jala as well as direct involvement in the killing of an Israeli soldier during an armed
confrontation in Beit Jala.

11
The Israeli occupation forces first claimed that the four Palestinians were activists of the Fatah
Movement’s military wing and were attempting to carry out an attack in Morag settlement, located
approximately 200m away from the place of the incident. Later, an Israeli military spokesman
asserted that the assassination was a planned operation that targeted a leader of Fatah Movement,
Jamal ‘Abdel-Razeq, 30, from Rafah, whom Israeli occupation forces accused of firing upon their
soldiers during recent clashes. When the four were killed, they were traveling between two cars
from Rafah to Khan Yunis. When they were close to the Israeli roadblock leading to Morag
settlement, an Israeli tank intercepted their cars and opened fire on them. Israeli soldiers
positioned on an observation tower also fired upon them.
On December 14, 2000, an Israeli patrol intercepted the car of Hani Hussein Abu
Bakra, 32, from Rafah, near the junction leading to Deir El-Balah (Al-Heker road).
The forces stopped the car and opened fire intensively. Abu Bakara was killed by
several live bullets in the head, the chest, the neck and the extremities. In addition,
three Palestinians were wounded. This included ‘Abdullah E’issa Gannan, 40, from
Khan Yunis, who was critically wounded when he was in the targeted car. He died
from his wounds on December 23, 2000.

On December 31, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces assassinated Dr. Thabet Ahmed
Thabet, 49, from Tulkarm. An Israeli unit fired upon Dr. Thabet from a distance of
300m while he was driving from home to work that morning. Dr. Thabet was a
director general in the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

4) Settlers Involvement in Palestinian Civilian Deaths

Jewish settlers in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were extensively involved in the
incidents that occurred in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. These settlers initiated
shooting at Palestinian civilians in the absence of provocative incidents or threats
posed to their lives. During the last quarter of 2000, 11 Palestinian civilians were
killed by Jewish settlers in the West Bank. Settlers also killed two children (who
were brothers) on May 15, 2000. Following is a list of Palestinian civilians killed by
Jewish settlers in the year 2000:

1. Mahmoud Mustafa El-Aqra’, 7, from Habla village near Qalqilya

On May 15, 2000, a Jewish settler ran him and his younger bother Mohammed over
with a truck on a bypass road near Alfe Menashe settlement near Qalqilya.

2. Mohammed Mustafa El-Aqra’, 6, from Habla village near Qalqilya

The aforementioned incident.

3. Sarah ‘Abdel-‘Azhim Hassan, 1.5, from Talfit village near Nablus

On October 1, 2000, a Jewish settler opened fire on her father’s car while he was
returning to their village from the hospital with his sick child Sarah and his niece
Rima, 21. Sarah received a lethal live bullet in the head and Rima was moderately
wounded.

4. ‘Essam Joudeh Hamad, 45, from Um Safa village near Ramallah

On October 7, 2000, Jewish settlers of Halmish settlement near Ramallah kidnapped

him from nearby the road leading to his village. They killed him with sharp tools,
burned his face and discarded his body the following day near the settlement where
area residents found him.

5. Mohammed Ghassan Saleh Bozeya, 39, from Kufol Hares village

On October 11, 2000, a group of Jewish settlers attacked Kufol Hares village and
kidnapped him. They violently beat him and then killed him by running over him
with a car.

6. Ibrahim ‘Abdel-Rahman El-‘Alama, 25, from Beit Ummar near Hebron

On October 12, 2000, a Jewish settler opened fire on him, wounding him in the head.
El-‘Alama died from this wound on October 18, 2000.

7. Farid Mousa Nssasra, 28, from Beit Fourik near Nablus

On October 17, 2000, a group of Jewish settlers burst into the Beit Fourik village
farms and attempted to force Palestinian farmers who were cultivating their olives to
abandon their farms. When the Palestinian farmers refused, the settlers opened fire,
killing Nassasra with a live bullet in the abdomen and wounding another three,
including Malek Nassasra, who was seriously wounded.

8. Zahi Fathi El-‘Ardha, 37, from Nablus

On October 19, 2000, a group of Jewish settlers burst into areas under the control of
the Palestinian National Authority in Nablus, killing El-‘Ardha and wounding several
other Palestinian civilians.

9. Ahmed Amin El-Khoffash, 7, from Salfit

On November 7, 2000, El-Khoffash was instantly killed when a settler ran him over
with his car while the child was walking on a settlement road known as “Trans-
Samaria.”

10. Mustafa Mahmoud ‘Oleyan, 54, from ‘Askar refugee camp near Nablus

On November 14, 2000, a Jewish settler threw an enormous stone at his car, killing
him instantly.

11. Shadi Ahmed Za’oul, 14, from Housan near Bethlehem

On November 30, 2000, a Jewish settler driving his car at high speeds willfully ran
over the child, killing him.

12. Mohammed Hamed Shalash, 18, from Shaqba village near Ramallah

On December 17, 2000, during clashes between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli
occupation forces in the village of ‘Aboud near Ramallah, a Jewish settler shot and
killed him.

13. Tahrir Suleiman Rezeq, 20, from Hazma near Jerusalem

On December 31, 2000, a Jewish settler shot him dead during clashes in the village.
5) Palestinian Deaths Resulting from Israeli Shelling

During the last quarter of 2000, Israeli occupation forces also employed combat
helicopters, tanks and gunboats to shell Palestinian residential neighborhoods and
civilian facilities. In early stages of peaceful demonstrations between Palestinian
civilians and the Israeli occupation forces, Israeli combat helicopters shelled two
Palestinian housing units near an Israeli military site at Al-Shuhada’ (Netzarim)
junction, south of Gaza City. The two units were shelled from the nearby Netzarim
settlement for more than one week. The units were destroyed and their residents lost
their homes and personal property. In addition, the Israeli occupation forces
destroyed a nearby Palestinian iron factory.12

Israeli shelling of Palestinian cities became a regular occurrence on the pretext that
Jewish settlements and military positions were fired upon from inside these cities.
Since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, shelling has concentrated primarily on the
cities of Beit Jala, Hebron, Khan Yunis and Rafah. This shelling has caused severe
damage to Palestinian houses and made hundreds of Palestinian families homeless.

This shelling took a new and more serious turn on October 12, 2000, when
helicopters, gunboats and tanks of these forces shelled the Palestinian cities of
Ramallah, Gaza and Jericho. The shelling targeted headquarters of Palestinian
security apparatuses, Gaza fishing harbor, the headquarters of the Palestinian Civil
Defense and a building of Fatah movement. Dozens of Palestinian civilians were
injured during the shelling.

As part of the continued policy of shelling Palestinian houses and properties, on

November 20, 2000, Israeli combat helicopters and gunboats intensively shelled
several cities and areas in the Gaza Strip. Shelling targeted Palestinian houses,
civilian facilities, and security installations in Gaza, Khan Yunis, Deir El-Balah,
Nusseirat, Beit Lahia and Jabalya. Palestinian civilians were terrified during the
shelling which lasted for three hours. Many Palestinians were wounded during the
shelling, including children.13

In many incidents of indiscriminate Israeli shelling of Palestinian cities, dozens of

Palestinian civilians were killed or injured while they were at homes or passing
targeted residential neighborhoods. In many cases, the Israeli occupation forces
12
On October 1, 2000, Israeli combat helicopters shelled a Palestinian Liaison Forces site at Al-
Shuhada’ (Netzarim) junction and destroyed it. Furthermore, dozens of Palestinian civilians were
wounded. On October 2, 2000, Israeli combat helicopters shelled two Palestinian housing buildings
near the aforementioned junction. On October 8, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces completely
destroyed the two buildings, a nearby iron factory and a wall opposite to their military site in the
area. This wall appeared on television throughout the world when the child Mohammed El-Durreh
and his father sought shelter from Israeli shooting behind it.

13
The Israeli occupation forces claimed that this was a response to the killing of two lost Israeli
soldiers by Palestinian demonstrators in Ramallah. Palestinian field reports asserted that the two
were members of an undercover Israeli unit, knows as “Al-Mosta’rebin” (Arabianizers), whose
members disguise themselves as Palestinians and enter Palestinian communities in order to kill and
terrify Palestinian civilians. This unit was formed during the first Palestinian Intifada, 1987-1993,
and it killed dozens of Palestinian activists in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
willfully shelled Palestinian security force installations and Palestinian demonstrators.
Until the end of the year 2000, 31 Palestinian citizens in the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip were killed when the Israeli occupation forces shelled Palestinian cities, villages,
and refugee camps. Following is a list of Palestinians who were killed as a result of
Israeli shelling forces from September 29 up to December 31, 2000:

On October 1, 2000, a 12-year-old child from Nablus, Samer Samir Tabanja, was
killed with a medium caliber bullet in the head fired by an Israeli combat helicopter
that shelled the city. He was on the roof of his family’s house.

On October 3, 2000, Fahmi Abu Ammouneh, 28, from Nusseirat, was killed when a
shell fired from an Israeli combat helicopter hit him in the head. Abu Ammouneh was
killed during clashes between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces
near Al-Shuhada’ (Netzarim) junction, south of Gaza City.

On October 4, 2000, Mahmoud Lutfi Massad, 24, from Bourqin near Jenin, was killed
with a heavy caliber bullet in the head when the Israeli occupation forces shelled a
Palestinian security site during an armed confrontation.

On October 20, 2000, ‘Adnan ‘Azziz As’ad, 21, from Balatta refugee camp near
Nablus, was killed with a medium caliber bullet in the head that was fired from and
Israeli military position in Nablus. This occurred during clashes in which Israeli
occupation forces also fired artillery shells.

On October 20, 2000, Feras Khalil Zaid, 26, from Toubas near Jenin, was also killed
in the aforementioned incident.

On October 23, 2000, ‘Abdel-‘Azziz Abu Seneineh, 55, from Hebron, was killed with
by artillery shell during indiscriminate Israeli shelling of Hebron. A number of
artillery shells fell onto Abu Seneuneh’s house, one of which killed him.

On November 1, 2000, Wa’el Shu’eib Ghoneim, 27, from Al-Khader near Bethlehem,
was killed with a heavy caliber bullet fired by Israeli combat helicopters that shelled
Palestinian houses.

On November 1, 2000, Marwan Taye’ ‘Assaf, 21, from Wadi Foukin village near
Bethlehem, was killed in the aforementioned incident.

On November 9, 2000, Israeli occupation forces assassinated Hussein ‘Ebayyat, 37,

from Al-T’amreh village near Bethlehem, by firing three rockets from a combat
helicopter at his car in Beit Sahour.

On November 9, 2000, ‘Azziza Dannoun Jobran, 52, from Beit Sahour, was killed
with shrapnel of rockets fired by Israeli combat helicopters in the aforementioned
incident.

On November 9, 2000, Rahma Rashid Shoe’ibat, 50, from Beit Sahour, was killed
with shrapnel of rockets fired by Israeli combat helicopters in the aforementioned
incident.
On November 10, 2000, Ra’ed Khalil El-Muhtasseb, 25, from Hebron, was killed
with a medium caliber bullet, when the Israeli occupation forces shelled Hebron.

On November 11, 2000, Ossama Khalil El-Bawab, 28, from Al-Bireh, was killed
when Israeli occupation forces shelled the city from inside Psagot settlement near
Ramallah.

On November 11, 2000, Majed Hussein Radwan, 32, was killed in the aforementioned
incident.

On November 15, 2000, Harry Fischer, 55, a German physician, was killed while he
was offering help to Palestinian families during Israeli shelling of Beit Jala at night..

On November 22, 2000, Najib Mohammed Qeshta, 50, from Rafah, was killed with a
heavy caliber bullet in the head when the Israeli occupation forces shelled Palestinian
houses near Salah El-Din Gate on the border in Rafah.

On November 24, 2000, Sami ‘Adel ‘Omar, 32, from Kufor Qallil village near
Nablus, was killed while inside his house when the Israeli occupation forces shelled
the village.

On November 24, 2000, Nahed ‘Adel ‘Omar, 26, from Kufor Qallil village near
Nablus, was killed in the same aforementioned incident.

On November 25, 2000, Taysser ‘Adnan Abu El-‘Arraj, 18, from Khan Yunis refugee
camp, was killed with an artillery shell in the chest fired by the Israeli occupation
forces from Al-Tuffah roadblock, 250m west of Khan Yunis refugee camp.

On December 7, 2000, Zuhair Mustafa Al-Hattab, 17, from Al-Tuffah neighborhood

in Gaza City, died from an injury from artillery shell shrapnel fired by an Israeli tank
at Palestinian demonstrators near Al-Mentar (Karni) Outlet on November 20, 2000.

On December 8, 2000, Israeli tanks positioned near a Palestinian National Security

Forces site in Jenin, fired several artillery shells at the site, killing Mohannad
Mohammed Abu Shadouf, a 31-year-old member of the Palestinian National Security
Forces from Borqin village.

On December 8, 2000, Ziad Mahmoud Subeih, 34, from Kufor Ra’ei village near
Jenin and a member of the Palestinian National Security Forces, was killed in the
aforementioned incident.

On December 8, 2000, Mahmoud ‘Abdullah Yahia, 17, from Kufor Ra’ei village near
Jenin, a member of the Palestinian National Security Forces, was killed in the
aforementioned incident.

On December 8, 2000, ‘Alla’ ‘Abdel-Latif Abu Jaber, 17, from Al-Moghayer village
near Jenin, a member of the Palestinian National Security Forces, was killed in the
aforementioned incident.
On December 8, 2000, Mohammed Rateb Taleb, 21, from Jenin, a civilian by-stander,
was killed in the aforementioned incident.

On December 18, 2000, the director of operations of the Palestinian police, Brigadier
General ‘Abdel-Mou’ti El-Sab’awi, 57, from Gaza was killed when an unexploded
artillery shell leftover from Israeli shelling of Deir El-Balah exploded when he
attempted to disarm it.

On December 20, 2000, a 14-year-old child from Rafah, Hani Yousef El-Soufi, was
killed with a heavy caliber bullet in the head, during the shelling of Palestinian houses
from Israeli positions at the border in Rafah

On December 20, 2000, Suleiman Marzouq Zo’rob, 29, from Rafah, was killed in the
aforementioned incident.

On December 21, 2000, Rashid Sa’id Barhoum, 26, from Rafah, died from an injury
on December 20, 2000, in the aforementioned incident.

On December 28, 2000, an artillery shell fired by an Israeli tank hit Mahmoud ‘Ali
Nusseir, 33, from Beit Hanoun in the north of the Gaza Strip, in the chest and
abdomen, killing him instantly. This incident occurred during a military confrontation
between Palestinian National Security Forces and the Israeli occupation forces, east of
Beit Hanoun.

On December 31, 2000, The child Ma’ath Ahmed Abu Wahdan, 12, from El-Sheikh
neighborhood in Hebron, was killed by a shrapnel in the head from an artillery shell
fired by the Israeli occupation forces. These forces fired the shell at the family home
from a military position inside “Ramat Yitsai” settlement center in Hebron.

6) Shooting at Medical Personnel

Israeli occupation forces targeted medical personnel and ambulances and as well as
obstructed the evacuation of the wounded. They shot at Palestinian medical
relievers, killing four and wounding dozens. Furthermore, Israeli occupation forces
imposed a total siege on the Occupied Palestinian Territories and closed all border
crossings, obstructing the transfer of the wounded to hospitals abroad and the entry
of necessary medical equipment to Palestinian hospitals in the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip. Israeli occupation forces obstructed internal movement and the transfer
of patients to Palestinian hospitals in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, through
the internal siege that included road closures and restricted movement between
Palestinian areas. Following is a list of Palestinian medical personnel killed by the
Israeli occupation forces in the last quarter of the year 2000:

On September 30, 2000, Israeli occupation forces, positioned in a military site at Al-
Shuhada’ (Netzarim) junction, south of Gaza City, opened fire on a clearly-marked
ambulance of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, when its personnel attempted to
evacuate Mohammed Jamal Al-Durreh and his father, who were wounded by live
bullets fired by Israeli snipers during bloody clashes between Israeli occupation
forces and Palestinian citizens at the junction. Intensive shooting at the ambulance
killed a Palestinian medical reliever, Bassam Fayez El-Belbeisi, 45, from Gaza City.
On the same day, Israeli occupation forces fired a hail of live bullets at Amjad
Abdullah Dhraghma, 22, from Toubas, a Palestinian Marine Police medical reliever,
and Mohammed Tawfiq Al-Qalaq, 23, from Tulkarm, killing the two with live
bullets in the chest. At the time they were shot, while they were evacuating the
Palestinian dead and wounded during clashes between Israeli occupation forces and
Palestinian civilians. During these clashes, five Palestinian citizens were killed and
dozens were wounded, one of whom died on the following day.

On November 15, 2000, Harry Fischer, 55, a German physician and resident of
Bethlehem, was killed by an artillery shell when the Israeli occupation forces shelled
Beit Jala at night. The German physician, married to a Palestinian woman, was hit
by an artillery shell while attempting to offer help to a Palestinian family whose
house had been shelled.

7) Attacks on Journalists

During the Al-Aqsa Intifada, journalists were not immune to blatant Israeli violations
in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Many of these journalists, especially
photographers and cameramen, were chased, intimidated and fired upon by Israeli
occupation forces in an effort to prevent news coverage of violations.

On September 30, 2000, Chief of the Southern Command of the Israeli army issued a
military order, under which all Israelis, including journalists, were denied entry into
the Palestinian National Authority controlled areas. The order was intended to
conceal events in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and prevent Israeli Arabs from
visiting and seeing the situation.

On September 31, 2000, Israeli occupation soldiers arrested Suleiman El-Shaf’ei, a

correspondent of Israeli Television Channel 2, while he was on his way from Gaza to
Israel through Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing. Israeli soldiers informed El-Shaf’ei that
he violated military orders that prohibited the entry of Israelis into the Occupied
Palestinian Territories.

Attacks on international and local journalists escalated following international

criticism of Israel resulting from millions of people watching images of the willful
killing of Palestinian children and youths by the Israeli occupation forces. In
particular, the killing of the child Mohammed Al-Durreh had an especially strong
effect on international public opinion.

Furthermore, headquarters and buildings of local broadcasting stations were shelled

by Israeli combat helicopters under the pretext that their broadcasts constituted
incitement against Israel. On October 12, 2000, Israeli combat helicopters fired six
rockets at the aerial of Palestine Radio Station in Ramallah, cutting its medium wave
broadcast, but it continued to broadcast on FM.14 On November 20, 2000, Israeli

14
The Israeli army stated openly that it had targeted Palestine Radio Station and justified this attack by
claiming that the station’s broadcast incited violence. Source: a report by the International
Committee for Protecting Journalists on October 18, 2000.
combat helicopters shelled the building of Palestine Radio Station 2 in Al-Mentar area
east of Gaza City. An artillery shell destroyed a Palestine Television broadcast station
of near Al-Azhar University in Gaza City.

PCHR documented 73 cases in which the Israeli occupation forces fired upon, beat,
humiliated, arrested, interrogated, prevented the entry of, confiscated the equipment
of, or shelled the media institutions and centers of journalists.15

On October 1, 2000, an ABC cameraman, ‘Amer El-Ja’bari, was wounded with a

rubber-coated metal bullet in the head while he was covering clashes between
Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces in Hebron.

On October 2, 2000, the car of Marwan El-Ghoul, a CBC cameraman and director of
Mayadin Company for Media and Television Production, was shelled by an Israeli
combat helicopter and completely destroyed. This incident took place near Al-
Shuhada’ (Netzarim) junction in the Gaza Strip, while El-Ghoul was covering clashes
between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces. El-Ghoul stated that
his car clearly marked and easily identifiable as a press car by signs in Arabic and
English. There was photography equipment inside the car with a value of at least US$
20,000. On November 11, 2000, Marwan El-Ghoul’s car was fired upon for a second
time by the Israeli occupation forces and severely damaged. This incident took place
while El-Ghoul was covering the burning of a civilian car in which two Palestinian
civilians were shot and killed by Israeli occupation forces near Al-Matahen junction
in Al-Qarara.

The international press was also not immune to these violations. On October 9, 2000,
Israeli occupation troops shot rubber-coated metal bullets at Luce Delahye, a
Newsweek photographer, hitting and damaging the lens of his camera. The incident
occurred while he was covering clashes between Palestinian civilians and Israeli
occupation forces in Ramallah. A week later, in the same city, Delahye was wounded
by a rubber-coated metal bullet in the forehead, while he was photographing a
Palestinian youth who had been wounded by a live bullet in the head during clashes
between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces.

On October 21, 2000, Jacques-Marie Bourget, a Paris Match reporter, was wounded
with a live bullet in the left lung shot by the Israeli occupation forces, while he was
covering clashes between these forces and Palestinian civilians in Ramallah. Bourget
was evacuated to Ramallah governmental hospital in serious condition before being
transferred to Paris for treatment. Thierry Esch, a photographer for the same
magazine, who was behind Bourget, stated to his magazine that there was no doubt
that it was the Israeli occupation forces that shot Bourget. Patrick Jarnoux, a Paris
Match editor, stated to The Toronto Star, that based on Bourget’s position, the shots
must have come from in front of him – the locations of Israeli occupation forces.

On October 31, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces shot at Ben Wedeman, 41, a US
citizen and CNN correspondent, wounding him with a live bullet in the right side. He

15
PCHR issued a report on this issue on November 2000, covering the period of September 29 to
November 21, 2000, in which it documented 49 cases of aggression against journalists and reporters
of local and international press agencies.
was evacuated to Shifa’ hospital. This incident took place near Al-Mentar (Karni)
Outlet, when Wedeman was covering clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and
the Israeli occupation forces. Eyewitnesses asserted that Wedeman was wearing a
helmet and a bulletproof vest. They added that the situation in the area was relatively
calm, but it escalated when the Israeli occupation forces started to shoot intensively
and fire tank shells in the direction of Wedeman and other journalists. Wedeman was
forced to lie down to escape the shooting. A few minutes after the shooting started,
and while he was trying to stand up with his back to Israeli occupation forces, he was
shot with a live bullet in the right side.

On November 11, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces shot at US journalist Julia
Monakov, 37, an Associated Press (AP) correspondent, wounding her with two live
bullets in the pelvis and the bladder. This incident occurred while she was covering
clashes between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces in the vicinity
of Bilal Ben Rabah mosque in Bethlehem.

Israeli occupation forces’ attacks on journalists violate all relevant international

conventions and instruments, especially Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights which states that “everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and
expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to
seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of
frontiers;” Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of
1966, states that “everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression,; this right
includes freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds,
regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or print, in the form of art, or through
any other media of his choice:” Article 79 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva
Conventions of 1949 (Protocol 1), states that “journalists engaged in dangerous
professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered as civilians …
they shall be protected as such under the Conventions and this protocol, provided that
they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians.”

(2) Land Leveling and Civilian Facilities Demolition in the Gaza Strip

Israeli bulldozers continued to raze large areas of Palestinian agricultural land and
demolish many civilian facilities in the Gaza Strip during the last quarter of 2000.
These forces razed areas of Palestinian land in areas under their control as well as
areas under Palestinian National Authority control. This was especially the case in
areas: adjacent to Israeli military sites, adjacent to roads used by Israeli occupation
forces and in the vicinity of settlements, settlement roads, or borders.

According to information gathered by the Field Work Unit of PCHR, from September
29, 2000 until the end of the year 2000, the Israeli occupation forces razed 4,698
donums of land, 3,777 (80.4%) of which were agricultural and 921 (19.6%) were
wooded. During the same period, the Israeli occupation forces also demolished 62
Palestinian houses16 and a number of Palestinian factories.17 Israeli occupation forces

16
This figure does not include Palestinian houses that were destroyed by Israeli shelling.
 also destroyed many civilian facilities (greenhouses, irrigation networks, water
pumps, wells, agricultural pools, stores of agricultural tools, etc.), and uprooted
thousands of fruit-bearing trees.18

This destruction of Palestinian land and property in the Occupied Palestinian

Territories was an implementation of the policies of successive Israeli governments
which aimed at creating a fait accompli of irreversible facts on the ground. The
uprooting of thousands of fruit-bearing trees and the destruction of greenhouses,
which form the basis of the Palestinian agricultural sector, will cause financial losses
for several years to come. This is, of course, even a “best case” scenario in which it is
assumed that Palestinian civilians will be able to replant their land in the future.
However, there are grave fears that these lands may never be reclaimed. Illegal Israeli
settlements may well annex parts of these razed areas or they may be used for military
posts, bypass roads, or security space for the Israeli occupation forces. These acts of
destruction are blatant violations of individual and collective economic and social
rights.

These acts of destruction in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are blatant violations
of the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in
Time of War (1949). Article 53 of the Convention states: “Any destruction by the
Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively
to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or co-
operative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered
absolutely necessary by military operations.” Article 147 of the Convention
prohibits: “…extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by
military necessity…”

This wide-scale land razing and property destruction is part of a campaign of

collective punishment and measures of intimidation and terrorism against civilians.
All of this is prohibited by Article 33 of the Convention, which states: “No protected
person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed.
Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are
prohibited.”

These actions also contradict the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights in its Article 1, which stated that “ …In no case may a people be
deprived of its own means of subsistence,” and Article 5, which prevents any state,

17
During the last quarter of the year 2000, in an attempt to destroy the Palestinian economy, the Israeli
occupation forces targeted Palestinian factories and enterprises. Palestinian factories near flash
points (near settlements or at bypass roads used by the Israeli occupation forces and settlers) were
targeted. For example, on October 8, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces destroyed a Palestinian
iron factory near Al-Shuhada’ (Netzarim) junction, south of Gaza City. They also destroyed an
aluminum factory and a vegetable packaging factory near Kfar Darom settlement in Deir El-Balah.

18
See annexes (3) and (4) of this report.
group or person from engaging in “any act aimed at the destruction of any of the
rights and freedoms recognized herein…”19

Other Israeli Violations Regarding Palestinian Land and Property in the Gaza
Strip

During the first nine months of the year 2000, before the outbreak of Al-Aqsa
Intifada, the Israeli occupation forces continued to attack Palestinian land and civilian
facilities, in the so-called “yellow areas,” which are under the control of these forces.
This was especially the case in the Al-Mawasi (agricultural) area in Khan Yunis and
Rafah. Some Palestinian citizens were informed by the Israeli occupation forces that
their houses would be demolished. In addition, the Israeli occupation forces razed
large areas of Palestinian agricultural land to pave the way for their annexation to
existing Jewish settlements. They also attacked Palestinians in these areas.
Following are the most significant aspects of these Israeli violations as documented
by PCHR’s Fieldwork Unit:

1) On January 2, 2000, the so-called “Israeli Real Estate Official” notified

Palestinians living on a tract of land no.2356, part 5, in the Bedouin Farm in Al-
Qarara in Khan Yunis governate, about 90m east of Netzer Hazani, that their 37
plastic and cloth tents, which house approximately 75 people, would be
dismantled. Israeli occupation forces had dismantled some of these tents, but
Palestinians re-pitched them.

2) Since the beginning of January 2000, Israeli occupation soldiers would train at
night on agricultural land owned by the families of Baraka and Abu Ghraba.
This is “a yellow area,” east of Kfar Darom settlement. During the training,
Israeli occupation soldiers would shout, fire flares and run near Palestinian
homes late at night, disturbing Palestinian civilians and terrifying their children.
In addition they damaged harvests.

3) On January 25, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces prevented Khan Yunis
Municipality from preparing land in Al-Nemsawi (Austrian) neighborhood, west
of Khan Yunis refugee camp, 70m east of Neve Dekalim settlement for the
establishment of a public garden. Many Israeli occupation forces came to the
area and forced bulldozers of the Municipality to stop work and leave the area.
Khan Yunis Municipality had started work on January 23, 2000, leveling 37
donums of land for a public garden. After the Israeli occupation forces began
this policy, Palestinian youth gathered in the area and began throwing stones at
Israeli occupation forces. These forces responded with firing sound bombs and
tear gas canisters. As a result, many Palestinian youths suffered from
suffocation due to tear gas inhalation.

19
PCHR documented cases of land leveling and destruction of civilian facilities in the Gaza Strip. The
large scale of such actions had been unprecedented since 1967 when Israel first occupied the
Palestinian Territories. PCHR issued three reports titled “Uprooting Palestinian Trees.” The first
on e covered the period of October 1 to October 25, 2000; the second covered the period of October
26 to November 21, 2000 and the third covered the period of November 22 to December 18, 2000.
The rest of the year 2000 is covered in the fourth report issued in January 2001.
4) On February 9, 2000, a four-soldier patrol of the Israeli occupation forces,
armed with machine guns, prevented Sae’id Hafezh Zourob from building his
300-square-meter house in the area of Tal Jenan in Al-Mawasi (agricultural)
area in Khan Yunis. The house was on tract of land no. 91, where Zourob
owned 700 donums. An Israeli occupation patrol officer notified Zourob that he
could not build his house until a decision was taken by the southern liaison
office. When he went to the office, he was informed that, according to the
Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, he could only build on a 25-donum area
despite the fact that the tract of land was registered under Zourob’s ownership.

5) On February 22, 2000, the so –called “Israeli Real Estate Official” notified Khan
Yunis Municipality that they were required to stop work on a public garden, the
Municipality had planned on a tract of land no. 88, part 14, near Neve Dekalim
settlement, west of Khan Yunis refugee camp. The area lacked parks and public
gardens. Israeli occupation soldiers who accompanied the so-called “Israeli
Real Estate Official” threatened to arrest Palestinians who worked on the
project.

6) On March 21, 2000, an Israeli winch transferred concrete blocks from an Israeli
military site of these forces in Tal Zourob area in Rafah, placing them outside
the military site in order to fortify it. These concrete blocks had been put at the
western and northern borders of the mentioned military site, behind a barbwire
fence surrounding the site. On March 27, 2000, Israeli trucks brought dirt to the
site. These fortifications lasted until April 2, 2000. Concrete blocks on the
western and southern borders were replaced with dirt to increase the height of
the hill on which the military site stood, although the hill is 7m high.

7) On March 26, 2000, the so-called “Israeli Real Estate Official” notified Ahmed
Mustafa Al-Majaydeh, from Al-Mawasi (agricultural) area in Khan Yunis, to
relinquish a 300-square-meter area of tract of land no. 89, part 17, in Al-Mawasi
area, adjacent to Al-Mlalaha neighborhood, claiming that the tract of land was
under the control of the Israeli occupation forces. Al-Majaydeh had planted his
land with aloe and wooded trees in order to protect it.

8) Since the end of March 2000, the Israeli occupation forces had fortified a
military site in the southeast of Dogit settlement, north of Beit Lahia, adding dirt
mounds around it. They also increased the number of military vehicles in the
site. The Israeli occupation forces had trained inside the site. Furthermore,
Israeli bulldozers, accompanied by Jewish settlers, expanded the main road
connecting Jewish settlements, north of Beit Lahia with Israel.

9) On April 11, 2000, the so-called “Israeli Real Estate Official,” a Jewish settler
called Ami – the security officer of Gush Qatif settlement Block – and 15 Israeli
occupation soldiers of the Israeli occupation forces came to tract of land no. 88,
part 2, northwest of Khan Yunis refugee camp, about 150m away from a
military site of the Israeli occupation forces known as “Al-Nouria.” They
notified Tayseer and Noufal Abu ‘Obeida that their 400-square-meter under
construction building on the mentioned governmental tract of land, would be
demolished. Israeli occupation soldiers photographed the site before submitting
the notification to the citizens. On April 24, 2000, the so-called “Israeli Real
 Estate Official,” accompanied by four soldiers of the Israeli occupation forces,
came to the site again and notified Taysser Abu Obeida that the building would
be demolished before April 28, 2000. They also photographed it.

10) On April 28, 2000, the so-called “Israeli Real Estate Official” notified
Mohammed Suleiman El-Astal, to relinquish a 400-meter-long road. El-Astal
paved the mentioned road in order to be able to reach his farm on tract of land
no. 89, part 3, which the Israeli occupation forces razed in 1994, prohibiting
him from planting it.

11) On May 8, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces prevented a Palestinian

contractor from finishing work on a kindergarten in Al-Mawasi (agricultural)
area in Rafah. The forces claimed that the Palestinian side did not get consent
from the Israeli side to proceed to work on the kindergarten, despite the fact
that the two sides coordinated the subject six months in advance. The Social
Development Project (the Canadian Project) and UNDP financed the
mentioned project with US$ 79,000, to the benefit of Rafah Municipality.
Work in the project started in the beginning of May 2000. It is worth
mentioning that the kindergarten was located in the area of Abu Shallouf Farm.
It was the only kindergarten in Al-Mawasi area, which lacks public facilities
due to restrictions imposed on development in the area by the Israeli occupation
forces.

12) On June 2, 2000, Israeli bulldozers razed a seven-donum area of wooded land
in Al-Mawasi area, 50-100m away from Slao settlement. On June 10, 2000,
the Israeli occupation forces razed another three-donum area in the same area.
It is worth mentioning that the razed areas are on part 2260, tracts 1 and two,
and the Israeli occupation forces sought to annex them to Slao settlement.

13) On June 7, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces prevented, under the threat of
force, a Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees bulldozer from establishing
an agricultural road, leading to its Organic Agriculture Center in the area of El-
Saifa, north of Beit Lahia, southwest of Elli Sinai settlement. The work on the
road, which would enable Palestinian farmers to access their farms near
settlements north of Beit Lahia, began the previous day.

14) On June, 20, 2000, Israeli occupation soldiers established dirt barricades along
the eastern border, approximately 65m long, of a military site at the entrance of
Al-Mawasi area in Rafah. Fortifications of the site were aimed at observing the
entrance and exit of Palestinian citizens into and from Al-Mawasi area.

15) On July 3 and 4, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces expanded the area of Elli
Sinai settlement in the north of Beit Lahia by annexing about 300 donums to
the eastern and western borders and establishing an electric fence. On the
previous day, they positioned six caravans, used as workshops, and a number of
barracks inside the mentioned settlement. In addition, they planted hundreds of
transplants on confiscated Palestinian land.
16) On July 6, 2000, Israeli occupation forces fenced a five-donum area of land in
the area of Tal Reidan, on the seashore of Khan Yunis, adjacent to a military
site of these forces established north of a Palm Beach hotel.

17) The Israeli occupation forces continued to fortify their military sites in the
vicinity of Gush Qatif settlement block in the south of the Gaza Strip. At the
beginning of August 2000, the Israeli occupation forces started to put large
concrete blocks in 150-meter-long trenches, especially to the opposite of
overpopulated Palestinian areas in Khan Yunis and Rafah.

18) On August 20, 2000, the so-called “Israeli Real Estate Official” ordered
Nae’im El-Astal, to uproot trees of guava, olive and palm planted on his tract of
land in the area of Tal Reidan in Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, in a maximum
of four days. The “official” claimed that the tract was under the control of the
Israeli occupation forces. On August 24, 2000, he came again accompanied by
many Israeli occupation troops. They laid siege to the area and started to
uproot trees and destroy irrigation systems. They also uprooted 60 guava trees
on an adjacent 1.5-donum area of agricultural land owned by Othman Mansour
El-Astal.

19) On August 24, 2000, the so-called “Israeli Real Estate Official,” accompanied
by dozens of Israeli occupation soldiers, raided a six-donum area of land, part
3, west of Gush Qatif settlement block, planted with guavas, olives and palms
and owned by Nae’im El-Agha and Othman El-Astal. They uprooted at least
250 fruit-bearing trees and destroyed irrigation hoses. They left the area after
having left a notice dated on August 20, 2000, that ordered the evacuation of
such tract of land in four days.

20) On September 5, 2000, Israeli occupation soldiers raided a tract of land no.
33, parts 4 and 5, north of Morag settlement in the northeast of Rafah. They
attempted to destroy an irrigation system that served about 15 donums planted
with olives and eggplants. They claimed that Palestinian farmers exceeded the
allowed limit of plantation. It is worth mentioning that the affected tract of
land is governmental and leased by the family of Duheir, who had been paying
its fees for 40 years.

21) On September 6, 2000, Israeli occupation soldiers put concrete blocks near the
fence at the southwestern border of Elli Sinai settlement in the north of the
Gaza Strip. This action was apparently carried out to pave the way for the
establishment of a new military site. On July 2000, the Israeli occupation
forces established an electric fence on the southern and western borders of the
settlement, and built a new house to in the southwest of the settlement.

22) On September 13, 2000, the so-called “Israeli Real Estate Official” notified
Othman Mansour El-Astal to evacuate a 1.5-donum area, on a tract of land no.
89, part 3, in the Al-Mawasi area of Al-Satar Al-Gharbi in Khan Yunis. El-
Astal had reclaimed the area of land and transplanted guavas three years ago.
Nevertheless, on August 23, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces uprooted about
60 guava trees planted on the same area of land.
 23) On September 13, 2000, a large number of Israeli troops raided a cabin on the
Khan Yunis coast, belonging to Khan Yunis Municipality. They destroyed its
door, window, walls and furniture. Then, they demolished a tent near the cabin
and threw it about 15m away from the cabin. They also insulted Mr. Subhi Al-
Qedra, the tenant of the cabin. Then, they destroyed the door, window, and
furniture of another cabin, established by Anwar Jadallah. The so-called
“Israeli Real Estate Official” ordered Mr. Subhi Al-Qedra on August 30, 2000
to evacuate the cabin on the Khan Yunis coast, claiming that they were
established on governmental land.

(3) Settlement Activities and Practices of Settlers in the Gaza Strip under Full
Protection of the Israeli Occupation Forces

Since 1967, when they occupied the Palestinian territories in the West Bank,
including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation forces have sought to
confiscate Palestinian-owned land in order to establish Jewish settlements and roads
for them. This policy has always been directed at changing the demographic nature of
the Palestinian territories and expelling the original population. Most settlement
activities have been focused on occupied Jerusalem due its religious importance for
Jews.

Israeli settlement in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip has been of great importance
for successive Israeli governments to gain the support of Israeli right wing parties.
The previous Israeli government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu adopted a policy of
promoting settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Netanyahu’s
government canceled a 1992 Labor government decision to freeze settlement
activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Consequently, new settlements and
bypass roads were established and existing settlements were expanded at the expense
of Palestinian land.

When Ehud Barak assumed power on July 6, 1999 following his election on May 17,
1999, settlement activities were not halted. Although Sharm El-Sheikh Memorandum
signed on September 4, 1999, between the Palestinian National Authority and the
Israeli government provided, inter alia, that Israeli settlement activities in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories would be halted, settlement activities significantly
increased. This expansion in settlements had the goal of creating a fait accompli by
establishing irreversible facts on the ground in advance of final status negotiations.20

20
A report by the Israeli organization Peace Now stated that during the first quarter of the year 2000,
Israeli settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories increased 141% since the last
quarter of the year 1999(Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, August 23, 2000). Another report stated that
settlement building constituted 13% of building activities in Israel, three times more than building
in Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel-Aviv. Under a plan to encourage settlements in East Jerusalem, the
Israeli Ministry of Housing recommended the Israeli government increase the amounts of grants to
buy an apartment from 30,000 NIS (approximately US$ 7,500) to 40,000 NIS (approximately US$
10,000), in addition to 20,000 NIS (approximately US$ 5,000) as an incentive to reside in East
Jerusalem. This plan would last for two years (Al-Ayyam, August 16, 2000, from Ha’aretz).

In August 2000, a report by the Israeli organization Peace Now on settlements stated that the Israeli
Labor government, headed by Ehud Barak, established 3,419 housing units in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories during the period of July 8, 1999 to August 25, 2000.
In the Gaza Strip, Jewish settlers continued to attack Palestinian land during the first
nine months of the year 2000. PCHR documented settlement campaigns carried out
by Jewish settlers, under full protection by the Israeli occupation forces, especially in
Al-Mawasi (agricultural) area in Rafah and Khan Yunis.

Settlement Activities in the Gaza Strip in the Year 2000

PCHR continued to document settlement activities in the Gaza Strip. These activities
included: expanding settlements, strengthening military protection for these
settlements, leveling Palestinian land for later confiscation, damaging Palestinian
agricultural products and preventing Palestinian farmers from tending their land.
Following are the most significant settlement activities in the Gaza Strip in the year
2000:

1) On January 12, 2000, a number of Jewish settlers of Kfar Darom settlement,

accompanied by Israeli occupation soldiers, prevented the local council of Wadi
El-Salqa area, east of Deir El-Balah, from paving a branch road of Salah El-Din
Street (the main road between the north and south of the Gaza Strip) leading to
the area. The local council had started to pave the 1700-meter-long road in co-
operation with the Palestinian Council for Development and Reconstruction
(PECDAR). If the road were paved, it would serve the 5,000 residents of the
area.

2) On the same day, Jewish settlers established two new units in Morag settlement
in the east of Rafah. The new units were established on a nearby tract of land
confiscated from the families of Duheir, Abu Jazar and El-Masri in 1997.

3) At the beginning of April 2000, Jewish settlers of Tal Qatif established three
100-square-meter buildings inside the mentioned settlement. At the end of the
previous year, those settlers established 20 greenhouses and ten new caravans
inside the mentioned settlement.

4) Since the beginning of April 2000, Jewish settlers of Kfar Darom settlement had
poured sewage from tanks onto a tract of land adjacent to greenhouses of the
mentioned settlement, owned by Mustafa Abu Gharaba. They used to unload
four vehicles weekly. Palestinians living west of the settlement complained that
sewage a cleaning and packing plant for agricultural products inside the
settlement ran into the stream of Al-Salaqa valley. This caused a growth in the
mosquito population, especially in summer time. Sewage also polluted a well
near the mentioned settlement, owned by Nae’im Fadhlallah Al-Qedra.

5) On May 1, 2000, about 20 Jewish settlers prevented Ahmed El-Shae’r from

leveling his 30-donum area of land, tact no. 88, part 14, in Al-Mawasi
(agricultural) area in Khan Yunis. El-Shae’r intended to level his land in order
to plant it. He said that a number of Jewish settlers, led by Ami, “the security
officer of Gush Qatif settlement block,” forced Palestinian bulldozer to stop
leveling his tract of land.
6) On May 11, 2000, a number of Jewish settlers under the protection and support
of Israeli occupation soldiers put up tents at the seashore of Khan Yunis,
opposite to the southern cabins of Khan Yunis Municipality, adjacent to Kfar
Yam settlement. They stayed there for approximately six hours, attempting to
provoke Palestinians living at the seashore. Palestinians were provoked by these
actions, and quarrels erupted between the two sides. On May 22, 2000, the same
group of settlers came back to the area, gathered under an umbrella and lit fire,
celebrating the so-called Jewish Day of Flame. They sung provocative songs
against Palestinians. These actions lasted from 19:00 local time until the
morning of the following day.

7) On May 23, 2000, a group of settlers closed the Israeli side of Al-Mentar (Karni)
Outlet for two hours. They obstructed the movement of both Palestinian and
Israeli trucks. They also set fire to rubber tires, apparently in protest to
Palestinian demonstrations on that day near Al-Shuhada’ (Netzarim) junction.

8) Since the beginning of June 2000, settlers continued their campaign to establish
greenhouses on tract of land 92, part 5, of the lands of Tal Al-Jenan opposite to
Neve Dekalim settlement in Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, and on tract of land
89, opposite to Qatif settlement in Al-Mawasi area of Al-Qarara. These tracts of
land were confiscated in 1998 and 1999. The number of greenhouses
established by settlers then was estimated at 200.

9) In the middle of June 2000, settlers established three new buildings in Tal Qatif
settlement at the coastal road between Deir El-Balah and Khan Yunis. Settlers
had established another three buildings in April 2000.

10) On June 21, 2000, settlers, using a bulldozer, damaged and destroyed a dirt
road, approximately 400m long, in Al-Mawasi area of Al-Qarara. The road
connects a farm of guavas and palms, owned by Mohammed El-Astal, with the
main paved road. This road was recently paved by the Palestinian Agricultural
Relief Committees.

11) On June 28, 2000, 28, 2000, approximately 20 settlers, under full protection of
the Israeli occupation forces, established a tent on the seashore of Khan Yunis
on an area used by Palestinians as a summer resort, located approximately
100m, north of Kfar Yam settlement. They provoked Palestinians so quarrels
erupted between the two sides. Then, a unit of the Palestinian-Israeli joint
liaison forces intervened and tried to disperse settlers, but they refused. The
unit opened fire and chased Palestinian youths who were throwing stones.
Then, Israeli soldiers called another force of approximately 60 soldiers, who
chased Palestinian youths and closed the coastal road leading to Rafah. In the
evening of the same day, a number of armed settlers closed the road between
Khan Yunis and its Al-Mawasi area, and threw stones at Palestinian cars,
breaking the glass of Mayor of Khan Yunis Dr. Ossama El-Farra’s car. The
closing of the road lasted until 1:00 local time on the following day.

12) On July 19, 2000, Israeli construction workers established concrete bases on
which they fixed aluminum columns on a tract of land near Slao settlement in
Al-Mawasi area of Rafah, in order to establish greenhouses. This tract of land
 was leveled by the Israeli occupation forces on June 2, 2000. Its area is 15
donums and it is a part of a 679-donum area of land, part 2660, tracts 1 and 2.
Israeli bulldozers expanded the road leading to Slao settlement from the west
with 1m wide and approximately 70m long. This road connects between the
center of Rafah and the Sea Street leading to Al-Mawasi area. On August 3,
2000, dozens of greenhouses were established on the tract of land.

13) On August 14, 2000, Israeli construction laborers started to fix iron columns
near the western border of Slao settlement. Those columns were 20-40m away
from the original western border of the mentioned settlement. This step was
part of an effort to annex under-construction greenhouses near the southern
border of the settlement.

14) On August 21, 2000,the Mayor of Gadid settlement in Al-Mawasi area of Khan
Yunis, with another settler from the same settlement, violently beat two
Palestinian laborers, Majed Rawhi ‘Omar El-Doush and ‘Emad ‘Abdullah Abu
Yousef, while they were working in a greenhouse in the settlement. As a
result, the two laborers were injured and bruised throughout the body. Their
magnetic cards and work permits were also confiscated.

15) On September 5, 2000, a number of settlers violently beat two Palestinians in

an Israeli casino on the road that connects Gush Qatif settlements with one
another. As a result, those Palestinians lost conciousness after they were hit on
the head and stabbed with knives. They were evacuated to Nasser hospital in
Khan Yunis. Medical examinations showed that one of them had a broken
pelvis, a broken right hand and injuries throughout the body, while the other
suffered from injuries in the head and the right hand.

Palestinian Victims as a Result of Attacks by Settlers in 2000

During the year 2000, settlers continued to attack Palestinian civilians. Before the
outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada on September 29, 2000, settlers ran over two
Palestinian civilians on the joint main road in the West Bank, killing them. In the
Gaza Strip, a number of Palestinian civilians were injured when they were run over by
settlers's cars traveling at high speeds on joint roads in the Strip.21

From September 29, 2000 until the end of the year, settler killings of Palestinian
civilians escalated to unprecedented levels. During this period, settlers killed 11

21
On September 7, 2000, a speeding settler ran over a 13-year-old child Saleh Khalil El-‘Amoudi,
when he was riding his bicycle on the main road leading to the seashore of Khan Yunis, near Neve
Dekalim settlement. The child collapsed and went into a coma for two days. He was evacuated to
Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis, after he received injuries in the head, the back and the right hand.

On September 24, 2000, an Israeli settler hit a Palestinian vehicle at Al-Shuhada’ (Netzarim)
junction. As a result, 14 Palestinians were slightly or moderately injured. The settler crossed the
mentioned junction, ignoring a Palestinian policeman who was directing traffic at the junction.
Palestinian Security forces intervened and called an ambulance, while Israeli occupation forces
attempted to hide the settler and his car. However, Palestinian Liaison Forces intervened and
opened an investigation.
Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. Settlers also participated with the Israeli
occupation forces in shooting at Palestinian civilians during clashes. Contrary to
settlers’ claims, in all killings, settlers opened fire on Palestinian civilians when no
threat was posed to their lives.22

(4) Collective Punishment: A Continued Policy of Imposing Closure

During the year 2000, Israeli occupation forces continued to adopt policies of
collective punishment against Palestinian civilians through imposing a total siege on
the Occupied Palestinian Territories. They closed the Palestinian National
Authority’s areas and isolated them from the rest of the Occupied Palestinian
Territories. They also imposed curfew on Palestinian areas under their security
control, especially in Hebron.

This policy peaked on September 29, 2000, when the Israeli occupation forces
imposed a total air, sea and land siege on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. They
closed all crossings of the Gaza Strip into Israeli territories, and very often they
prohibited imports and exports. Furthermore, they closed the so-called “Safe
Passage” between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank through Israeli territories, which
was opened on October 25, 1999. This siege was imposed until the end of the year.
During partial closure, the Israeli occupation forces issued a limited number of
permits for Palestinians to move between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Other
than this, Palestinian laborers were denied access to their work places in Israel.

The Israeli occupation forces also closed Rafah Border Crossing between the Gaza
Strip and Egypt and Al-Karama Crossing between the West Bank and Jordan,
prohibiting the travel of Palestinians through the two crossings. Additionally, they
closed Gaza International Airport, the sole air outlet for the Gaza Strip. Furthermore,
they imposed a sea siege on the Gaza Strip and prevented Palestinian fishermen from
entering the sea.

In addition, the Israeli occupation forces restricted movement inside the Gaza Strip.
They reinforced their presence at the main junctions and roads in the Gaza Strip.
Later, the Israeli occupation forces closed Salah El-Din Street (the main road between
the north and south of the Gaza Strip) near the junction leading to Kissufim
settlement, and all alternative branch roads. Additionally, they closed Al-Mawasi
area in Rafah and Khan Yunis, and prohibited movement to and from the area.
Internal closure of the Gaza Strip, very often divided the Strip into three isolated
parts, transforming the Gaza Strip into Gaza Strips.

In the West Bank, the Israeli occupation forces reinforced their presence at the
entrances of Palestinian cities which are under full control by the Palestinian National
Authority, isolating them from the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The
West Bank was divided into dozens of isolated and besieged parts. This escalation
had disastrous consequences for all aspects of life in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories.

22
See pages 18 and 19 of this report.
The right of persons to move freely is one of the basic human rights that must be
protected. The policy of closure is a form of collective punishment prohibited by
international humanitarian law and the international law. It also contradicts the
Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, which emphasizes the territorial unity of the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and calls for safe passage between the two areas
through four safe passage routes crossing Israeli territories.

Impact of the Siege on Human Rights

The siege and restrictions on Palestinians’ free movement has had disastrous
consequences for their social and economic conditions. This policy violates the socio-
economic rights of Palestinian civilians, especially their rights to work, education,
worship and access to Islamic and Christian religious sites in Jerusalem.

Palestinian Patients die under the Siege

Five Palestinian patients died during the last quarter of the year 2000, because the
Israeli occupation forces prevented their evacuation to hospitals. They are:

1) Nazhir Nayef El-Haj Hussein, 23, from Jma’in village near Salfit.

He died on October 11, 2000, after Israeli occupation soldiers prevented his passage
to hospital through Hawara roadblock for hours. He was seriously injured after he fell
from a tractor.

2) Na’im ‘Attallah Ahmed, 37, from Al-Zawia village near Slafit.

He died on October 13, 2000, when Israeli occupation soldiers prevented his passage
to hospital through a roadblock at the entrance of the village. He suffered from renal
disease.

3) ‘Alla’ Ossama Hamdan, 10, from Al-Sawia village near Nablus.

She died on October 15, 2000, when Israeli occupation forces denied her passage to
hospital through Za’tara and Hawar roadblocks.

4) Riad Yousef ‘Awad, 26, from Yatta village near Hebron.

He died on October 24, 2000, when Israeli occupation forces obstructed his travel
through Al-Karama Crossing for four hours. He suffered from cancer.

5) Jamal Ibrahim ‘Olwan, 34, from Senjel village near Ramallah.

He died on November 11, 2000, when the Israeli occupation forces, which imposed
curfew on the village, prevented his transfer to hospital. He suffered from cardiac
disease.
Denial of Palestinian Laborers’ Access to Their Work Places in Israel

Palestinian laborers working in Israel live under severe economic conditions due to
frequent Israeli closure of crossings, confiscation of work permits, and denial of
access to work places.

On May 8, 2000, Israeli occupation forces imposed a total closure on the Occupied
Palestinian Territories and closed all crossings of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
into Israel on the occasion of the so-called “Independence Day.” Under the closure,
thousands of Palestinian laborers were denied access to their work places in Israel,
and movement of persons, including VIP’s, between the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip was prohibited, except for humanitarian cases. This closure lasted until the
evening of May 10, 2000.

Although Israeli occupation forces imposed a partial closure on the Gaza Strip since
the beginning of the year, the measures employed from September 29 2000 were
unprecedented. Under the total siege on the Occupied Palestinian Territories that was
imposed the grounds of the clashes between Palestinian civilians and Israeli forces,
more than 120,000 Palestinian laborers were denied access to their work places in
Israel, including 25,000 regular laborers (those under contract with long-term work
permits) from the Gaza Strip and thousands of irregular laborers.

The Palestinian Ministry of Labor estimated losses of Palestinian laborers at US$

6,250,000. This figure includes Palestinian laborers inside Israel and in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories. However, this figure does not include Palestinian National
Authority losses related to tax collection and medical insurance collected from those
laborers, which are estimated at US$ 5 million daily.

The number of Palestinian laborers from the Gaza Strip working in Israel decreased in
comparison to their number in the previous year. In 1999, their number was
approximately 25,000 and from January to September 2000, it was approximately
24,000.23 In addition, thousands of Palestinian laborers worked in Israel without work
permits and without Israeli security checks, thus undermining the Israeli security
claims in justifying the imposition of a total siege on the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip. Nevertheless, when the current total siege was imposed on the Occupied
Palestinian Territories, all Palestinian laborers were denied access to their work places
in Israel. On December 13, 2000, the Israeli occupation authorities handed 3,000
work permits for Palestinian laborers from the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Ministry
of Labor. Those permits were issued under new and complicated procedures only to
workers above the age of 37 with a clean security record. Nevertheless, on the
following two days, only 43 and 50 laborers, respectively, went to their work places.

23
Approximately 2,500 Palestinian laborers from the Gaza Strip work in Erez industrial zone in the
north of the Gaza Strip and have been able to reach their work places since the beginning of the
current siege, with the exception of a few days.
 A table showing the number of work permits offered to Palestinian laborers
from the Gaza Strip to work in Israel in 2000

Month Number of Permits Month Number of Permits

January 24,958 July 23,976
February 24,903 August 24,104
March 24,302 September 24,370
April 23,981 October Total closure
May 23,981 November Total closure
June 23,867 December Total closure

Obstructing Commercial Transactions

In 2000, the Israeli occupation forces continued to restrict and obstruct the
commercial transactions of the Gaza Strip. They frequently closed crossings for
Gazan imports and exports. Sometimes, they allowed the passage of Palestinian
trucks through Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing under a system knows as “the Convoy
System,” if they met all the requirements.24 In step designed to damage the Palestinian
economy, the Israeli occupation forces closed Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing in the
beginning of March 2000 and transfered the trafic to Al-Mentar (Karni) Outlet, under
a system known as “back-to-back.” In the middle of February 2000, the Israeli
occupation forces started to decrease the number of Palestinian trucks passing through
Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing as a preliminary step towards closing it to Palestinian
commercial transactions. In its response, the High Committee to examine the impact
of closure established by the Palestinian National Authority decided to stop the
importation of four kinds of goods from Israel – electronics, mineral water, drinks,
and biscuits and chocolate.25 Later the Undersecretary of the Palestinian Ministry of
Civil Affairs, Sufian Abu Zaida, stated that the Israeli occupation forces canceled the
measure and decided to continue commercial transactions at Beit Hanoun (Erez)
Crossing as usual.26

An Israeli civil administration employee strike, which started on May 3, 2000 and
lasted for several weeks, decreased Palestinian exportation by 45-50%. In addition,
Palestinian civil documentation was obstructed.27

On April 3, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces closed Sofa Commercial Crossing
between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Rafah, to Palestinian trucks transporting
aggregate – a construction material. This closure lasted for one day. On May 4 and 5,
24
Under this system, a number of Palestinian trucks allowed to cross Israeli territories in convoys
accompanied by Israeli security forces.

25
Al-Ayyam, February 16, 2000.

26
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 1, 2000.

27
A statement by the Director-General of the Palestinian Ministry of Economy and Trade ‘Abdel-Hafiz
Noufal in Al-Ayyam, June 4, 2000.
2000, the Crossing was closed again for over five hours. It was reopened on the
following day.

On May 7, 2000, employees of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture monitoring and

checking department stopped a Palestinian truck loaded with garlic coming from the
West Bank, at Al-Mentar (Karni) Outlet and denied its entry to the Gaza Strip. They
claimed that the truck had no permit issued by the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture. In
protest, the Palestinian side prohibited the entry of Israeli products into the Gaza Strip.

On May 21, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces prevented the entry of Palestinian
trucks transporting construction materials, which worked under the “Convoy System,”
from entering Israel through Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing. Sixty Palestinian trucks
loaded with cement and aggregate were blocked until 14:00 local time. The Israeli
occupation forces justified this by claiming that Al-Shuhada’ (Netzarim) junction,
south of Gaza City, was closed. A Palestinian truck driver, Hussam Salim, suffered
from sunstroke and was evacuated to a clinic in the Erez area.

On September 17, 2000, Israeli occupation forces closed Al-Mentar (Karni) Outlet to
250 Palestinian trucks loaded with goods and prevented their entry into Israel. This
was in response to clashes at Al-Shuhada’ (Netzarim) junction, south of Gaza City,
between Palestinian civilians and these forces, during which an Israeli soldier was
injured with a stone.

Since September 29, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces imposed a total siege on the
Occupied Palestinian Territories. Under the siege, exports from and imports to the
Gaza Strip were prohibited despite Israeli claims to have eased this from time to time.
The siege further aggravated the dire economic conditions in the Gaza Strip. Under
the siege, all commercial crossings of the Gaza Strip were closed as follows:

1. Al-Mentar (Karni) Outlet

Israeli occupation forces have closed Al-Mentar (Karni) Outlet since September 29,
2000. This was a punitive measure against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and an
attempt to weaken the Palestinian economy. Under this closure, exports from and
imports into the Gaza Strip was prohibited. The entry of approximately 450
Palestinian trucks transporting goods and approximately 120 trucks working under the
“Convoy System,” was prohibited. Furthermore, Palestinian laborers, drivers, and
merchants were unable to work as a result of the obstruction of commercial
transactions through the outlet.

On October 10, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces partially reopened Al-Mentar
(Karni) Outlet. They partially eased importation and exportation and allowed the
entry of some foodstuffs, but continued to prohibit the entry of trucks working under
the “Convoy System.” These trucks used to transport construction materials into the
Gaza Strip. Palestinian sources stated that, prior to the siege, 30 Palestinian trucks
transported cement into the Gaza Strip. Only 50% of Palestinian trucks that used to
cross before the siege were allowed to pass. In addition, they were only permitted to
transport meat, milk products, fruits and furniture. The entry of construction materials
was prohibited.
In a serious escalation, on Tuesday, November 14, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces
re-closed Al-Mentar (Karni) Outlet, prohibiting exports from and imports into the
Gaza Strip. On Thursday, November 16, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces
prohibited the entry of petrol into the Gaza Strip, creating a severe fuel shortage. On
the same day, the Israeli occupation forces prevented two ships from France from
unloading 4,200 tons of gas destined for the Palestinian National Authority.

On November 19, 2000, Al-Mentar (Karni) Outlet was partially reopened and
remained so until the end of the year.

2. Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing

On October 8, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces closed Beit Hanoun (Erez)
Crossing, prohibiting movement and commercial transactions between the Gaza Strip
and the West Bank and between the Gaza Strip and Israel. In addition, thousands of
Palestinian laborers from the Gaza Strip who work in Israel were not able to reach
their places of work. On December 14, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces partially
reopened the crossing. It remained open until the end of the year, but it was re-closed
in January 2001.

3. Sofa Crossing

On October 8, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces closed Sofa Crossing, east of Rafah.
Consequently, they prohibited commercial transactions through the crossing until the
end of the year. In addition, they prohibited the entry of approximately 250
Palestinian trucks that used to transport aggregate and other construction materials to
the Gaza Strip.

Denial of the Right to Receive Medical Care outside the Gaza Strip

Due to the lack of necessary medical equipment, the Palestinian National Authority is
frequently forced to transfer patients with serious health conditions to hospitals in the
West Bank, Jerusalem, Israel and Arab countries, such as Egypt and Jordan.

Since Israel imposed a total siege on the Gaza Strip, there has also been a restriction
on the number of permits issued for Palestinian patients to receive medical care
outside the Gaza Strip. At times, permits were denied even when all the requirements
had been met and the patients were in serious condition. This policy has had
disastrous consequences, including death. Palestinian patients have died when Israeli
forces prevented them from passing military roadblocks for several hours or when
they have been denied permits for medical treatment in Israel or in Arab countries.
Although Israel has declared that it would issue permits for Palestinian patients
seeking medical treatment, Israeli security claims remained a basic obstacle to the
transfer of patients to hospitals abroad. Furthermore, Israel frequently refuses permits
for persons accompanying the patients.

Th total siege imposed on the Occupied Palestinian Territories since September 29,
2000 affected all aspects of life in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian health sector
deteriorated as a result of the closure of all border crossings and of Gaza International
Airport. Under the siege, Israeli measures adversely affected the Palestinian health
sector, in several respects:

Denial of the Access of Medical Assistance

The total siege imposed on the Gaza Strip impeded the prompt entry of medical
assistance, such as ambulances and medicines, into the Gaza Strip. This medical
assistance was blocked at the Egyptian side of Rafah Border Crossing, or stored in Al-
‘Arish in Egypt, until the Israeli occupation forces allowed its entry into the Gaza
Strip. Although Israel declared that it would ease the siege, the Palestinian medical
situation did not improve. Israel continued to deny the entry of trucks loaded with
medicines and medical equipment through Rafah Border Crossing: in one example,
Israel denied the entry of nine trucks and of 30 ambulances donated by Saudi Arabia
into the Gaza Strip.

Restrictions on Freedom of Movement: Preventing the Wounded from Traveling

to Receive Medical Treatment Abroad

Arab and European countries offered treatment to some Palestinians seriously

wounded during clashes, since Palestinian hospitals did not have the capacity to
adequately care for the large numbers of wounded. However, Israel delayed their
travel, allowing the travel of the first group of the wounded to Qatar on October 17,
2000—and only after difficult negotiations. Later, Israel allowed the travel of the
wounded, but only after delay.

On Saturday, October 25, 2000, at Al-Karama Crossing the Israeli occupation forces
obstructed the passage to Jordan of a Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulance
tranporting Mohammed Nasser Abu Zaid who was critically wounded in the chest.
The Israeli forces claimed that he was a wanted man.

Furthermore, the siege obstructed the access of Palestinian patients to Israeli hospitals.
Approximately 20 cancer patients and 75 heart patients used to receive treatment in
Israeli hospitals under a highly regulated regime. On Wednesday, October 25, 2000,
the Israeli occupation forces prevented seven Palestinian cancer patients from exiting
the Gaza Strip to transfer to Israel’s Assota Hospital. PCHR learned that those
patients had previously received chemotherapy twice a week.

On October 27, 2000, a 13-year-old child, Dhib Ibrahim El-Najjar, was transferred
from Shifa’ hospital in Gaza City to a hospital in Jordan. The child was wounded
with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the head. He was allowed to travel, but his father
Ibrahim El-Najjar was prevented, although the child needed his father’s care,
attention, and assistance.

Israel also imposed an internal siege on the Gaza Strip, separating its south from its
north. Military roadblocks prevented physicians and medicines from reaching their
destinations at hospitals in the south. Furthermore, the Israeli occupation forces
prevented patients from passing through military roadblocks, positioned between
Palestinian cities and villages. On November 19, 2000, a Palestinian woman from Al-
Mawasi area of Khan Yunis was forced to deliver her child on her way to the hospital
as she was transported on a cart after Israeli occupation soldiers, positioned at Al-
Tuffah roadblock, prevented her evacuation to hospital by an ambulance.

The Israeli occupation forces also prevented the entry of some of the wounded who
had received treatment abroad into the Gaza Strip.

Denial of Travel Abroad

During the year 2000, the Israel restricted the international travel of Palestinians from
the Gaza Strip. On February 25, 2000, under security claims, Israel prevented the
travel of 19 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip through Gaza International Airport to
Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage.

On March 28, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces prevented the travel of a journalist,
Maher Farraj, to Egypt through Rafah Border Crossing. No clear reason was
provided.28

On May 3, 2000, Israeli combat planes flew over Gaza International Airport to
prevent arrivals and departures. This measure followed tension between the Israeli
and Palestinian sides regarding the aviation routes to and from the airport.

On May 10, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces prevented Mousa ‘Abdel-Rahman
Nour from traveling to Morocco through Gaza International Airport. Although
Mousa is originally Sudanese, he was imprisoned in Israeli jails and was released on
October 15, 1999. After he was released, Nour received a Palestinian identity card.
Although the Palestinian side intervened to facilitate his travels, all attempts failed.

Since September 29, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces have further restricted the
movement of travelers from and to the Gaza Strip. They closed all border crossings
and Gaza International Airport.

Furthermore, the Israeli occupation forces did not allow the visit permit renewal for
Palestinians coming from other countries to visit the Gaza Strip. An official source of
the Palestinian Ministry of Civil Affairs stated that many visiting families were not
allowed to leave the Gaza Strip. For example, the family of Quz’at, who hold
American citizenship, were not allowed to travel abroad. Although the US Embassy
intervened to persuade the Israel side to allow their travel, they were still unable to
leave.

Israeli measures also affected foreign missions and international organizations. Their
employees were not able to enter the Gaza Strip without Israeli approval. These
measures excluded diplomats and journalists.

28
This was the second time that Farraj was prevented from travelling abroad. He was also prevented
from travelling to Malta in November 1999 where he was to participate in a conference.
Following is a table that shows closures of Rafah Border Crossing and Gaza
International Airport in 2000:

Rafah Border Closed on October 8, 2000 Reopened on October 10,

Crossing 2000, with reduced staff
Re-closed on October 12, Reopened on October 15,
2000 2000
Re-closed on October 16, Reopened on October 19,
2000 2000
Re-closed on November 8, Partially reopened on
2000 November 20, 2000, and was
re-closed on the same day
Partially reopened on
December 4, 2000

Re-closed on December 11,

2000, from 10:00 to 12:00
local time
Re-closed on December 18, Reopened on December 19,
2000 2000 for returnees
Re-closed on December 30,
2000
Gaza International Closed on October 8, 2000 Reopened on October 15,
Airport 2000
Re-closed on October 29, Reopened on November 6,
2000 2000

Re-closed on November 8, Partially reopened on

2000 December 1, 2000

Continuing Prevention of Visitation of Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli Jails

The Israeli occupation forces are still detaining more than 2,605 Palestinians in Israeli
jails. Since the outbreak of Al-Aqsa Intifada, the Israeli occupation forces have
imposed a total siege on the Occupied Palestinian Territories and have deprived
Palestinian prisoners of family visitation. In addition, the Israeli occupation
authorities prevented lawyers from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip from visiting
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. As a result, Palestinian prisoners were deprived of
their right to counsel. These conditions have not only violated prisoners rights but
also adversely affected their psychological well-being.

Denial of Gazan Students’ Access to their Universities in the West Bank

Under the total siege that was imposed by the Israeli occupation forces on the
Occupied Palestinian Territories since September 29, 2000, Gazan students were not
able to attend classes at their universities in the West Bank. This measure violates
their right to education. Similarly, Gazan students who were in the West Bank have
been unable to visit their families in the Gaza Strip.

Infringement on the Right to Freedom of Religion: Denial of Access to the Holy

Sites

Under the total strict siege on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, both Muslim and
Christian Palestinians have been prevented from visiting the holy sites in Jerusalem
and Bethlehem. As such, they have been deprived of their right to freedom of
worship. On November 27, 2000, the month of Ramadan (the holy month of fasting
in Islam) started. In previous years during this month, Palestinian Muslims in the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip used to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
However, in violation of the right to freedom of worship, the Israeli occupation forces
have denied these Muslims access. Furthermore, the siege decreased the number of
Palestinians wishing to undertake ‘umrah (the lesser pilgrimage, which in contrast to
the hajj is non-obligatory and can be undertaken at any time during the year) in Saudi
Arabia.

Restrictions on Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Member Movement

between Palestinian Areas

During the year 2000, the Israeli occupation forces continued to restrict the work of
the PLC. Despite the fact that PLC members have VIP cards, which should permit
free movement, Israel restricted member movement between the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip. These measures escalated since September 29, 2000, when the Israeli
occupation forces imposed a total siege on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. As a
result, PLC members from the Gaza Strip were prevented from attending sessions in
Ramallah, and PLC Members from the West Bank were not able to attend sessions in
the Gaza Strip.29

Closure of the “Safe Passage” Corridor

Since September 29, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces have closed the so-called
“Safe Passage” corridor as part of their siege imposed on the Occupied Palestinian
Territories. Before the closure, movement between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
through this corridor that connects the Gaza Strip with Tarqoumia village near Hebron
was not easy. During the first nine months of the year 2000, the Israeli occupation
forces restricted this movement. Furthermore, thousands of Palestinians from the
Gaza Strip were prevented from moving freely between the Gaza Strip and the West
Bank under the pretext of Israeli security concerns. People willing to travel through
this passage were subjected to lengthy and provocative security measures. A round
trip journey, which under normal conditions would take less than three hours, would
take approximately ten hours under these conditions.30

29
Before these measures were adopted, PLC Member Wajih Yaghi was frequently provoked at Israeli
checkpoints. On March 15, the Israeli side refused to issue a VIP card for 2000 for Yaghi.
30
For more information about the Safe Passage, see the report issued by PCHR on December 8, 1999,
“The Unsafe Passage: A Special Report on the Safe Passage.”
Restrictions on Free Movement inside the Gaza Strip

The Interim Agreement and subsequent agreements signed between the PLO and the
Israeli government did not give Palestinians full sovereignty over the Gaza Strip.
Israeli occupation forces control approximately 42% of the Gaza Strip, including
settlements, military positions, and the roads leading to them. Israeli occupation
soldiers are positioned on main junctions which enables them to control the
movement of Palestinians inside the Gaza Strip.

Since September 29, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces further restricted the
movement of Palestinians inside the Gaza Strip. On November 20, 2000, the Israeli
occupation forces closed Salah El-Din Street (the main road between the north and
south of the Gaza Strip) near Al-Matahen junction leading to Gush Qatif settlement
block, near Kfar Darom and Morag settlements and near the junction leading to
Kissufim Crossing on the east border of the Gaza Strip. This measure isolated the
south of the Gaza Strip from its north. The Israeli forces also reinforced their
presence on Salah El-Din Street with tanks and armored vehicles. On November 23,
2000, the Israeli occupation forces partially reopened a branch road, east of Kissufim
junction. Palestinians would ordinarily utilize this road when Salah El-Din Street was
closed. The Israeli occupation forces opened road only from 10:00 to 12:00 and from
16:00 to 18:00 local time and imposed severe restrictions and humiliating security
procedures.

On December 4, 2000, Israeli occupation forces closed Al-Shuhada’ (Netzarim)

junction, south of Gaza City. On the following day, they partially reopened it, but
tanks and armored vehicles remained stationed at the junction.

On December 11, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces completely closed Salah El-Din
Street, but they reopened it on the following day.

On December 13, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces closed the western road between
Rafah and Khan Yunis with concrete blocks, separating the two cities.

On December 20, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces closed a branch road east of
Kissufim junction, south of Deir El-Balah. Palestinians were allowed to travel
between the north and south of the Gaza Strip only through Al-Heker road that
crosses Deir El-Balah.

In an unprecedented and grave escalation, the Israeli occupation forces divided the
Gaza Strip into three isolated parts. They closed Salah El-Din Street and the coastal
road. Movement between Palestinian areas was completely prohibited. This closure
lasted through the end of the year.

Furthermore, the Israeli occupation forces imposed a siege on the Al-Mawasi

(agricultural) areas of Rafah and Khan Yunis and did not allow nonresidents to enter
it.
“Closure” Update on the Closure Imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip

PCHR resumed publication of its “Closure Update” which detailed the impact of total
Israeli closure on the Gaza Strip. The “Closure Update” had been issued since 1996.
PCHR issued 22 Closure Updates which documented closure’s impact on the
Palestinian economy, health, education, industry and other sectors. PCHR found it
urgent to resume publishing the update when the Israeli occupation forces imposed a
total siege on the Occupied Palestinian Territories on September 29, 2000. PCHR
issued 8 Closure Updates from September until the end of the year.

(5) Continued Suffering of Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli Jails

During the year 2000, PCHR continued to work on the issue of Palestinian prisoners
in Israeli jails. The Israeli occupation forces continued to detain approximately 2605
Palestinians in Israeli jails. During the year 2000, the Israeli occupation forces
arrested a number of Palestinians in areas under their security control, at border
crossings with Egypt and Jordan, at Gaza International Airport, and at crossings
between the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel.

Palestinians living in the Palestinian National Authority controlled areas were not
excluded from these measures. The Israeli army command issued two military orders
in September 1997 under which Israeli military courts were authorized to address
cases of violations of military orders in areas under the Palestinian National
Authority jurisdiction. When the Al-Aqsa Intifada broke out on September 29, 2000,
the Israeli government, headed by Ehud Barak, adopted “crack-down” measures. As a
result, the Israeli occupation forces arrested many Palestinians in the West Bank and
the Gaza Strip for participating in clashes. In the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation
forces arrested 13 Palestinians during the last quarter of the year 2000. They also
prohibited families and lawyers from visiting prisoners.

According to PCHR’s documentation, Israeli security services arrested more than 400
Palestinians during the last quarter of the year 2000,31 including 43 Palestinians from
the Gaza Strip who were arrested at Rafah Border Crossing, at Gaza International
Airport, at the entrances of settlements, at military roadblocks, at Beit Hanoun (Erez)
Crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel, at Tarqoumia Crossing between the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip.32 These people were arrested on the basis of participating in

31
Israel does not usually report the number of Palestinians arrested, but this number can be deduced
from the documentation of the Israeli military court in the Gaza Strip and from the serial numbers of
indictment bills. Often, an indictment bill is related to more than one prisoner, and some times
persons are arrested and then released without being indicted. Therefore, the actual number of
prisoners exceeds this figure.

32
This crossing was established at the entrance of Tarqoumia village near Hebron to serve as an
entrance from the Gaza Strip into the West Bank. It was operated on October 25, 1999, when the
so-called “Safe Passage” between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip was opened.
the Al-Aqsa Intifada.33 The remaining prisoners were arrested inside Israel for lack of
entry permits. Those prisoners are tried at the Israeli court in Erez area, and they are
sentenced to three months in prison or fines.34

A Table of the Numbers of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip Arrested in 2000
and the Places of Arrest35

Number of Palestinians Arrested The Place of Arrest

5 Rafah Border Crossing with Egypt
2 Gaza International Airport
13 At the entrances of settlements and at
military roadblocks
18 Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing
5 Tarqoumia Crossing
Total 43

Palestinian Prisoners’ Hunger Strike

On May 1, 2000, Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails began a hunger strike to protest
to their dire conditions and the Israeli jail administration’s isolation policies. The
hunger strike started at Hadarim prison near Talmond, which is a high security prison.
Prison rooms are designed to isolate prisoners from their visitors by thick glass;
prisoners and their visitors are therefore only able to communicate by telephone. The
prisoners rejected these measures and refused to be visited for eight months until the
Israeli authorities agreed to replace the thick glass with iron windows. However, the
authorities affixed tin shields so prisoners and their visitors were not able to see each
other unless they stood up. This caused friction between prisoners and jailers who
always ordered prisoners to sit during visits. The conditions for Palestinian prisoners
worsened significantly after Israeli jailers attacked prisoners’ rooms to force them to
cease the hunger strike. As a result, what erupted, especially in Mageddo prison, was
that approximately 30 prisoners were injured.

As a result, on April 25, 2000, Palestinian prisoners cancelled family visits. On May
1, 2000, they started a hunger strike. They demanded: improved family visitation

33
On Monday, August 21, 2000, at approximately 14:00 local time, the Israeli occupation forces
arrested Ra’ed Salim Salhia, 27, from Khan Yunis, after he and his companion, Hussam Mahdi, lost
their way as they were driving back from work. They were traveling on a road used by Israeli cars
that connects between Gush Qatif settlements. In his testimony to PCHR, Hussam Mahdi said that
an Israeli military jeep intercepted their car near Gani Tal settlement. Israeli soldiers confiscated
their identity cards and detained them in the jeep for three hours, during which time they checked
the car. Later, Mahdi was released, but Salhia was taken to an unknown destination. He is still
detained.

34
These arrests undermine Israeli security claims regarding the necessity of closure of the Occupied
Palestinian Territories. It is clear that hundreds of Palestinians can sneak into Israel to look for jobs.

35
This table does not include Palestinians who were arrested inside Israel for lack of entry permits.
conditions; improved medical, education, and religious facilities; decreased prison
overcrowding; ceased use of collective punishment; and ceased deprivation of
visitation rights. All these demands in addition to their right to be released, are
provided for in the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and by the UN Minimum
Rules for Treatment of Prisoners, adopted in 1955.

Local and international pressure on the Israeli government to improve the living and
health conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails forced the Israeli jail
administration to meet some of the prisoners’ demands. Therefore, on May 30, 2000,
Palestinian prisoners cancelled their hunger strike.36

Partial Release of Palestinian Prisoners

In 2000, the Israeli occupation forces released 37 Palestinian prisoners as part of the
Israeli government’s obligations under the Sharm El-Sheikh Memorandum signed on
September 4, 1999 between the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and the Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Barak.37

36
Clashes erupted between the Israeli occupation forces and Palestinian civilians who organized
demonstrations in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. During these clashes, eight
Palestinian civilians were killed in the West Bank, and dozens were wounded throughout the
Occupied Palestinian Territories. See Al-Hayat Al-Jadida on May 31, 2000.

37
Article 3 of the Sharm El-Sheikh Memorandum provides that:
i. The two Sides shall establish a joint committee that shall follow-up on matters related
to release of Palestinian prisoners.
ii. The Government of Israel shall release Palestinians and other prisoners who
committed their offences prior to September 13, 1993, and were arrested prior to May
4, 1994. The Joint Committee shall agree on the names of those who will be released
in the first two stages. Those lists shall be recommended to the relevant Authorities
through the Monitoring and Steering Committee;
iii. The first stage of release of prisoners shall be carried out on September 5, 1999 and
shall consist of 200 prisoners. The second stage of release of prisoners shall be
carried out on October 8, 1999 and shall consist of 150 prisoners;
iv. The joint committee shall recommend further lists of names to be released to the
relevant Authorities through the Monitoring and Steering Committee;
v. The Israeli side will aim to release Palestinian prisoners before next Ramadan.

On September 9, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces released 199 Palestinian prisoners, 98 from the
Gaza Strip and 101 from the West Bank. This was the first stage of prisoners’ release according to
the Memorandum, which should have included 200, but one of the prisoners refused his release
because his prison term was due to end a week later. He therefore called for the release of another
prisoner.

On October 15, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces released 151 Palestinian prisoners, 83 from the
Gaza Strip, 68 from the West Bank and 37 from Arab countries. This was the second stage of
prisoners’ release according to the Memorandum.

On December 29, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces released 26 Palestinian prisoners, 8 from the
Gaza Strip, 18 from the West Bank. On the following day, they released 7 prisoners from
Jerusalem. This was the third stage of prisoners’ release according to the Memorandum.

Thus, the number of Palestinian prisoners released according to the Memorandum was 383. They all
undertook not to engage in “actions of violence and terrorism,” and not to enter Israeli without
On January 6, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces released 22 Palestinian prisoners
from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The majority of those released had been
sentenced for short periods in prison on the basis of entering Israel without
permission.

On March 19, 2000, the Israeli occupation forces released five Palestinian prisoners.
On the following day, they also released an additional ten. Of the total 15 Palestinian
prisoners that were released, six were from the Gaza Strip, four were from the West
Bank and five were from East Jerusalem. The Israeli occupation forces asserted that
they released those prisoners on bona fide toward the Palestinian National Authority,
and not on the basis of the Sharm El-Sheikh Memorandum. The release coincided
with ‘Eid al Kabir, or the greater Islamic feast.38

The following table shows the number of Palestinian prisoners and their places of
detention at the end of 2000:

Prison The Number of Prisoners

Asqalan 359
Nafha 305
Al-Maskoubia 18
Shatta 73
Beer El-Saba’ 30
Al-Ramla 9
Al-Jalameh 18
Hasharon 12
Neve Trista 5
Marish 5
Not specified 527
Al-Damoun 6
Mageddo 698
Total 2,065

Continued Use of Torture Methods against Palestinian Prisoners

In 2000, Israeli General Security Service (GSS) interrogators continued to use torture
methods against Palestinian prisoners. This continued despite the Israeli High Court’s

permission. The remainder of the time of imprisonment was considered as a three-year arrest of
judgement.

38
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 21, 2000.
decision on September 6, 2000 to ban the use of torture methods by interrogators
against Palestinian prisoners.39

PCHR paid particular attention to developments related to the Israeli High Court’s
decision to ban the use torture methods against Palestinian prisoners and GSS
implementation. Following the decision, the number of lawyers prevented from
visiting prisoners increased in an apparent attempt to conceal torture, under
conspiracy by the High Court itself.40 The Israeli GSS also increased interrogation and
the Israeli jail administration increased prisoner mistreatment.41

Some Israeli parties sought to legislate the use of torture against Palestinian prisoners.
However, the GSS, headed by Ami Aloon, publicly rescinded this request, in a special
meeting held on February 15, 2000, which included Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Barak, Justice Minister Yousi Belin, Deputy Defense Minister Ibraiem Sinah, as well
as the Legal Advisor of the Israeli government Ilyakem Robinshtain and the Attorney
General Edna Arbil. Robinshtain also committed to providing legal counsel for any
interrogator resorting to “special methods” (i.e. torture) in certain cases.

In 2000, Israeli interrogators continued to torture Palestinian prisoners. This

continuing practice is not only prohibited by international law it also contravenes
39
These methods contradict international law and Israel’s obligations as a state party to the Convention
against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of 1984. In 1987, the very same
year that the Convention came into force, a special Commission of Inquiry, headed by former
president of the Israeli Supreme Court, Justice Moshe Landau, concluded that GSS interrogators
were entitled to use moderate physical pressure against Palestinian detainees. This was considered
to be, in practice, a legal cover for the use of torture methods. The UN Committee against Torture
concluded in 1998 that moderate physical pressure was tantamount to torture. The torture methods
allowed by the Landau Commission Report included inter alia, the method of shaking, a method
that has led to the death of a number of Palestinian prisoners. One of those prisoners was Abdel
Samad Hraizat, who was transferred to hospital unconscious less than 24 hours after his arrest on 22
April 1996, and was pronounced dead on 25 April 1996.

On Monday, 6 September 1999, the High Court of Justice convened and issued its ruling on a
number of applications submitted to the Court by human rights groups against the use of torture
methods by GSS. The Court’s ruling prohibited the use of physical force by the GSS. Specific
methods prohibited included shaking, shabeh, sleep deprivation, loud music and frog crouching.

Hanna Friedman, the Executive Director of the Israeli Committee against Torture stated that
interrogators of the Israeli GSS continued to use methods of torture against Palestinian prisoners, in
violation of the decision taken by the Israeli High Court.

40
For example, on June 18, 2000, PCHR issued a press release in which it condemned continued denial
of detainee Nabil Abu Oukel’s right to have access to his lawyer, under approval by the Israeli High
Court. PCHR feared that he was tortured during interrogation. PCHR also stated that the position
of the Israeli High Court violated the right of detainees to have access to their lawyers. Moreover, it
was PCHR's view that this move was designed to indirectly prevent lawyers from verifying that
detainees have not been subjected to ill treatment. On the following day, PCHR issued a similar
press release regarding the denial of detainee Mohammed Abdel-Azziz’s right to have access to his
lawyer.

41
See above details about the prisoners’ hunger strike.
Israel’s obligation as a signatory to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of 1984.42

The Death of a Palestinian Prisoner in an Israeli Jail

On August 11, 2000, a Palestinian prisoner, Ramez Fayez Mohamed Rashid El-Razi,
25, from Nusseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, died in his cell in Nafha prison in
Israel. El-Razi was arrested by the Israeli occupation forces seven months previously
in Alafolah. He was convicted of entering Israel without the required permit and
sentenced to three years imprisonment.

According to information gathered by PCHR, El-Razi’s family was informed of his

death by the Palestinian police. On 9 August 2000, the father had visited his son for
the last time and reported that he was in relatively good health.

Administrative Detention

Administrative detention is the mechanism that has been used by the Israeli forces in
the last 30 years to arrest any member of the public without charge or trial. The arrest
order is issued by the Israeli District Military Commander in Palestinian controlled
areas in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. This excludes East Jerusalem (and other
areas where Israel claims sovereignty), where the orders are issued through the Israeli
Defense Minister. Administrative detention measures do not follow correct judicial
procedures as required by international human rights standards. In a clear violation of
human rights, the detainee is barred from his right to a fair trial, from knowing what
he is accused of; and from his right to a suitable defense.

Administrative detention violates the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 which

asserts that this kind of arrest must not be used as a means of punishment, but only in
exceptional cases as a last resort (Article 78). The Israeli forces, however, use
administrative detention in a routininized fashion. Thousands of Palestinian citizens
are regularly subjected to administrative detention for periods of up to four years. In
42
In 2000, Israeli interrogators tortured Palestinian prisoners. The following are a number of torture
cases:

1. On June 22, 2000, an undercover unit of the Israeli occupation forces arrested Radi Safi
Safi, 39, from Al-‘Obeidia village near Bethlehem, after he was wounded with several live
bullets in the side and the right arm. He was evacuated to Hadassa hospital in Jerusalem,
but the GSS refused to allow him to stay for treatment. He was transferred to Al-
Maskoubia prison for interrogation. He was tortured, detained in a cell and deprived of
food and medical care.
2. On August 27, 2000, an Israeli unit, known as “Dovdovan,” arrested Nidal Mohammed
Daghlas, 39, from Assira near Nablus. Daghlas was wounded with a live bullet in the leg
and was arrested. He was subject to torture methods during interrogation. He asserted to a
lawyer of the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment
that he was tortured.
3. On November 9, 2000, Israeli occupation soldiers arrested Rami Yasser Za’oul, 15, from
Housan village near Bethlehem, for throwing stones. He was taken to a military site in
Gush Etsion settlement block. He was tortured by Israeli soldiers who interrogated him.
Israeli soldiers forced him to take off his clothes for several hours. They also put ice on his
body and then bathed him with hot water. He was also deprived of sleep and food. They
also beat him, shook him and used the Shabeh method against him.
many cases, administrative detention orders are issued against Palestinian detainees at
the end of their prison sentence.

At the end of 2000, the Israeli occupation forces were still detaining 14 Palestinians in
administrative detention.43 Like other Palestinian prisoners, they are imprisoned in
jails inside Israeli territories in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The
Fourth Geneva Convention prevents the occupying power from transferring prisoners
from the occupied territories to its territory.

Legal Aid Provided for the Detainees in Israeli Jails

The Legal Aid Unit has continued its work of providing legal services for detainees.
Four lawyers work in the unit and handle complaints from the families of the
detainees everyday. The services provided include the following:44

1. Intervention before Israeli courts on behalf of detainees.

2. Intervention, through Israeli lawyers and Israeli human rights organizations, to
contact the detainees and monitor their detention conditions and treatment.
3. Representation of the detainees, through Israeli lawyers, before the Israeli
court.

During 2000, PCHR’s Legal Unit pursued the cases of 72 Palestinians in Israeli
prisons compared with 87 detainees in 1999. Priority is given to the cases of poor
prisoners, whose families cannot pay the cost of legal services.

With regard to the issue of detainees in Israeli prisons, the services of the unit in 2000
can be summarized as follows:
The detention location of 72 detainees was determined and their families were
notified. Three of them were released before trial.
At the request of PCHR, Israeli lawyers visited 60 detainees
In 19 cases, lawyers appeared before the Israeli Military court to defend the
detainees
Twelve detainees whose cases were pursued by PCHR were released.
Fifteen detainees whose cases were pursued by PCHR have been brought to
trial
Objections were raised regarding the obstruction of lawyers’ visitation in five
cases.
In three cases, lawyers raised objections to the court concerning excessively
harsh sentences against detainees.
Nine cases concerning the obstruction of family visitation were pursued. Four
families were allowed to visit detainees.

43
Source: the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs.

44
Israel prevents Palestinian lawyers from Gaza Strip from visiting prisons and detention centres in
Israel and from representing their clients before the Israeli courts. Therefore, the Legal Unit
depends on a number of Israeli lawyers to work on dozens of files. In addition, the Legal Unit
coordinates and cooperates with human rights centres and institutions in Israel.
 Two cases in which detainees had completed one third of their sentences but
were not released by the Israeli authorities were pursued. Their cases are still
being pursued.

Commemoration of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day (April 17)

After consultation between PCHR, and the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs
and the Prisoners’ Society (Hussam) during February and March 2000, the three
decided to organize common activities to commemorate the Palestinian Prisoners’
Day on April 17. They agreed to organize a public conference under the auspices of
the Prisoners’ Society (Hussam), an exhibition of prisoners’ artwork under the
auspices of the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs, and an expert meeting on
the legal status of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, under the auspices of PCHR.

On April 17, 2000, a public conference was held in solidarity with Palestinian
prisoners, speeches were given by Tayeb ‘Abdel-Rahim, Secretary of the Palestinian
Presidency, Hisham ‘Abdel-Razeq, Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs, and Raji Sourani,
Director of PCHR. Prisoners' artwork was also displayed. This conference was an
expression of solidarity with Palestinian prisoners and commitment to their immediate
release. The conference concluded with an exhibition of artwork of Palestinian
prisoners in Israeli jails.

Conclusions and Recommendations of the Expert Meeting on the Legal Status of

Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli Jails

The Expert Meeting on the Legal Status of Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli Jails (‘the
meeting’) convened in Gaza on 18-19 April 2000 (hosted by PCHR in cooperation
with the Palestinian Ministry of Ex-Prisoners and Detainees Affairs and Hussam
Association for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners). The meeting discussed and deliberated
on the status of Palestinian and Arab prisoners incarcerated in Israeli jails. The
illegality of the transfer of those prisoners from the OPT to Israeli jails received
particular attention.

The meeting reaffirmed the significance of international human rights and

humanitarian law to this critical issue of international concern. The Forth Geneva
Convention and the Minimum Standard Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners received
particular attention.

Conclusions and Recommendations

The meeting called upon the State of Israel to:

1. Immediately release, without exception, Palestinian and Arab political

prisoners in accordance with existing agreements between the State of Israel
and the PLO and to commit itself to adhere to processes which ensure the
release of all Palestinian political prisoners.

2. Abide by the principles espoused in international law when dealing with

Palestinian and Arab prisoners in their treatment and release.
 3. In the meantime, to treat all Palestinian and Arab prisoners held in Israeli jails
in accordance with international law, including the Third and Fourth Geneva
Conventions of 1949, the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights,
the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel and Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, the International Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Convention on the Rights
of the Child, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women, and the Standards Minimum Rules for the
Treatment of Prisoners.

4. Immediately improve the conditions of detention, in particular, inter alia:

Access to legal counsel of choice, including allowing access to all lawyers
from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to consult prisoners in private and
in respect of their rights;
Full access to family visits;
Full medical service without discrimination, and immediate access to
medical care for all prisoners needing medical attention;
Access to telephones;
Provision of ventilated rooms by removal of asbestos wall in front of
windows and provision of heating;
Access to higher education in Arabic without censorship, provision of
computer in study room;
Immediate removal of all prisoners from isolation.

5. End the use of administrative and arbitrary detention, and to cancel emergency
legislation enabling for these practices;

6. Release all Palestinian and Arab prisoners who have completed their sentences;

7. Immediately release, without exception, all Lebanese hostages held illegally as

confirmed by the decision of the Supreme Court on 16 April 2000;

8. Immediately release all prisoners held in Al Khiam and other prisons in South
Lebanon, whose lives are under serious threat and whose welfare is under the
responsibility of the State of Israel. Furthermore the State of Israel must
redress and compensate all prisoners held in Al Khiam prison, all of whom
were held illegally and subjected to torture. The State of Israel is also
responsible for holding legally accountable all those responsible for the illegal
incarceration and torture of prisoners in Al Khiam.

The meeting furthermore called upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth
Geneva Convention to:

1. Reconvene their conference, adjourned on 15 July 1999 and adopt measures to

enforce the Fourth Geneva Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
in compliance with the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions.
The meeting furthermore called upon the international community to:

1. Apply all international, regional and municipal conventions and agreements to

ensure compliance by the State of Israel in meeting the aforementioned release
of Palestinian and Arab prisoners in Israeli jails.

Torture

Torture, which has been practiced extensively by Israel in its subjugation of the
Palestinian people, is one of the most atrocious violations of human rights. The
meeting emphasized the following:

1. The State of Israel has ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture
and all Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (‘the
Convention’), which is legally binding. The Convention defines torture and
prohibits the use of torture in all circumstances. The meeting urges the State of
Israel to follow the recommendations of the Committee against Torture (CAT).

2. The State of Israel is called upon to ratify Articles 20 and 22 of the Convention
against Torture.

3. Compliance with the Convention means the practice of torture, in all its forms,
must cease.

4. No steps should be taken to continue the practice of torture, under any guise.
In this regard, the proposed amendment to the penal law should not be passed.

5. The State of Israel must fulfil its obligations under the Convention by promptly
and impartially investigating all alleged acts of torture, prosecuting perpetrators
and punishing all those found to be responsible for such acts (Articles 4, 12 and
13).

6. The State of Israel must ensure that all victims of torture are compensated
(Article 14).

(6) Press Releases by PCHR on Israeli Violations of Palestinian Human Rights in

2000

PCHR regularly issues press releases on the human rights situation in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories in order to inform the local community, the local and
international press, the NGO community, and governments about human rights
violations. PCHR sees views this not only as a necessary measure to provide accurate
information on violations, but also as a preliminary step toward stopping violations.

During the year 2000, PCHR issued 119 press releases on Israeli violations of
Palestinian human rights. Of theses, 31 were issued from January 1 to September 28,
2000. The remaining 88 press releases, were issued during the last quarter of 2000.
This distribution reflects the unprecedented escalation of Israeli human rights
violations against Palestinian civilians and their properties in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories since the outbreak of Al-Aqsa Intifada.
 A Table of PCHR’s Press Releases on Israeli Violations of Palestinian Human
Rights

No. Date Subject Notes

1. Jan. 3, 2000 House demolition Threats to demolish Palestinian
houses
2. Jan. 29, 2000 Settlement The establishment of new
housing units in Morag
settlement
3. Feb. 10, 2000 Prisoners in Israeli jails Arrests of Palestinians at border
crossings
4. Feb.12, 2000 Prisoners in Israeli jails Sentences by an Israeli military
court at Erez area against a
number of Palestinian prisoners
5. Feb.20, 2000 Prisoners in Israeli jails A statement by the legal
advisor of the Israeli
government related to the
provision of protection for
interrogators resorting to torture
of Palestinian detainees
6. Feb.23, 2000 Land leveling and house Preventing Khan Yunis
demolition Municipality from establishing
a park
7. March 2, 2000 Closure Preventing the travel of 19
Palestinians to Saudi Arabia for
pilgrimage
8. March 22, 2000 Prisoners in Israeli jails Preventing a PCHR lawyer
from visiting a Palestinian
prisoner and fears that he was
tortured
9. May 3, 2000 Closure Restrictions on the movement
of a PLC Member
10. May 3, 2000 Closure Closing Gaza International
Airport
11. May 3, 2000 Prisoners in Israeli jails Preventing visits by Palestinian
families to Hadarim jail
12. May 4, 2000 Settlement New settlement activities
13. May 14, 2000 Prisoners in Israeli jails Palestinian prisoners’ hunger
strike
14. May 15, 2000 Excessive use of force Excessive use of force
15. May 16, 2000 Excessive use of force Excessive use of force
16. May 22, 2000 Palestinian prisoners in Continued detention of two
Israeli jails Palestinian prisoners after the
end of their imprisonment and
calling for their release
17. May 23, 2000 Settlement Attacks by settlers at Khan
Yunis seashore and Al-Mentar
(Karni) Outlet
18. June 1, 2000 Excessive use of force Shooting at PNA’s employees
in Rafah
19. June 11, 2000 Land leveling and house Razing areas of land near Slao
demolition settlement in Al-Mawasi area of
Rafah
20. June 18, 2000 Palestinian prisoners in Preventing a PCHR lawyer
Israeli jails from visiting a Palestinian
prisoner and fears that he was
tortured
21. June 25, 2000 Settlements Attacks by settlers in Khan
Yunis
22. June 26, 2000 Palestinian prisoners in Crimes of torture against
Israeli jails Palestinian prisoners in Israeli
jails on the day of suppor for
victims of torture
23. June 27, 2000 Attacks by the Israeli Obstructing the implementation
occupation forces of Salah El-Din development
project
24. June 28, 2000 Excessive use of force The death of a Palestinian
policeman who was wounded
by the Israeli occupation forces
on May 17, 2000
25. July 9, 2000 Excessive use of force Firing at two Palestinian
civilian cars in the Gaza Strip
26. July 19, 2000 Palestinian prisoners in Preventing a PCHR lawyer
Israeli jails from visiting a Palestinian
prisoner and fears that he was
tortured
27. Aug. 24, 2000 Palestinian prisoners in A call for international
Israeli jails investigation in the death of a
Palestinian prisoner
28. Aug. 24, 2000 Settlement Attacks by settlers in Khan
Yunis
29. Sept. 5, 2000 Settlement Welcoming a decision by the
Arab League to exert pressure
on Burger King restaurants to
close their branch at M’ale
Adomim settlement
30. Sept. 11, 2000 Settlement Attacks by settlers against two
Palestinians at a casino in a
settlement in the Gaza Strip,
and calling upon the PNA to
prevent Palestinians from going
to the casino
31. Sept. 30, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada A call for immediate
international intervention after
a number of Palestinian
civilians were killed
32. Sept. 30, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of civilians and the
killing of a medical reliever
33. Oct. 1, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of civilians
34. Oct.1, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Shelling
35. Oct. 2, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of civilians and shelling
of civilian facilities
36. Oct. 3, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of civilians and shelling
of civilian facilities
37. Oct. 3, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of civilians and shelling
of civilian facilities
38. Oct. 4, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Affidavit by journalist Talal
Abu Rahma on the killing of
child Mohammed Al-Durreh
39. Oct. 4, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Military reinforcements in the
Gaza Strip
40. Oct. 4, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of a child
41. Oct. 5, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Continued aggression against
Palestinian civilians
42. Oct. 6, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Continued aggression against
Palestinian civilians
43. Oct. 6, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Nine killed and dozens of
wounded
44. Oct. 7, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada A human right inquiry
commission concludes it work
45. Oct. 7, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Continued blatant human rights
violations
46. Oct. 8, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Shelling
47. Oct. 8, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Land leveling in the Gaza Strip
48. Oct. 9, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada The right and obligation of the
PNA to defend its citizens
49. Oct. 10, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada A total siege on the Occupied
Palestinian Territories
50. Oct. 11, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
51. Oct. 12, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of a Palestinian child
52. Oct. 12, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Shelling of Palestinian areas
from the sea, air and land
53. Oct. 13, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
54. Oct. 14, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada The reception of the UN
Special Rapporteur on the
Occupied Palestinian and Arab
Territories
55. Oct. 16, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
56. Oct. 16, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
57. Oct. 17, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of a Palestinian farmer
by settlers
58. Oct. 17, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
59. Oct. 18, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Closing Gaza International
Airport and human rights
violations
60. Oct. 18, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada The Sharm El-Sheikh Summit,
position paper
61. Oct. 18, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
and military reinforcements in
the Gaza Strip
62. Oct. 19, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Land leveling and military
reinforcements
63. Oct. 20, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
64. Oct. 21, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
65. Oct. 22, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
66. Oct. 23, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
and military reinforcements
67. Oct. 24, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
and military reinforcement
68. Oct. 25, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Land leveling and derivation of
patients of their right to receive
treatment
69. Oct. 26, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Restrictions on internal
movement in the Gaza Strip
and land leveling
70. Oct. 27, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
71. Oct. 28, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
72. Oct. 29, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
73. Oct. 30, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Clashes and land leveling
74. Oct. 31, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
75. Nov. 1, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian children
76. Nov. 2, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
77. Nov. 3, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
78. Nov. 4, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
79. Nov. 5, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians,
military reinforcement and
closing the main road in the
Gaza Strip
80. Nov. 6, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
and shelling of civilian facilities
81. Nov. 7, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians,
shelling and land leveling
82. Nov. 8, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian children
83. Nov. 9, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada The visit by the UN High
Commissioner for Human
Rights to the Occupied
Palestinian Territories. The
killing of three Palestinian
civilians with shells and land
leveling
84. Nov. 10, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada The visit by the UN High
Commissioner for Human
Rights to the Occupied
Palestinian Territories.
Shelling of Palestinian civilians
85. Nov. 11, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
86. Nov. 12, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
and shelling of cities
87. Nov. 13, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Continued crimes against
Palestinian civilians
88. Nov. 13, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
89. Nov. 14, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians,
shelling of cities and land
leveling
90. Nov. 15, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Obstructing the work of the
PLC
91. Nov. 15, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians,
shelling of cities and land
leveling
92. Nov. 16, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Shelling of cities and killing a
German physician
93. Nov. 17, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada The assassination of a
Palestinian young man
94. Nov. 118, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians,
shelling of cities and land
leveling
95. Nov. 19, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Targeting the upper part of the
body
96. Nov. 21, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians,
shelling of the Gaza Strip
97. Nov. 21, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
98. Nov. 22, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians,
shelling of cities and land
leveling
99. Nov. 23, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada The assassination of a
Palestinian civilian and shelling
of houses
100. Nov. 24, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians,
shelling of cities
101. Nov. 25, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians,
and denial of the entry of an
Amnesty International mission
into the Gaza Strip
102. Nov. 26, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians,
shelling of cities and
restrictions on internal
movement
103. Nov. 27, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
104. Nov. 28, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians,
shelling of cities and land
leveling
105. Nov. 29, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
and land leveling
106. Dec. 4, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Transformation of the Gaza
Strip into three isolated parts
107. Dec. 8, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinians under
shelling
108. Dec. 9, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians,
shelling of cities, land leveling,
and attacks by settlers
109. Dec. 10, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada On the 52nd anniversary of the
Universal Declaration for
Human Rights
110. Dec. 11, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada A call by PCHR to boycott US
products
111. Dec. 13, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
in Khan Yunis
112. Dec. 14, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
and shelling of cities
113. Dec. 9, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
114. Dec. 16, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians,
shelling of cities and land
leveling
115. Dec. 17, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
and shelling of cities
116. Dec. 18, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Attacks by settlers
117. Dec. 9, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
and shelling of cities
118. Dec. 23, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians,
shelling of cities and land
leveling
119. Dec. 24, 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada Killing of Palestinian civilians
and land leveling
 PART 2

PROMOTING THE RULE OF

LAW AND DEMOCRACY IN
AREAS UNDER THE
JURISDICTION OF THE
PALESTINIAN NATIONAL
AUTHORITY
(1) Palestinian Security Forces Continue Illegal Arrests of Citizens

Despite the decrease from 1999 in the total number of people arrested by Palestinian
security forces in 2000, Palestinian security forces continued to arrest citizens for
political reasons. During the year 2000, 100 people were arrested compared to 300 in
1999. PCHR welcomes this positive development in an area that human rights
organizations worked extensively. While PCHR welcomes this development, it
continues to call for an end to all forms of political arrests to cease.

These arrests are normally conducted in waves in which many people are
simultaneously arrested based on a list of names. At times, these arrests occur as part
of PNA security obligations toward Israel as contained in signed agreements. At
other times, it takes place as result of political and security events such searches for
those wanted by the Palestinian security forces.45 In addition, the PNA arrested
national and political figures for their political opinions or for criticizing the PNA.
Most of these arrests are directed at the leadership and supporters of the Islamic
movements that oppose the peace process and interim agreements with Israel. In
addition, these arrest processes were aimed at political activists and at supporters of
the nationalist secular groups and parties that oppose the peace process and Interim
Agreements. On more than one occasion, the Palestinian security forces arrested
journalists.46

Most of arrests are illegal since they occurred without warrants from the Attorney
General’s office. The detainees were also denied access to the judiciary for official
renewal or extension of their period of arrest, and they were held without charges. In
addition, the detainees were denied their right to a lawyer and a fair trial. In some
cases, individuals have not been released despite orders from the High Court for their
release. This in itself is a dangerous challenge to the rule of law, judicial
independence, and human rights standards.47

Nevertheless, in the last quarter of 2000, the PNA eased measures which violated the
right to free political expression. When clashes broke out between Palestinian
civilians and the Israeli occupation forces on September 29, 2000, the PNA ceased
arresting people on the basis of their political beliefs. This included activists and
supporters of Islamic movements that oppose peace agreements with Israel.
Furthermore, the PNA released most political detainees in its jails and detention

45
On March 4, 2000, Palestinian security services arrested dozens of supporters of the Islamic Jihad
and Hamas in Al-Shati refugee camp and Al-Shojaeya neighborhood in Gaza City. This wave of
arrests came after five members of Ezziddin El-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas,
carried a military operation in Al-Taybeh town inside the Green Line on March 2, 2000, during
which four members were killed and the fifth was arrested when Israeli forces raided the house in
which they were hiding.
46
See pages 80-85 of this report.
47
See page 71 of this report on the non-implementation of the court's decisions.
centers after the Israeli occupation forces shelled Palestinian security centers in Gaza
City.48

Torture and Mistreatment of Detainees by the Palestinian National Authority

The year 2000 witnessed a decline in the use of torture leading to death, especially in
Gaza Strip.49 Nonetheless, PCHR received several testimonies from released prisoners
that they were subjected to torture. During the interrogation, these detainees said they
were held in small rooms (2 meters by 1 meter). Among the torture methods
mentioned in the testimonies were beatings with plastic wires, beatings with batons,
hitting with the open hand, beating the bottom of the feet with plastic wires or batons,
forcing detainees to sit on very small chairs for a long time, sleep deprivation, and
other methods. The detainees also testified that they were subjected to verbal assault.

Legal Aid for the Detainees

The Legal Unit provides help to detainees and their families. The services by PCHR
include the following:
1) Determining the location of detainees and informing their families;
2) Representing the detainees before the Attorney General, in order to know the
reasons and circumstances of their arrest;
3) Visiting the detainees, where possible;
4) Working to secure the release of all detainees whose arrests were illegal;
5) Representing detainees before the Palestinians courts.50

During 2000, PCHR lawyers managed to visit 32 detainees, in comparison with 33

detainees during 1999. However, the Palestinian General Intelligence Service
prevents PCHR lawyers from visiting detainees in its prison. PCHR’s Legal Unit
lawyers sent 32 appeals to the Attorney General on behalf of detainees in 2000, in
comparison to 96 sent in 1999. The applications asked the Attorney General's office
to: explain the reason behind the continued arrest of these detainees, to provide a copy
of their files, to allow the lawyers to visit them and furthermore release them.

48
Waves arrests carries out by the PA against citizens which violate the right to free expression will be
detailed in the part of this report concerned with the right to free expression, pages 75-80.

49
During 2000, one fatal case was recorded in the West Bank. On June 6, 2000, Khaled Mohammed
Yunis Bahar, 35, from Beit Ummar village in Hebron, died in Al-Zhahereya prison. Bahr was
arrested by the Palestinian Preventive Security Service (PSS) on May 25, 2000. He was
interrogated in the investigation department of Al-Zahahereya prison. According to the GSS’s
officials, he died from an acute heart attack. Bahar’s family did not notice any signs of torture on
his body.

50
This is limited to the Palestinian Civil Courts, the Centre refuses to represent detainees before the
State Security Court, in accordance with its fundamental stance in opposition to these Courts which
are illegal. PCHR believes that this stance does not, however, prevent it from closely following the
cases brought before the Security Court and from expressing its legal opinions in relations to those
cases. (see details regarding the State Security Court during 2000 below)
PCHR’s lawyers submitted applications to the High Court of Justice on behalf of 21
detainees in 2000, compared to 34 in 1999, for release based on the illegality of their
detention. The Court decided to immediately release 12 detainees; however, only ten
of these were actually released. In addition, five detainees were released before the
Court had ruled.

(2) Individual Security Service Personnel Shooting and Killing Civilians

During 2000, there was a notable decline in the misuse of weapons by Palestinian
security services personnel, particularly off-duty personnel. PCHR documented four
fatal cases as a result of weapons’ misuse in 2000, compared to 12 cases in 1999.51
While it expresses it satisfaction with the decline in weapons’ misuse, PCHR is
deeply concerned with these incidents which constitute a violation of the fundamental
human rights to life and personal security. PCHR calls on the Palestinian National
Authority to take all necessary measures to end this violation and to control the use of
weapons by the people responsible for enforcing the law.

During 2000, four civilians in the Gaza Strip were shot and killed. They are:

1) Mohammed Jamil Nemer ‘Aabed, 25, from Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in

Gaza City, killed with three bullets in the chest and the abdomen;
2) Shadi Nasser Abu Harbid, 21, from Beit Hanoun, killed with a bullet in the
chest;
3) ‘Ahed ‘Abada Emrish, 22, from Al-Shojaeya neighborhood in Gaza City, killed
with a bullet in the chest; and
4) Mohammed Nemer Rakha, 23, from Nusseirat refugee camp, killed with three
bullets in the abdomen.

During 2000, 15 civilians from the Gaza Strip were injured to varying degrees as a
result of being shot by Palestinian security Forces personal. Of these, 11 cases
occurred during working hours, and the rest resulted from the misuse of weapons by
off-duty personnel.52 Amongst the injured were five members of the Palestinian
police, and two children.

51
During 2000, six civilians were killed in the West Bank as a result of misuse of weapons. They are:
1) Mahmoud Suleiman Abu Gheith, 21, from Hebron, a policeman guarding a bank,
killed on February 27, 2000 when he played with his weapon;
2) Ahlam Mattar Doqmaq, 25, from Ramallah, shot on July 1, 2000 when she was in her
father’s store;
3) Basman Mohammed ‘Abdullah ‘Ali Yousef, 7, from Jerusalem, killed on July 1, 2000
with live bullets fired during a wedding party;
4) ‘Alla’ Khader Bani ‘Oudeh, 21, from Tammoun in Toubas, killed on July 9, 2000,
killed with a bullet fired accidentally from his colleague’s weapon;
5) Amal Amin Mohammed Nazih, 14, from Jenin, killed on July 22, 2000 with a bullet
during a wedding party; and
6) Khallad Fayez Abu Zahra, 18, from Tulkarm, killed on November 18, 2000 during
training.
52
For more details about these incidents see below.
The following are the cases of shooting and attacks documented by PCHR in the Gaza
Strip:53

1) On February 16, 2000, Yasser ‘Ali Nemer Zaqout, 27, from Jabalya refugee
camp, a member of the Palestinian National Security Forces, was injured with a
bullet in the left leg that was fired accidentally from his weapon.

2) On February 23, 2000, members of the Palestinian National Security Forces

guarding the villa of Mahmoud Abbas, Secretary of the Executive Committee
of the PLO, fired at the car of Rebhi ‘Abdel-Mo’ti Yaghi, 48, from Gaza City.
As a result, Yaghi was injured with several bullets in the right foot. He was
transferred to Shifa’ hospital in Gaza City for treatment. The incident took
place when Yaghi was driving to his place of work in a seaside restaurant,
passing near the villa. Guards asserted that a suspicious individual travelling in
a car similar to Yaghi’s, fired at the villa on February 20, 2000.

3) On April 14, 2000, a member of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service

fired upon Nabil Rajab Ziada, 37, from Rafah, wounding him with a live bullet
in the left leg. The incident took place at Al-Yarmouk stadium when riots
erupted during a football match. Palestinian security personnel intervened to
disperse rioters, using sticks and batons and firing in the air. Then, members of
the Palestinian General Intelligence Service fired into the air. One of them
moved toward Ziada who was with other people trying to prevent rioters from
throwing stones. He grabbed Ziada by his shoulder and then fired from a pistol
at his left leg.

4) On April 21, 2000, a Palestinian police officer fired in the air celebrating his
friend’s wedding in Jabalya refugee camp. As a result, Bilal Hamad, a 25-year-
old police officer from Jabalya refugee camp, was injured with a live bullet in
the chest, and Farouq Balboul, 27, also from Jabalya refugee camp, was injured
with a live bullet in the abdomen.

5) On April 26, 2000, a Palestinian police officer fired at a four-year-old child

from Gaza City, Mohammed ‘Omar El-Sousi, injuring him slightly in the head.
The child was evacuated to Shifa’ hospital in Gaza City for treatment.
According to information gathered by PCHR, a Palestinian policeman working
as a guard for a lieutenant colonel of Palestinian police, opened fire from his
weapon during a quarrel with a construction worker in an apartment adjacent to
the officer’s apartment. In her testimony to PCHR, the child’s mother said that
she was in the balcony of her nearby house when a police vehicle came to the
area. A police officer started to shout at the laborer, threatening him that he
would shoot him if he did not stop bothering him. Her mother added that the
police opened fire from his weapon, and a stray bullet hit her child whom she
was carrying.

53
During 2000, PCHR received dozens complaints about attacks by Palestinian security men against
citizens.
6) On May 4, 2000, Fathi Abu Samra, 56, a lieutenant colonel of Palestinian
police, was injured with a live bullet in the abdomen when he was playing with
his weapon at home.

7) On May 13, 2000, an armed person fired from his pistol in the air during a
march in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. As a result, an 11-
year-old-child from Khan Yunis, Mohammed Ghazi Abu ‘Aker, , was injured
with a live bullet in the right leg. He was evacuated to Nasser hospital in Khan
Yunis for treatment.

8) On June 8, 2000, members of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service

(GIS) were injured with shrapnel from two bombs that exploded in the office of
the Special Security Unit of the GIS. The incident took place when an
undercover group of the GIS burst into the office of the Special Security Unit
and confronted its members. The attackers threw two bombs at the office. As
a result, some members of the GIS were injured and evacuated to Shifa’
hospital in Gaza City for treatment.

9) On July 10, 2000, ‘Ezziddin Jom’a Abu Sha’ban, a 22-year-old security man
from Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City, was injured in the upper part of
the body when he was accidentally shot by his colleague during his wedding
party. He was evacuated to Shifa’ hospital for treatment.

10) On August 4, 2000, a Palestinian security man, working as a guard of a colonel

of the Preventive Security Service, opened fire at a house in Al-Boreij refugee
camp, wounding:
1. Jom’a Ahmed Khalaf, 35, with two live bullets in the left foot and the
right leg; and
2. ‘Alla’ Yousef Weshah, 27, with a live bullet in the left arm. He was shot
as he was passing the targeted house.
The incident was a result of a family quarrel.

On the same day, Fatema Salem Zo’rob, 40, from Rafah, was injured with live
bullet shrapnel in the feet and the legs when members of the Palestinian
General Security Service opened fire indiscriminately on civilians who
confronted them when they attempted to arrest a citizen from Al-Zohour
neighborhood in Rafah. In addition, Dhia’ Mahmoud Zo’rob, 22, from Rafah,
received head injuries when they beat him with guns.

11) On September 9, 2000, after the election in the Palestinian Society of

Accountants, a unit of the General Security Service attacked the headquarters
of the Society, beat the accountants and ransacked the headquarters. They
claimed that someone had fired in the air celebrating their victory in election.

12) On September 18, 2000, Palestinian police officers beat Fahmi Zo’rob, a 24-
year-old municipal stores guard, from Beit Lahia, when he refused to allow
them to enter the stores to check them. He was arrested, and was released on
the following day in order to receive treatment at Shifa’ hospital in Gaza City.
13) On September 19, 2000, a unit of the Palestinian National Security Forces
attacked Ibrahim Hassan Felfel, a 41-year-old taxi driver from Beit Lahia, and
detained his car. This happened when Felfel was on his way back to Gaza from
Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing. Felfel said that a member of the Palestinian
National Security Forces, positioned at a roadblock between Erez area and
Gaza attacked him after he forced Felfel to get out of his car. He also asserted
that he was taken to the commander's office in the area and beaten.

14) On September 21, 2000, three armed persons, two of whom are members of
the Palestinian General Security Service, attacked a money exchange shop in
Gaza City. They beat Hisham Khaled Koheil, 55, the owner of the shop, and
his son Mohammed, 20. The two were evacuated to Shifa’ hospital in Gaza
City for treatment.

15) On September 28, 2000, a 20-year-old policeman from Deir El-Balah,

Mahmoud ‘Ali El-Boheisi, was injured with a live bullet that entered through
his jaw and settled in the shoulder when he was playing with his weapon with
a colleague. He was evacuated to Shifa’ hospital in Gaza City for treatment.

16) On November 15, 2000, a 25-year-old policeman from Sheikh Radwan

neighborhood in Gaza City, Mohammed Jamil Nemer ‘Abded, was killed with
three live bullets in the abdomen and the chest, fired accidentally from his
colleague’s weapon in Al-Soudania area in Gaza.

17) On December 2, 2000, Shadi Nasser Abu Harbid, 21, from Beit Hanoun, was
killed with a live bullet in the chest fired accidentally from his colleague’s
weapon during training. Abu Harbid was a member of the Fatah Organization.

18) On December 17, 2000, Mohammed Nemer Rakha, 23, from Nusseirat refugee
camp, was killed with three live bullets in the abdomen when his colleague in
the Military Intelligence Service fired at him from the roof of his house as a
joke.

19) On December 22, 2000, ‘Ahed ‘Abada Emrish, 22, from Al-Shojaeya
neighborhood in Gaza City, was killed with a live bullet in the chest when he
was playing with his brother’s pistol.

(3) The Continuing Operation of the State Security Court

Despite criticism by Palestinian and international human rights organizations, the

State Security Court continues to operate in PNA areas. The State Security Court was
formed in February 1995, eight months after the establishment of the PNA in the Gaza
Strip and Jericho. The decision to establish it was made by Palestinian President
Yasser Arafat. His decision was received with strong opposition from human rights
organizations since security courts typically work in a manner that contradicts the
principles of fair trial and correct legal procedures. Usually security courts conduct
quick trials in which the accused has no legal representation. Furthermore, the
accused person does not have adequate preparation time for trial because they are
notified of the time of the court session with very short notice. On 1 November 1999,
the President Arafat issued a decision to create the position of State Security Court's
Attorney General. This move strengthens the court, rather than dismantles it. These
courts threaten public freedom, especially the right to free expression and peaceful
assembly and undermine the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law.

Issuing Death Penalty Sentences

In 2000, the Palestinian State Security Court sentenced four Palestinians to death, two
by firing squads and two by hanging. One of these executions was for security
offenses and the other three ones were for criminal offenses. The cases are as follows:

1) On July 3, 2000, the Palestinian State Security Court in Ramallah sentenced

Raji Ibrahim Saqer, 29, to death by hanging after he was convicted of murdering
Ahlam Doqmaq, 25, from Al-Bireh. It also sentenced Jamal Hassan Khalil
‘Ezza, 24, from Qaddoura refugee camp near Ramallah, to 12.5 years in prison
after he was convicted for being an accomplice and for unlicensed possession of
a weapon.

2) On September 12, 2000, the Palestinian State Security Court in Gaza sentenced
Mohammed Daoud El-Khawaja, 19, from Gaza, to death by firing squads, after
he was convicted of murdering Mustafa Jebril Baroud, 70, from Al-Shati
refugee camp. The court made its decision after widespread public
condemnation of the crime. Many were shocked by the gruesome nature of the
crime after it was revealed that Baroud’s had been mutilated. Baroud had
disappeared on September 5, 2000, and Palestinian police started to investigate
his disappearance. El-Khawaja was arrested after having been accused of
murdering and robbing Baroud. He confessed to the crime.

3) On October 31, 2000, the Palestinian State Security Court in Jenin, sentenced
Wa’el Nawaf Dargmeh, from Toubas village in the West Bank, to death by
firing squads, after he was convicted of murdering ‘Abdel-Rahim Hassan
Besharat, 34, from Tammoun village in the West Bank. In addition, his brother,
‘Anad, was sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of the same
murder. The session of the court was held on the same day. Based on the
defendants’ confessions and witness testimonies, the representative of the
general prosecution asserted that the two committed the murder.

4) On December 7, 2000, the Palestinian State Security Court in Nablus sentenced

‘Allan Bani ‘Oudeh, 24, from Nablus, to death by hanging. He was convicted
of collaboration with Israel and providing it with information that facilitated the
assassination of his cousin Ibrahim Bani ‘Oudeh, 36, from Nablus, by bomb on
November 23, 2000. The court’s session to address the case was held in Nablus
and, on the same day, the court sentenced the defendant.

Although none of these sentences was executed during 2000, this does not negate
their seriousness. It is important to nullify these sentences as a first step towards the
abolishment of the death penalty. PCHR reiterates its opposition to the death penalty
because it is not a deterrent for crimes and it undermines the rule of law.

(4) The Non-Implementation of Court Decisions

Despite NGO criticism during previous years of the non-implementation by the PNA
of the courts' decisions, in the first nine months of 2000, the PNA violated a number
decisions of the Palestinian courts to release political prisoners. However, in the last
quarter of the year, the PNA released all political prisoners. Apparently, this release
was a response to local pressure rather than commitment to decisions of courts,
especially the High Court. This pressure escalated upon the outbreak of clashes
between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces on September 29, 2000.
This pressure peaked when these forces shelled headquarters of the PNA. While
PCHR welcomes the prisoners’ release, it asserts that this release does not represent
an essential change in the PNA’s position towards the Palestinian judiciary. PCHR’s
concern is based on the continuing non-implementation of court decisions regarding
prisoner release in the first nine months of 2000.

The following is a list of the names of prisoners whom the PNA continued to detain
despite a court order for their immediate release:

Name of the Prisoner Date of Issuing the Date of Release

Decision
Wa’el ‘Ali Darwish Faraj Feb. 20, 1999 Oct. 12, 2000
Mahmoud Abu Watfa May 8, 1999 June 23, 1999
Amin Dhib June 10, 1999 Oct. 9, 2000
‘Abdel-Nasser Karsou’ July 1, 1999 Oct. 12, 2000
Mohammed Jadallah July 6, 1999 Oct. 12, 2000
Ayoub ‘Attallah July 10, 1999 Aug. 1000
Fawzi Abu El-Qare’ Oct. 18, 1999 Oct. 9, 2000
Khaled Ibrahim Hassan Khalil Oct. 19, 1999 Jan. 25, 2000
Khalil Abu ‘Oudeh Nov. 8, 1999 Oct. 9, 2000
Nasser El-‘Attar Nov. 14, 1999 Oct. 4, 2000
Mohammed El-Zatmeh Feb. 23, 1999 Aug. 2000
Riad Abu Hashish Feb. 23, 1999 Aug. 2000
Maher Salem Zaqout June 4, 1999 Aug. 2000
Jamal ‘Abdullah Jarrah June 4, 1999 Oct. 9, 2000
Sha’ban Yousef El-Weseifi June 4, 1999 Oct. 12, 2000
Hisham Salem July 12, 1999 Aug. 2000

(5) The Formation of Higher Judiciary Council without the Approval of the Law
of the Judiciary

The year 2000 passed, without PNA approval of the law of the judiciary. This law is
the foundation of the independence of the Palestinian judiciary and a judicial body
able to promote the rule of law and the rights of citizens.

On 25 November 1998, the Palestinian Legislative Council approved the Judicial

Authority Law No. 14/97 in its third reading. The law was of great interest to many
parties working in the legal system and in civil society. Since that time, the law has
not been ratified by the president of the PNA and has not been published in the
official gazette. On 1 June 2000, the president of the PNA issued a decree to form a
Higher Judiciary Council with a mandate for all Palestinian governates. The preamble
to the decree provides that “after revision of all relevant laws, including Law No. 31
of 1940, Law No. 24 of 1952, Law No. 2 of 1994, and the Presidential Decree
Number 26 of 1999, and the important provisions of the Judicial Authority Law, the
following was decided:

Article (1): A Higher Judiciary Council is to be formed for all Palestinian governates.
Article (2): The council will carry out its mandate, which is set out in the Judicial
Authority Law.

While PCHR believes it is important to form the Higher Judiciary Council, it affirms
that this council must be formed through ratifying of the Judicial Authority Law,
which was approved in its third reading by the PLC on 25 November 1998. Moreover,
PCHR expresses its profound concern that the President has not ratified the Judicial
Authority Law. PCHR considers the Presidential Decree to be another example in a
series of decisions taken by the president in order to control the appointment of
certain important positions. These decisions will undermine the independence of the
judiciary and subject it to the influence of the executive authority. PCHR’s concern in
this regard is based on the fact that as long as the council is not formed according to
Article 37 of the Judicial Authority Law, the appointed council will be guided by
conditions and criteria specified in the Presidential Decree. Article 37 provides that,
“A judicial council is to be formed according to the law and named the Higher
Judiciary Council, the council will carry out its mandate according to the law”.

The decree is based on a draft law which has not yet been ratified by the president of
the PNA and which has not been published in the official gazette in accordance with
the legislative mechanisms provided in Articles 70 and 71 of the PLC by-laws. The
fact that the decree is based on this law can be clearly seen from two paragraphs in the
decree. The first states that “after revision of … the provisions of the Judicial
Authority Law…” while the second states “The council will carry out its mandate,
which is set out in the Judicial Authority Law.” Despite this, the decree itself
contradicts the draft law on which it is based. The draft law states that the council will
be formed of a president, a deputy and another seven members, whilst the decree
provides for nine members without mentioning the position of the deputy president.

PCHR repeats that the Presidential Decree is not the correct means to promote the
judicial system. The only means is to ratify the Judicial Authority Law, and to respect
and implement the decisions of the judicial system. In this respect, PCHR asserts that
this cannot occur without the necessary political will to build an independent judiciary
as a means to achieve justice for all.

An International Commission to Observe the Situation of the Judiciary in

Palestine

On Saturday 20, 2000, PCHR hosted a mission of the International Commission of

Jurists in Geneva to observe the judiciary in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The
mission, headed by Mr. Adama Deing, the Secretary General of the ICJ, met ministers
and officials of the PNA, members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, members of
the judiciary system and members of the Palestinian Bar Association. The goal of
these meetings was the observation of the Palestinian judiciary in order to serve justice
and equality before law. The mission also carried out field visits in the Gaza Strip,
which included settlement areas, refugee camps, and Gaza Central Prison. In addition
the mission met: Mr. Hisham ‘Abdel-Razeq, Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs, a number
of Israeli lawyers pursuing cases of Palestinian prisoners before Israeli courts, and a
delegation of Palestinian and Arab prisoners released from Israeli jails.

The visit came in the context of co-operation and co-ordination between the ICJ and its
local members, represented by PCHR, Al-Haq in Ramallah and the Palestinian Society
for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW) in Jerusalem. The
mission concluded its visit with two workshops in Ramallah and Gaza on the role of
the judiciary in civil society and the relationship of the executive and legislature with
the judiciary.

A Workshop on the Role of the Judiciary in Civil Society

The mission of the ICJ concluded its visit to the Gaza Strip with a workshop on the
role of the judiciary in civil society. This workshop was held in Al-Quds International
Hotel in Gaza, under the auspices of the Palestinian Minister of Justice, in co-
operation with local members of the ICJ, PCHR, Al-Haq in Ramallah and the
Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW).54

(6) Continued Intervention in the Work of the Attorney General

The Attorney General’s position is a key position in the rule of law and respect of
citizens’ rights. One and a half years after this position was filled, no crucial change
occurred to promote the role of the Attorney General, which has been challenged by
the executive.55

54
Complete proceedings of this workshop were detailed in a booklet issued by PCHR and the ICJ.
55
On 19 June 1999, the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat appointed Zuheir El Sourani to the
Attorney General position. The position had been vacant since May 1998, after the former Attorney
General Fayiz Abu Rahma resigned in protest of the PA's constant undermining of his mandate.

According to the law, the Attorney General position is one of the most important official positions,
whose role is to achieve the rule of law and protect citizen's rights. The Attorney General is the
protector of the public right and is responsible for investigating crimes and handling all appeals in
this regard.

In his first statement for the local press, the new Attorney General promised to reorganize the
Attorney General’s office in a way that would contribute to enhancing the role of law and to
immediately pursue all cases, which came to his office. Moreover, he promised to implement the
law equally for all regardless of political affiliation, race, ethnicity, and economic or social factors.
He affirmed that equality before the law and the rule of law is considered the foundation of the
state.

Despite the statements of the new Attorney General, his actual practices in 1999 were not as
expected by human rights organizations and citizens, especially in regard to very sensitive issues.
Amongst these is the issue of political prisoners. Hundreds of opposition supporters, particularly
those of the Islamic party, were subjected to illegal arrest and were held without being brought
before a judge. Of 51 appeals sent to the new Attorney General on behalf of detainees, PCHR had
received only three responses by the end of 1999.
On 1 November 1999, the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat issued a decision to
appoint Khalid El Qadrah as Attorney General for the State Security courts, which
were formed in February 1999. The Attorney General for State Security courts
specializes in “investigating and following up cases concerning the state security
courts.” The work of these court were subjected and are still subjected to the criticism
of Palestinian human rights organizations who argue that these courts lack the
minimum criteria for a fair trial and violate human rights guaranteed by international
conventions.

The decision to establish the new position is unprecedented. The only legitimate
defender of the public right is the Attorney General. Accordingly, the creation of the
Attorney General for State Security courts is considered to be an attempt by the PNA
to create a competitor for the Attorney General in his mandate. It is neither logical nor
legitimate to grant the right of public prosecutor to more than one party because this
enables the police to transfer cases to whichever party it prefers. It is important to
note that the Presidential decree to form the State Security courts stated that the
Attorney General would be responsible for prosecutions before the State security
courts, with no mention of an Attorney General of State Security.56

The waves of massive numbers of political arrests remained the most important
subject for which human rights organizations criticized the Attorney General in 2000.
Palestinian security services continued to arrest citizens without legal warrants and
without decisions by courts. The Attorney General did not stop these arrests which
were carried out in violation of law and decisions by the Palestinian High Courts to
immediately release detainees. He also did not take any measures against those who
did not implement the courts’ decisions, despite the fact that he is mandated by law to
prosecute violators.

Furthermore, the Attorney General did not investigate complaints by citizens against
violations by the executive. In 1999, PCHR submitted 15 complaints to the Attorney
General regarding executive or security services violation of the law, but it received
no response.

(7) The Palestinian Legislative Council

In March 2000, the Palestinian Legislative Council concluded its fourth session, and
started its fifth one, which ended in March 2001. This is the second session of its kind
after the expiry of the legal period of the PLC according to the Israeli-Palestinian
Interim Agreement. Although deadlock in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process was
the basic factor of continued work of the PLC despite the expiry of its mandate, the
ignorance of the need for a new publicly granted authorization of PLC through
election stood as another factor. While in the middle of the fifth session of the PLC,
the Al-Aqsa Intifada erupted and Israel imposed a total siege on the Occupied
Palestinian Territories, the work of the PLC had been paralyzed. PLC members were
not allowed to move freely between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to attend PLC

56
State Security Courts were established in 1999 and presently continue their work. The establishment
of these courts has been criticized by Palestinian human rights organizations for the lack of
minimum standards for a fair trial ensured by international human rights conventions.
sessions. They were even prevented from moving freely between Palestinian cities,
like other residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Since the inauguration of the Palestinian Legislative Council in March 1996, PCHR
has devoted a significant effort to monitoring the PLC and to encouraging it to adopt
legislation in accordance with democratic principles and human rights criteria.

PCHR monitors the legislation discussed by the PLC and often provides a critique of
these drafts and suggests modifications to some of the articles. These comments are
forwarded to members of the Council. PCHR has developed a structure of positive
relationships with most of the PLC members. Many of these members participate in
the different activities hosted by PCHR and PLC members are invited for meetings
and workshops held by PCHR on subjects and issues of interest to them.

PCHR developed a new report on the PLC. The aim of the report is to evaluate the
PLC activities in regard to its legislative, monitoring, and accountability tasks. In
November 1998, PCHR published its first annual review of the PLC during its first
two sessions, from March 1996 to March 1998. In December 1999, PCHR published
its second annual review of the PLC during its third session, from March 1998 to
March 1999. The report is one of the indicators through which PCHR’s Democratic
Development Unit can measure the process of democratic transformation in
Palestine. PCHR hopes that this report will contribute to enhancing and promoting
democratic practices in Palestine.

Conclusions and Recommendations: Evaluation of PLC’s Fourth Session (March

1999-March 2000).

In December 2000, PCHR published its third annual review report of the Palestinian
Legislative Council entitled: “The Palestinian Legislative Council: Evaluation of Its
Activities during the Fourth Session, between March 1999-March 2000”. The overall
goal of this report, and others, was to measure the progress of democratic
transformation in Palestine, and the obstacles thereto.

The study was divided into three parts. The first part introduced the PLC activities
concerning the election of its Speaker, the PLC’s committees for the fourth session,
and other issues. The second part focused on analyzing and evaluating the legislative
activities of the PLC during the fourth session. It introduced the most important laws
and decisions issued by the PLC during the session in order to determine to what
extent PLC activities improved.

The third part of the study focused on analyzing the accountability and monitoring the
activities of the Council during the session. It analyzed the extent to which the PLC
was making progress in its use of the available accountability and monitoring
instruments, such as members’ questions, investigations, special commissions of
inquiry, and no-confidence votes.

Through its analysis of the PLC legislative activities in its fourth session, the study
concluded that the PLC showed stability in this regard. The PLC drafted a number of
important laws toward achieving the goal of establishing a unified legal system with
the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Nevertheless, the Palestinian President ratified
more laws submitted by the PLC. On the other hand, however, the study did not find
qualitative developments in the PLC’s legislative activities. Through its analysis of
five cases, Basic Law, the Judiciary Law, NGOs Law, the Public Budget Law for
1999, and the Public Budget Law for 2000, the study noted that PLC achievements
did not meet expectations. The council failed to use these laws as a means to create an
essential change in the nature of the relationship between it and the executive
authority -a relationship which is based on a lack of respect by the executive authority
for the role of the PLC and the legislative process. Moreover, the study concluded that
a partnership emerged between the PLC Speaker and the executive to pass some
important laws without notes and comments by the PLC.

Concerning PLC monitoring and accountability activities, the study concluded that the
PLC’s effective usage of the accountability instruments had increased. The number of
questions posed by PLC members to executive officials increased compared to the
third session--82 compared to 44. Also, there was no development in the Council’s
usage of investigative instruments. Nor were there any qualitative improvements in
the area of special commissions of inquiry. The PLC was not able to oblige the
executive authority to implement the recommendations and suggestions of the
commissions of inquiry.

Regarding the use of no-confidence votes, it was noted that this instrument was not
used at all by the PLC during this session, and was not included in the agenda of any
meeting of the session. Its potential usage was mentioned only as a threat.

Based on the above, the report concluded that the PLC, at the end of its fourth session,
once again showed weakness and inability to confront the executive authority. It also
failed to build a solid basis of transparency and accountability in its relationship with
the executive.

Recommendations to PLC

The recommendations were the following:

1. The legal term of the PLC expired without holding an election. This clearly
contradicts democratic principles, particularly the principle of election, which
is the only mechanism through which people can designate their
representatives to govern on their behalf. It is well known that the people’s
designation of their representatives is temporary, for a specified period of
time, and that at the end of this period, the people have the right to elect new
representatives. Therefore, the election is a mechanism through which people
can monitor their representatives. Elections grant people the opportunity to
withdraw their designation from a party or individual, and to grant it to
another party or individual. Elections, therefore provide both a mechanism for
the people to monitor their representatives and an impetus for those
representatives to fulfil their electoral mandates. In the absence of regular
elections, people lose the ability to monitor their representatives and hold them
accountable. Furthermore, the representatives lose their legitimacy as
representatives of the people at the end of their elected term. In this case, the
source of their legitimacy is no longer the people. Therefore, the PLC should
pressure the executive to hold new elections.
2. It is necessary that the PLC work to secure the approval of the Basic Law
since the Basic Law is considered the foundation of any constitutional
relationship between the three authorities. It also determines the delegations
of each authority and regulates the relationship between the government and
citizens.

3. It is important that the PLC follow up on the results of the investigation

committees it has formed. The lack of seriousness in taking the
recommendations of its committees into consideration is noticeable, especially
those committees which were formed monitor human rights violations in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories. For example, the Executive Authority did
not commit itself to any of the committees’ recommendations to monitor
human rights violations.

4. It is necessary that the PLC work to follow up the decisions it has issued. All
the decisions issued by the PLC in the first two sessions were related to issues
or questions of citizens’ concern. Therefore, following the implementation of
these decisions is as important as following up the implementation of the
Basic Law.

5. It is important to improve the relationships between the members of

Parliament and the public. Given that members of parliament represent the
public and act on their behalf, they must be committed to responding to public
demands. However, this does not mean that Council members should
intervene in personal matters such as assistance in finding jobs or mediating
for others.

6. Based on this and given that the right to information is a basic right, the PLC
has to work to develop all means that permit citizens to monitor its work,
either through the media or any other means. The idea of TV coverage of the
PLC’s activities was raised on a number of occasions, but just one PLC
meeting was covered on television. Therefore, it is important that this issue is
raised again. The PLC is the only authority that can determine what kind of
information is delivered to the public on its activities.

7. It is necessary that the PLC use accountability instruments more effectively

and seriously. It is noted that the no-confidence vote was not used at all by the
PLC during this session, and was not included in the agenda of any meeting of
the session. The possibility of its usage was mentioned only as means of a
threat. So, it is time for the PLC to use this important instrument in order to
shape an appropriate relationship with the executive and promote the
principles of accountability and transparency.57

Two Palestinian Legislative Council Members are attacked

57
A copy of the report can be obtained from PCHR.
In 2000, two of the Palestinian Legislative Council's members were attacked. The
aggression against the two members constitutes an attack on parliamentary immunity.

On April 2, 2000, five armed persons attacked and violently beat the Palestinian
Minister of Environment, and Member of the PLC Dr. Yousef Abu Safia in his office
in Ramallah. On April 23, 2000, the State Security Court held a session in Ramallah
to address the case. It sentenced four attackers to four years in prison and the fifth
one to four and a half years and a fine of 4,500JD (approximately US$ 6,400).58

Also on April 2, 2000, on his way to meet the Palestinian President in Ramallah, PLC
Member and Head of the Human Rights Committee Qaddoura Fares was attacked and
humiliated by members of Palestinian security services. Fares stated that seven of the
President’s guards stopped and attacked him while he was on his way to the office of
the President in Ramallah. Fares complained to the PLC and threatened to resign
from his position if the PLC did not investigate the incident and prosecute the
offenders. Deputy Speaker of the PLC Ibrahim Abu El-Naja described the attack as
“horrible and dangerous.”59

(9) The Appointed Acting Council of the Palestinian Bar Association Targets
Human Rights Organizations

The year 2000 witnessed serious developments with regard to the Palestinian Bar
Association. The independence of the legal profession and its representative body,
the Bar Association, in particular, lawyers active in the field of human rights, were
threatened.60

These steps were accompanied by a number of measures and decisions unlawfully

taken by the appointed acting council. In this context, it is necessary to refer to the
latest decisions taken by the appointed acting council of the Palestinian Bar
Association, after its legal term expired, to remove the names of some human rights
lawyers from the roll of practicing lawyers. This included the Director of PCHR, Mr.
Raji Sourani, and five other PCHR lawyers. Among who were also suspended as
practicing lawyers, including Mr. Khader Shuqeirat, Director of the Palestinian
Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW). PCHR
learned about the appointed acting counsel’s decision through letters its lawyers
received on May 10, 2000. These letters were dated the previous day, the same day
that the legal term of the appointed acting council expired according to the law.

These decisions were followed by a decision in which the appointed acting council
authorized itself to extend the legal term of its jurisdiction. This was a serious
precedent that proved the council’s disrespect for the will of Palestinian Bar

58
See Al-Quds on April 24, 2000.

59
See the press release of the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the
Environment on April 4, 2000.

60
See press releases by PCHR.
Association members. This move contradicted fundamental legal and democratic
bases. It also contradicted the foundational spirit and philosophy of a democratic
lawyers syndicate that could contribute to a state which respects the rule of law and
human rights and promotes and independent judiciary in the “Battle of
Construction”of the Palestinian State.61

The decisions taken by the appointed acting council were a hard blow to Palestinian
lawyers. Local, regional, and international sources criticized the illegality of these
decisions. They deemed the appointed acting council illegitimate and called for free
and fair elections according to the law in a way that would ensure democratic
representation of lawyers.

Lawsuits against the Appointed Acting Council

In the aftermath of the arbitrary decision by the appointed acting council of the
Palestinian Bar Association to remove the names of six PCHR’s lawyers from the roll
of practicing lawyers, on May 13, 2000, PCHR brought a suit against the appointed
council before the Palestinian High Court. The petitioners were six PCHR’s lawyers
and a lawyer of Women Center for Social and Legal Advice. They were represented
by Raji Sourani and Iyad Alami. They requested the High Court to preliminarily rule
on canceling the acting council’s decision and to oblige the acting council to state the
reasons for its decision to remove the petitioners from the roll of practicing lawyers.
They requested the court to suspend this decision until the lawsuit was decided and
called for taking a definitive decision to cancel it.

On May 17, 2000, the High Court convened a session to address the request. In a
preliminary judgement, it decided to accept the request and ordered the “appointed”
acting council to state the reasons for its decisions against the petitioners in eight
days. It also suspended the measure taken by the “appointed” acting council until the
conclusion of the lawsuit. The Court also decided to convene a session on October
15, 2000 to address the case, but it was administratively adjourned and no other date
was decided.

On May 21, 2000, Khader Shuqeirat, lawyer and Director of the Palestinian Society
for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW), submitted a petition
to the Palestinian High Court in Ramallah against the acting council of the Palestinian
Bar Association and its head Abdel-Rahman Abu El-Nasser, contesting the decision
taken by the acting council on May 14, 2000, which removed Shuqeirat from the roll
of practicing lawyers, under the Bar Association Notice 32/2000.

Lawyer Shuqeirat requested Mousa Shakarna, a lawyer and member of the Court, to
immediately convene a session and to rule immediately to inactivate the decision of

61
An opinion poll carried out by Jerusalem Media and Communication Center on that date, which
surveyed 426 lawyers who attended the meeting, showed that only 6.6% of lawyers were satisfied
with the performance of the appointed acting council during the past three years and 24.9% were
relatively satisfied. The poll also showed that 27.2% were absolutely unsatisfied with the
performance of the appointed acting council, and 37.35 were unsatisfied. Therefore, 64.5% in total
were unsatisfied. The poll also showed that only 5.4% would elect a block representing the current
acting council.
the acting council of the Palestinian Bar Association. He also requested a preliminary
decision that would oblige the appointed council to state the reasons for its decision
and would inform it with the petition and the preliminary decision. In conclusion, he
requested to credit the preliminary decision, to cancel the contested decision of the
appointed council, and to oblige it to pay the costs of legal procedures.

In recent developments, the general assembly of the Palestinian Bar Association held
a meeting in Ramallah on September 22, 2000, to which all members were invited.
However, a small number of lawyers from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, 170
lawyers out of 1100, participated in the meeting. They considered that quorum was
achieved and agreed to establish a mechanism of election of the head of the
Palestinian Bar Association from among the 15 members of its council, elected by
members of the general assembly. Election of the head was decided to be held in the
last week of February 2001, according to Article 13 of Law (3) of 1999.62

(10) Continued Restrictions on Freedom of Expression and Peaceful Assembly

Contrary to previous years, the year 2000 saw rapid progress concerning PNA
restrictions on: freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and the freedom of
receiving information and the freedom of peaceful assembly. In contradiction of
international human rights law, Palestinian Press Law of 199563, and the Law of
Public Meetings of 1998, the PNA continued to impose restrictions on citizens based
on their opinions and political belief. However, these measures significantly declined
in the last quarter of the year following the outbreak of clashes between Palestinian
civilians and the Israeli occupation forces on September 29, 2000. These clashes
played an important role in the shaping political attitudes of the PNA and the
Palestinian opposition – both Islamic and secular. For its part, the PNA showed
increased flexibility regarding the opinions and political attitudes of Palestinian
opposition and Palestinian citizens. In addition, these clashes were an impetus for the
Palestinian opposition to change its political attitudes toward the PNA, focusing
instead on Israeli measures against Palestinian civilians during clashes. This had led
to an increased harmony between the official political position of the PNA and the
political position of the Palestinian opposition.

The first nine months of 2000 was a period of restrictions on the press. This included
arrests, summons and warnings to journalists by the Palestinian police based on the

62
On March 2, 2000, a meeting of the general assembly of the Bar Association was held in Gaza City,
but an election was not held due to the lack of quorum, as only 60 lawyers were present. Another
meeting was expected to be held two weeks later to hold the election, but a number of lawyers
appealed to the Palestinian High Court to cancel this meeting because the majority of lawyers were
not able to attend it due to the siege imposed by the Israeli occupation forces on the Occupied
Palestinian Territories.

63
Even this law includes restrictions on the right to free expression and press. It was issued by the PA
in 1995 before the inauguration of the Palestinian Legislative Council. PCHR still calls for PLC
amendments to this law so that the rights of citizens to free expression and press are ensured.
coverage of certain events. During the same period, a number of private television
and radio stations in the West Bank were closed.64

During the same period, the PNA arrested citizens on the basis of their political
opinions and prohibited public meetings and peaceful marches. However, during the
final quarter of 2000 this did not occur. The following are measures taken by the
PNA against citizens based on their political opinions and the organization of public
meetings and peaceful marches:

1) On February 18, Dr. ‘Abdelsattar Qassem, a professor of history at An-Najah

National University in Nablus, was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Unit
of Nablus. It was commonly believed that the arrest was due to the Statement
of the Twenty.65 On July 11, 2000, the Palestinian High Court issued a
preliminary decision it took on April 3, 2000 to release Dr. Qassem, but
Palestinian police did not implement the decision immediately. Dr. Qassem
was released later.

2) On February 22, 2000, in response to the decision of teachers in Hebron and

Bethlehem to organize an open strike to protest a decision taken by the
Palestinian Ministry of Education to decrease their salaries, a number of school
students organized a sit-in before the Directorate of Education in Hebron, in
solidarity with their teachers. After they threw stones at the Directorate of
Education and broke its windows, Palestinian police units came to the area and
used force to disperse them. During these clashes, 15 citizens, mostly students,
were injured. They were evacuated to ‘Alia hospital in Hebron for treatment.66

3) On February 26, 2000, 32 students of Bir Zeit University were arrested by

Palestinian security forces. The arrest campaign came in response to the
throwing of stones at French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin to protest to his
statement that Lebanese resistance was an act of terrorism. Those students

64
In 2000, several journalists were arrested in the West Bank for covering certain incidents. For
example, on May 27, 2000, Fathi El-Barqawi, Director General of News in Palestine radio station
was arrested by the Palestinian police on the ground of incitement against the PA, and several radio
stations and television channels were closed. On June 2, 2000, Palestinian police closed Al-Mahd
private television channel in Bethlehem, and arrested its director and Head of the Palestinian Union
of Private Radio Stations and Television Channels Samir Qamsia. On May 5, 2000, Palestinian
police closed Love and Peace television channel in Ramallah for one week. On May 21, 2000,
Palestinian police closed Watan television channel in Ramallah for days. On May 30, 2000,
Palestinian police closed Al-Nasser television channel and Al-Manara radio station in Ramallah.
65
This was not the first time that Dr. Abdelsattar Qassem was arrested. On November 27, 1999, the
PA arrested some public figures, including Dr. Qassem, whose names were included in a list of 20
signatories to a press release issued on November 27, 1999, which strongly criticized the policies of
the PA. The PA arrested some of these figures, including Dr. Qassem. He was released days later.

66
On February 4 and 8, 2000, public school teachers in Bethlehem and Hebron declared a strike in order
to protest to a decision taken by the Palestinian Ministry of Education to take 10% of their salaries
for their retirement, starting from February 2000, and 8% to cover their previous work years.
 were arrested inside the campus and detained in the headquarters of GIS in
Ramallah and in the PSS prison in Jericho. The university administration also
decided to close the university for three days. The administration extended
closure to March 1, 2000. However the teaching staff as well as the university
employees were permitted to resume their work.

The arrest of university students was condemned internationally and locally. In

a statement human rights organizations expressed their concern regarding the
arrest of students and stated that it was a violation of relevant international
conventions and covenants, particularly those which assert the right to
education. They called for ceasing the arrest campaigns and respecting
academic freedom.67

The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the
Environment (LAW) Institution expressed its deep concern for the university
closure in a statement it issued on February 28, 2000 and stated that arrest
campaigns included students who were not involved in the events. It also
called for: reopening the campus; forming a committee to investigate the
events; revoking the expulsion of some students for their involvement in
events; releasing detained students; complying with legal procedures of arrest;
and refraining from arrest campaigns against students.68

In a statement issued on February 29, 2000, Al-Haq considered the arrest of

students Palestinian Security services’ interference in academic and student
affairs. It also stated that the measures taken by the PNA against students were
part of the PNA’s attempt to suppress opposition and were furthermore a
violation of the right to free expression. The statement also called upon the
PNA to: stop arbitrary arrests of students based on involvement in these events;
release students who were arrested without compliance with legal procedures;
investigate the use of torture during interrogation; prosecute those involved in
cases of torture, respect freedom of expression; respect academic freedom; and
not interfere in the affairs of universities,such as Bir Zeit University.69 Amnesty
International expressed its deep concern for the arrest of students in a statement
it issued on the same date. It also expressed its concerns regarding the potential
use of torture against students detained by Palestinian security services.70

On March 5, 2000, Palestinian security services released the students after a

presidential decision. This was a result of both international and local pressure
on the PNA to release detained students.71 Four students were released on bail

67
See Al-Quds on February 29, 2000.
68
For more details, see the statement of the Council of Palestinian Human Rights Organizations on
Feb. 28, 2000.
69
For more details. See the statement of Al-Haq on Feb. 29, 2000.
70
See the statement of Amnesty International on Feb. 29, 2000.
71
This campaign included the international and Palestinian human rights organizations detailed above,
which objected the students’ arrest. This campaign included mass public opinion which was
 and their cases were remitted for public prosecution, while the other 28
students were released without any legal claims. In his testimony concerning
the treatment he received during his detention, Iyad More’eb, a student of Bir
Zeit University and spokesman of the released students, asserted that “the
treatment received during detention at the GIS prison in Ramallah was bad and
some students were beaten, but in Jericho treatment was good.” He also added,
“I wish that the mechanism of arrest would be legal and not arbitrary and the
file of political arrest will be closed as a whole.”72

4) On February 29, 2000, PSS in the West Bank threatened to arrest some
students of Abu Dis College in the West Bank for their intention to go to Bir
Zeit University by busses to participate in marches in solidarity with detained
university students. The PSS asserted that they did not obtain permission to
organize the demonstrations. Later, a driver of one of the busses by which
students of Abu Dis College had intended to travel to Bir Zeit University, was
arrested. In addition, PSS and GIS put two checkpoints at the eastern and
western entrances of the university to prevent citizens from reaching the
university to express their solidarity with detained students.73

5) In March 2000, Palestinian customs officials at Gaza International Airport

confiscated seven box of documents of Amnesty International that included
copies of two reports on human rights violations in Saudi Arabia.

6) On April 5, 2000, journalist Emad El-Efranji, Manager of Al-Watan Press

Office, and a correspondent of Al-Quds newspaper, was summoned by the State
Security Prosecution for publishing a news item in Al-Quds newspaper
regarding the decision taken by the Palestinian High Court of Justice to release
Emad El-Amassi, who was arrested on March 14, 2000 on criminal grounds.
El-Efranji stated that the article was based on a press release by PCHR on April
4, 2000.

7) On April 13, the GIS in Gaza summoned Saleh El-Ne’ami, correspondent of

Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper published in London. He was interrogated
about a news item published in the newspaper on an attack against PLC
Member Fares Qaddoura by members of Force 17. The interrogator said that
coverage of the attack without reference to the prosecution of the perpetrators
constituted an incitement against the PNA. El-Ne’ami asserted that he
published details of the incident according to the information he received from
Qaddoura. After discussion between him and the interrogator, El-Ne’ami was
released.

expressed in marches organized in solidarity with Bir Zeit students, specially those organized by
students of other universities (these marches will be detailed in the part concerned with the right to
free peaceful assembly.)

72
For more details, see Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 6, 2000.
73
For more details, see the Al-Haw press release, Feb. 29, 2000.
 8) On April 15, 2000, Palestinian police prevented Al-Dameer Association for
Human Rights in Gaza from organizing a march from the yard of PLC to the
streets of Gaza, on April 16, 2000 to commemorate Palestinian Prisoners’ Day,
April 17. Palestinian police detained Khalil Abu Shammaleh, Director of Al
Dameer Association for Human Rights, after his institution issued a press
release on the incident. He was released on April 17, 2000.

9) On April 18, 2000, the General Bureau of Investigation arrested Yahia ‘Abdel-
‘Azziz El-‘Abadseh, Secretary of the Salvation Party and a lecturer at the
Islamic University, after his party issued a statement on incidents that had
occurred in the Islamic University.74

10) On April 19, 2000, Palestinian police dispersed approximately 100 citizens
who were participating in a march organized by the Union of the Handicapped
in Ramallah. The march moved from the headquarters of the union towards the
court of Ramallah, to protest an assault against a 15-year-old handicapped girl
by a 55-year-old man.

11) On May 3, 2000, the General Bureau of Investigation in Gaza arrested Sheikh
‘Abdullah El-Shami, 42, from Gaza City, accusing him of incitement against
the PNA at mosques. El-Shami is a leader of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

12) On May 19, 2000, the Military Intelligence Service arrested four supporters of
Hamas in Jabalya, and interrogated them about a festival that was organized
upon the release of Salah Shehadeh after he spent 12 years in Israeli jails for
the charge of being a member of the military wing of Hamas.75 The festival
included political speeches and slogans against the PNA.

13) On May 21, 2000, Palestinian police attacked a number of Palestinians who
organized a sit-in at Al-Shuhada’ (Netzarim) junction south of Gaza City, in
solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Twenty of them were
arrested, but they were released after their families paid 200-NIS
(approximately US$ 50) and undertook to pay US$ 2,000 if they participated in
demonstrations and marches. Later, these families’ money was returned
following tension among released prisoners who undertook a hunger strike in
solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

14) On May 29, 2000, Palestinian police arrested Sheikh Nazir El-Louqa, 43, from
Rafah, on the basis of a speech he delivered at a mosque on May 26, 2000, in
which he condemned the High Court’s sentence of a teacher from the city to
seven years in prison for the charge of raping a student. He also mentioned the
death of three children of Rezeq Family on May 18, 2000 after they were found

74
The Islamic University witnessed tension between the Student Youth Movement and the Islamic
Block after the election of the Student Union. This election was held on April 1, 2000 and won by
the Islamic Block.
75
Salah Shehadeh, 48, from Beit Hanoun was arrested in 1988. He was sentenced to ten years in
prison, charged with leading Hamas military cells. The Israeli occupation forces refused to release
him when his imprisonment period ended. He was administratively arrested for another two years.
 in an old freezer in Rafah central market. He accused Rafah Municipality and
the PNA of corruption and failure to carry out their duties.76

15) On June 6, 2000, the GIS arrested and detained for three days a freelance
journalist, Maher El-‘Alami. The arrest is believed to have been as a result of
an interview with him on Al-Quds television channel on the rule of law and
free expression. In the interview, El-‘Alami said that the arrest of journalists
for more than two days is illegal. He also stated that Palestinian security
services have no right to close media institutions and centers and that this is
the right only of the Minister of Information. El-‘Alami asserted that
measures adopted by the PNA in this regard violated the right to free
expression and contradicted the Basic Law issued by the PLC and was not
ratified by the Palestinian President.

16) On July 30, 2000, Palestinian police arrested Dr. ‘Abdel-‘Azziz El-Rantisi, 53,
from Khan Yunis, a prominent leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, on the
grounds of his statement to Al-Jazeera satellite channel in which he stated that
he wondered what the PNA’s real positions on Jerusalem, refugees and
settlements was and called upon the PNA to tell the truth to the people.

The Neglect of Law 12 of 1998 Regarding Public Meetings

The issuance of Law 12 of 1998 regarding public meetings was an important turning
point for the Palestinian legislature. It was an important move toward conformity
with internationally accepted human rights and democracy standards. The Law
ensures the right of citizens to peaceful assembly in organizing peaceful marches and
public meetings. It is therefore an important basis for promoting democracy. The law
was an important achievement not only for the PLC and the democratic forces that
worked for the law, but also for both the Palestinian people and the PNA.

Nevertheless, in 2000, the Palestinian executive neglected the law and took measures
to undermine it. As such, the right of peaceful assembly became a gift that was
bestowed only when the executive saw fit.

A Police Order by the Palestinian Chief of Police

On February 29, 2000, a police order was issued by the Palestinian Chief of Police,
Ghazi Jabali, to prohibit public meetings that had not received his prior approval.

The order provided the following:

“According to Law 12 of 1998 on public meetings and without prejudice to the right
to peaceful assembly, the following was decided:

1. All citizens are absolutely prohibited from carrying out marches without prior
permission from the Chief of Police. Applications for permission must specify
the time and the route of the intended march.

76
See PCHR’s press release on May 18, 2000.
 2. Public meetings are absolutely prohibited, unless prior permission has been
granted by the Chief of Police. Applications for permission must specify the
date, location and length of the meeting, and the organizers of the meeting.
3. According to Article 6 of the Public Meetings Law, and without prejudice to
any other penalty provided by the Palestinian Penalty Law, any person
breaching this police order will be punished by a term of two months
imprisonment or a fine of 50 Dinars (USD 70).
4. Chiefs of police in governates will take all necessary measures to punish any
person breaching this police order and will inform us of such measures.”

In a press release issued on the same day, PCHR stated that the police order violated
the very law on which he claimed it was based, Law 12 of 1998 regarding public
meetings. The press release provided an extensive discussion of the issue.

1. The law does not require prior approval of the Chief of Police in order to hold
public marches or meetings. According to Article 3 of the law, citizens have the
right to hold public meetings, but they must notify, in writing, the Chief of
Police 48 hours prior to the time of the meeting or march. There is clearly a
fundamental difference between a requirement to notify and a requirement to
obtain permission. Notification, as required in the law, guarantees the basic
right of the citizen to hold public meetings or marches, while the requirement
of prior approval imposes a severe restriction on this right.

2. According to Article 4 of the law, the Chief of Police may impose some limits
on the period or route of a public meeting or march, in order to ensure the free
movement of traffic. Once again, this provision has nothing to suggest any
authority to the Chief of Police to approve or prohibit holding public meetings
or marches. On the contrary it allows only minor intervention in order to ensure
free movement of traffic in order to secure the rights of other citizens.

3. According to Article 7 of the law, the Palestinian Minister of the Interior is

responsible for publishing the relevant by-laws and regulations required for the
implementation of this law. Until now, we are not aware of any by-laws or
regulations issued by the Palestinian President, in his role as the Minister of
Interior.

4. The law specifies very clearly the definition of a public meeting. It is any
meeting with more than fifty persons participating, in an open location,
including public squares, stadiums, and parks. Accordingly, PCHR emphasizes
that any other form of meetings whether in an open place with less than fifty
persons, or a meeting in a building does not require prior notification to the
Chief of Police. The police order, on the other hand, is vague and provides no
clear definition of ‘public meeting’.

5. According to Article 8 of the Ottoman Public Meetings Law, valid in the Gaza
Strip, and the Jordanian Law No.60 valid in the West Bank, and any other
provisions of law which contradict the 1998 law are thereby cancelled. This
article in fact, reflects the conviction of the Palestinian legislature of the
importance of cancellation of all prior laws which restricted the right to
peaceful assembly, and which were inherited by the Palestinian National
 Authority, starting from the period of the Ottoman Empire and ending with
Israeli military orders.

6. PCHR believes that the Law of Public Meetings of 1998 is a real achievement
for the Palestinian people, serving their aspiration for an independent
democratic state in accordance with international human rights standards,
which assure the right to peaceful assembly. The law reflects an awareness by
the Palestinian legislature that the right to peaceful assembly is one of the basic
pillars of a democratic society and one which cannot be denied. Jabali’s
decision to issue this police order is an attempt to undermine the very purpose
of this law.

At the same time, PCHR sent a message to Major General Ghazi Jabali, Chief of
Police, in which it indicated that his police order violated Law 12 of 1998 regarding
public meetings. The message included all the aforementioned points which shows
the contradiction of the police order with Law 12. However, the Chief of Police
nevertheless implemented his order. PCHR documented several cases in which public
meetings or peaceful marches that did not get his prior permission were prevented.

Bringing the Case before the High Court

Internal PCHR discussions on the police order by the Palestinian Chief of Police
concluded that there was a strong basis to bring the case before the Palestinian High
Court of Justice in order to cancel the order because it violated the Palestinian law.
PCHR considered that the police order prejudiced the basic rights of citizens and
affected a wide spectrum of the Palestinian society, including NGO’s and political
parties and other. Consequently, PCHR invited a number of Palestinian NGOs,
including human rights organizations, political parties and other groups to discuss the
possibility of bringing the case before the High Court of Justice.

On March 13 and 14, 2000, two meetings were held in the headquarters of PCHR in
which NGO representatives and other political representatives participated. The
participants decided to collectively bring the case before the judiciary. They also sent
messages to the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and the PLC, calling upon them
to intervene and cancel the police order by the Chief of Police.

On April 23, 2000, on behalf of the group of NGO’s and other groups, lawyers Raji
Sourani, Director of PCHR, and Yunis El-Jaro, brought the case before the High
Court of Justice against the Palestinian Attorney General as a representative of the
Chief Police. The lawyers asked for clarification from the Attorney General on the
reasons behind the decision to ban public meetings without prior approval of the Chief
Police. The lawyers also asked the court to suspend this decision until the court gave
its final ruling. They also asked the court to cancel the decision on the bases of
illegality and contradiction with the law no 12/1998 regarding public meetings.

The group of NGO’s and political parties which participated in the case against the
Chief Police, who was represented by the Attorney General, were:

1) the Palestinian Center for Human Rights;

2) Center for Democracy and Workers Rights;
 3) Al Mizan Center for Human Rights;
4) Al Dameer;
5) Gaza Community Mental Health Program;
6) Red Crescent Association of the Gaza Strip;
7) the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine;
8) the Palestinian Democratic Union (Feda);
9) the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine; and
10) the Palestinian People’s Party.

On April 29, 2000, the High Court of Justice suspended the decision of the Chief
Police and ordered the Attorney General to respond within 8 days.

The Response of the Executive to the Decision of the High Court

The executive did not wait for long to respond to the decision taken by the High
Court. On April 30, 2000, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, in his capacity as
Minister of Interior, issued the Executive Regulation on Public Meetings. The
regulation consists of 12 articles aimed at defining procedures that must be followed
in order to organize a public meeting in which 50 persons or more participate. Article
9 of the regulation provides, inter alia, that “organizers of a meeting or a march must
commit to provisions of Presidential Decree 3 of 1998 regarding reinforcing national
unity and the prohibition of instigation.” This article prejudices the right to organize
public meetings, since Presidential Decree 3 of 1998 imposes restrictions on the right
of free expression. It is still criticized by human rights organizations.77 Article 11 of
the regulation provides that organizers of public meetings must get prior permission
by Palestinian police.78

Another Session of the High Court

On May 23, 2000, two weeks after the deadline, the Attorney General, representing
the Chief of Police, submitted the clarification for reasons of the police order. On
June 6, 2000, the High Court held a second session in which lawyers demanded
sufficient time to respond. The Attorney General asked the court to refuse the
lawyers’ demand, claiming that the police order was not an administrative order that
could be contested before the courts. He added that the Executive Regulation on
Public Meetings was issued by the Palestinian President, in his capacity as Minister of
Interior and was consistent with the police order by the Chief of Police. The court
postponed the case to September 6, 2000. On that date, the High Court held a session,
in which lawyers also asked for the postponement of the case in order to study the
Executive Regulation on Public Meetings issued by the Palestinian President. The
court postponed the case sine die.

77
See the first report by PCHR titled “The Right to Free Expression and the Right to Peaceful
Assembly under the PA: the Case of the Gaza Strip, May 1994-December 1998,” Series Study 18,
December 1998.
78
For further details, see the second report by PCHR titled “The Right to Free Expression and the Right
to Peaceful Assembly under the PA: the Case of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, January 1,
1999-April 30, 2000,” Series Study 23, September 2000.
Disagreement between human rights organizations and the PNA regarding the
legitimacy of the Chief of Police’s order was not settled. However, in the last quarter
of 2000, citizens were able to organize marches and demonstrations to protest Israeli
violations during the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Most marches and demonstrations were
organized without prior permission by the PNA.

A Report on the Rights to Freedom of Expression and Peaceful Assembly

In September 2000, PCHR issued a report on the right to free expression and the right
to peaceful assembly under the PNA. The report covered PNA violations of the right
to free expression and the right to peaceful assembly in the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip during the period of January 1, 1999 to April 30, 2000. Through these reports,
PCHR seeks to measure progress in the democratic transformation and respect for
human rights under the PNA.

The report was divided into two basic parts. The first part surveyed PNA violations
of the right to free expression. It included PNA violations of the right to a free press
and free expression on the basis of political beliefs.

The second part of the study introduced PNA violations of the right to peaceful
assembly. It included restrictions on the organization of peaceful marches and the
holding of public meetings. It also included arrests of citizens based on the practice
of this right.

In its analysis of PNA’s violations of these rights, the study noted continuing work on
laws and orders that restricted practice of these rights. Although there are some laws
that improve the practice of these rights as part of the political and social process,
such as Law 12 of 1998 on public meetings, some orders issued by the PNA, such as
the police order by the Chief of Police on February 29, 2000 and the Executive
Regulation by the Palestinian President on April 30, prejudiced Law 12. In the same
period, Palestinian families attacked journalists for publishing news related to their
sons. In addition, the segment of the population that was affected by practices of the
PNA regarding these rights, expanded. The report concluded that practices by the
PNA highlighted the absence of social and institutional contexts necessary for
enhancing these rights.

The report included recommendations to improve the practice of the right to free
expression and the right to peaceful assembly. It recommended that the PLC
reconsider laws that relate to the practice of these rights in order to make them
consistent with relevant international conventions and instruments. It also
emphasized the need for improved awareness of these rights, especially among those
in law enforcement.

A Workshop on the Role of the Media in the Protection and Enhancement of

Human Rights

On August 20, 2000, in the Khan Yunis Field Office, PCHR organized a workshop on
the role of the media in the protection and enhancement of human rights. Many
Palestinian journalists and media figures participated. The workshop discussed
several issues related to the right of free expression and press such as: the role of the
media in the protection and respect for human rights, the right to free expression
under the PNA, and journalism under the PNA.

(11) Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights Unit

In October 1997, PCHR established the Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights Unit.
This unit was established in response to the need to increase attention to these rights
through research and studies. PCHR attempts to advance these rights in Palestine in
accordance with international standards and laws, particularly the International
Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights which was adopted by the United
Nations General Assembly in 1966. The unit provides recommendations to
specifically promote these rights according to the needs of the Palestinian society. In
addition, the unit reviews legislation and related draft laws to ensure their harmony
with international standards. The unit also secures the necessary data to develop plans
and to implement programs and policies that are consistent with international
standards and law.

The interest of PCHR in economic, social, and cultural rights dates back to the
beginning of 1995. At that time, work on rights revolved around two fundamental
activities. The first was the provision of legal assistance in cases involving these
rights. The second was to publish relevant reports.79 In April 1997, the Palestinian
Centre for Human Rights, in cooperation with Al-Haq, published a joint study about
housing rights. With the establishment of the new unit, the work in these two areas
continues with the support of new members of staff, especially research members.

Infrastructure in the Gaza Strip: A Case Study on Economic and Social Rights

In July 2000, PCHR published a new study entitled “Infrastructure in the Gaza Strip:
A Case Study on Economic and Social Rights.” The study reviewed Israeli practices
throughout the occupation, which have obstructed infrastructure development. It also
assesses the role and efforts made by the Palestinian National Authority since 1994 in
developing infrastructure.

The study also analyzes the problems facing infrastructure development in the Gaza
Strip, whether these stem from the Palestinian National Authority itself, or other
factors (e.g. historical and environmental). The study concluded with a number of
recommendations for Palestinian decision-makers in the planning and development
process.

The recommendations included:

To allocate funds for local authorities in order to develop infrastructure

services;
To give priority to infrastructure projects in marginalized areas of the Gaza
Strip, particularly outside the major cities, and;

79
See the part of this report on Closure Updates.
 To reconsider the interim agreements with Israel with regard to restrictions
imposed on Palestinian activities, which may obstruct the implementation of
infrastructure projects, especially in areas under Israeli security jurisdiction.
To demand complete Palestinian rights of water from the Israeli side.
To develop solid waste treatment facilities.
To develop road networks.
To encourage investment by the private sector in infrastructure projects.

(12) Women’s Rights Unit

This part of the report covers the Women’s Rights Unit’s activities during 2000. The
Women’s Rights Unit was established in May 1997. The Women’s Unit is working
on two basic programs. The first is the legal aid program and the second is the
research and legal awareness program.

The legal aid program is particularly valuable. In fact, PCHR is the only organization
in the Gaza Strip that provides such legal services for women. The unit also
participates in all activities and programs that are organized by Palestinian women’s
organizations and institutions.

Legal Aid Program for Women and Women’s Organizations

This program seeks to provide legal assistance for women and women’s
organizations. Such legal assistance includes the following:

1. Providing legal consultation;

2. Representing women in the Sharia’ Courts (cases of family law);
3. Providing legal assistance for jailed women; and
4. Providing legal assistance for women’s organizations.

The legal assistance is normally provided through two lawyers in the unit, one of
whom was authorized in July 2000 to work in the Sharia’ Courts (cases of family
law). The other lawyers in the Centre provide their assistance when necessary. With
regard to legal assistance in Sharia’ legal aid, this assistance is now provided by two
lawyers specializing in family law. This program expanded its legal assistance to
include the northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip after PCHR opened
branches in Jabalya and Khan Yunis.

During 2000, the unit pursued 132 cases in the Sharia’ Courts. In addition, the Unit
provided legal consultation in 36 other cases in 1999. Legal aid offered by the Unit
was not limited only to Sharia' cases, but also included representation of women
before the civil courts, including 29 cases in 2000.

The following table illustrates the kinds of personal affairs issues that were followed
by the Women’s Rights Unit.
 Case Type Number
Alimony 63
Rights to household property 32
Access rights to children 8
Separation 14
Obedience 3
Custody rights 6
Payment for childcare 6
Total 132

Table of Cases Pursued by the Unit before Civil Courts in 2000

Case Type Number

Applications for the return of personal property 12
Applications to repay mahar by installment 17
Total 29

Legal Awareness Program for Women

The unit believes that improved understanding among women of their rights is vital in
order for women to secure their rights. It is therefore a basic step toward ending
discrimination and abuse against women in Palestinian law. This year, the unit's
program coordinated effectively with governmental parties, such as the Ministry of
Information and the Ministry of Youth and Sports, as well as women’s institutions
throughout the Gaza Strip. In 2000, the unit organized 17 legal awareness meetings
throughout the Gaza Strip, in which 514 women and girls participated.80

The following is a list of lectures organized by the unit in co-ordination with women’s
and governmental institutions:

No. Date Institution Subject Number

attending
1. Jan. 18, 2000 Women Development Heritage 25
Society in Bani Suheila, in
co-ordination with
Working Women Society
2. Jan. 20, 2000 Women Activities Center Heritage 30
in Al-Shati

80
After adding two new female researchers in Khan Yunis and Jabalya, the unit planned to organize
lectures on legal awareness, in co-ordination with women’s institutions in the two areas, starting at
the beginning of October 2000. However, the outbreak of Al-Aqsa Intifada was an obstacle to this.
3. Jan. 22, 2000 Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, Marriage 27
in co-ordination with
Working Women Society
4. Feb. 1, 2000 Al-Shati refugee camp in Heritage 35
co-ordination with
Working Women Society
5. Feb. 3, 2000 Bani Suheila, in co- Heritage 30
ordination with Working
Women Society
6. Feb. 8, 2000 Al-Shati refugee camp Heritage 25
7. Feb. 9, 2000 Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, Alimony 32
in co-ordination with and custody
Working Women Society rights
8. Feb. 14, 2000 Khan Yunis, in co- The legal 35
ordination with Martyr rights of
Bothaina Hejjo children
kindergarten
9. March 1, 2000 Al-Daraj neighborhood, in The personal 40
co-ordination with the status law
Union of Palestinian
Women
10. March 7, 2000 In co-ordination with Women’s 25
Ministry of Information rights in
Palestinian
laws
11. April 23, 2000 Khan Yunis, in co- The personal 25
ordination with Ministry status law
of Youth and Sports
12. April 24, 2000 Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, Rights of 30
in co-ordination with children
Working Women Society
13. May 3, 2000 Khan Yunis, in co- Divorce in 25
ordination with Ministry the personal
of Youth and Sports status law
14. May 14, 2000 Khan Yunis, in co- Custody and 25
ordination with Ministry separation
of Youth and Sports
15. Dec. 4, 2000 ‘Abassan, in co-ordination Marriage 35
with Ma’n Charitable
Society
16. Dec. 5, 2000 Khoza’a, in co-ordination Marriage 35
with Ma’n Charitable
Society
17. Dec. 6, 2000 Khoza’a, in co-ordination Marriage 35
with Ma’n Charitable
Society
Workshops

On February 19, 2000, the unit organized a workshop in PCHR’s office in Khan
Yunis, in which it discussed co-operation and co-ordination between the unit and
women’s centers and institutions in Khan Yunis. Particular attention was given to the
legal assistance and awareness programs.

On August 17, 2000, the Unit, in co-ordination with PCHR’s Training Unit, organized
a workshop, with the participation of the Women’s Struggle Block in Khan Yunis, on
“Women, Development and Violence.”

Unit Intervention with Formal Institutions

1) Ministry of Social Affairs

In 2000, the unit promoted co-ordination and co-operation with Ministry of Social
Affairs, especially on the issue of violence. During 2000, in co-operation with the
Ministry of Social Affairs, the unit was able to settle two cases regarding violence
against women.

2) The Attorney General

The unit asked the Attorney General for clarification regarding the non-
implementation of decisions on cases followed up by the unit, especially alimony,
household property, and delayed payable dowry. However, it received no response.

3) The Sharia’ Courts

The unit pursued many cases with the Sharia’ courts.

The Relationship between the Unit and Women Institutions

In 2000, the unit participated in activities and meetings with women’s institutions in
the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as follows:

1. A lawyer in the unit, Hanan Mattar, participated in meeting with the Women’s
Affairs Technical Committee on amendments of the draft law of insurance and
pension.
2. Muna Shawa, Coordinator of the unit, participated in the meetings of
Mashreqiat Institution in the context of a program of coalition and influence,
aiming at discussing issues relevant to the law of personal status.
3. The unit’s staff participated in meetings with the Women’s Center for Legal
and Social Instruction and other women institutions, in order to establish a
mechanism to assist women victims of violence. PCHR hosted one of these
meetings on June 6, 2000.
4. The unit’s staff participated in meetings of consultative committees of
Women's Health Center in Jabalya and Al-Boreij.
Co-operation with Palestine Television Channel

The visual media plays an important role in the process of awareness raising.
Television is one of the most important forms of mass media in part because of the
large numbers of people which have access to it. Accordingly, the unit has always
sought to promote co-operation with visual mass media, especially Palestine
Television Channel. In this context, in July 2000, Muna Shawa participated in a
television program titled “the Court Decided,” in which early marriage was discussed.
In addition, in August 2000, lawyer Hanan Mattar was included live in a live social
issues program that discussed sexual harassment.

(13) PCHR’s Press Releases on the Rule of Law and Democracy Promotion on
the Palestinian Level and Other Violations

In 2000, PCHR issued 29 press releases on the rule of law and democracy promotion,
mostly during the first nine months of the year. The press releases not only addressed
PNA violations, but also the violations of other parties, such UNRWA and other
bodies, particularly in the areas of economic, social and cultural rights.

Following is a list of press releases issued by PCHR on the rule of law and democracy
promotion in 2000:

No. Date Subject Notes

1. Jan. 23, 2000 Economic, social and The death of an UNRWA
cultural rights school student after a fall into a
sewage hole
2. Feb. 8, 2000 The judiciary Adoption of the Law of the
Judiciary by the PLC and
calling upon the Palestinian
President to ratify it
3. Feb. 8, 2000 Detainees in the A decision by the High Court to
PNA’s jails release a detainee
4. Feb. 8, 2000 The judiciary Condemnation of an attack on a
court in Bethlehem by some
citizens
5. Feb. 16, 2000 Economic, social and Warnings by the PNA to nine
cultural rights families to evacuate houses
6. Feb. 23, 2000 Detainees in the A decision by the High Court to
PNA’s jails release two detainees
7. April 4, 2000s Detainees in the A decision by the High Court to
PNA’s jails release a detainee
8. April 8, 2000 Economic, social and Incidents in the Islamic
cultural rights University
9. April 26, 2000 Shooting by security The injury of a child with a live
men bullet
10. April 29, 2000 Free expression and The police order by the Chief of
peaceful assembly Police regarding public
meetings
11. May 7, 2000 Detainees in the Arresting citizens on the ground
PNA’s jails of clashes in Al-Boreij refugee
camp
12. May 10, 2000 The Palestinian Bar The acting council of the Bar
Association Association removes all
PCHR’s lawyers from the roll
of practicing lawyers
13. May 11, 2000 The Palestinian Bar The expiration of the legal
Association period of the appointed acting
council of the Bar Association
14. May 14, 2000 The Palestinian Bar A group of lawyers bring the
Association acting council of the Bar
Association to the High Court
15. May 15, 2000 The Palestinian Bar Arab and Palestinian human
Association rights organizations condemn
the Bar Association’s acting
council’s decision taken against
lawyers of human rights
organizations
16. May 17, 2000 The Palestinian Bar The Palestinian High Court
Association issues a decision to suspend the
decision by the acting council
of the Bar Association against
human rights lawyers
17. May 18, 2000 Economic, social and The death of three children in a
cultural rights refrigerator used to contain
food in Rafah central market
18. June 3, 2000 Free expression and Palestinian police escalate then
peaceful assembly measures against the media
19. June 4, 2000 The judiciary The formation of Higher
Judiciary Council
20. June 4, 2000 Detainees in the A decision by the High Court to
PNA’s jails release three detainees
21. June 13, 2000 Detainees in the A decision by the High Court to
PNA’s jails release a detainee
22. June 15, 2000 The Palestinian Bar The acting council of the Bar
Association Association challenges the
decision of the High Court
23. July 8, 2000 The Palestinian Bar PCHR encourages all lawyers
Association to boycott celebration of
Palestinian Lawyers Day on
July 9, 2000
24. July 11, 2000 The Palestinian Bar Palestinian lawyers boycott
Association celebrations organized by the
acting council of the Bar
Association
25. July 12, 2000 Detainees in the A decision by the High Court to
PNA’s jails release two detainees
26. Aug. 17, 2000 Economic, social and Health and environmental
cultural rights dangers in Al-Maghazi refugee
camp
27. Sept. 2, 2000 Economic, social and Calling for abolishment of
cultural rights temporary contracts in
UNRWA
28. Sep. 12, 2000 The State Security A citizen is sentenced to death
Court and calling for canceling the
sentence
29. Oct. 14, 2000 Palestinian affairs PCHR condemns attacks
against public property
 PART 3

PCHR’S RELATIONSHIP WITH

LOCAL SOCIETY
In 2000, PCHR has paid a significant amount of attention to its relationship with local
society, both directly with the community and various organizations as well. PCHR
believes that cultivating these relationships is important for enhancing respect for
human rights and therefore laying the foundation for the long-term protection of
human rights. During 2000, PCHR was active at different levels in this regard.

(1) Strengthening Relations with the Local Community and Expanding the
Number of Beneficiaries

PCHR believes that enhancing its relationship with the public depends primarily on
the services it provides on a non-discriminatory basis for the public. As part of
PCHR’s efforts to strengthen its relations with citizens and civil society institutions
and to ensure the access of more sectors of the local society to its services, PCHR
established two new branches in Khan Yunis and Jabalya. There are two types of
services provided by the PCHR:
1) legal aid for the victims of human rights violations and their families; and
2) raising awareness of human rights and democracy.

Opening the new branches enhanced the provision of PCHR’s services to larger
sectors of the Palestinian society on these two levels. This was especially the case
since the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Yunis and Rafah suffer an exceptionally high
number of Israeli human rights violations, both from Israeli occupation forces and
from nearby Israeli settlers. Jabalya camp is the biggest Palestinian refugee camp in
the Middle East and is located close to the Erez checkpoint and Israeli settlements and
the corresponding extensive military and police presence. As a result of their
locations, the areas around Jabalya and Khan Yunis experience a high number of
human rights violations. In addition, residents of both the southern area and the
northern areas of the Gaza Strip encounter difficulties in reaching Gaza City. PCHR
has responded to these needs by opening the new offices.

(2) Legal Aid for Victims of Human Rights Violations

PCHR provides this service through two units, the Legal Unit and the Women’s Unit.
The Legal Unit provides its services to victims of human rights violations. This
includes victims of violations at two levels: Israeli and Palestinian. This is done either
through legal consultation or through direct intervention with the concerned
authorities, including governmental institutions, commissions, and the judicial
authority. During 2000, the unit pursued the cases of 486 clients. Of them, 62 clients
received legal consultation, while another 402 clients requested the unit to represent
their cases before the concerned institutions. In addition to what has already been
discussed elsewhere in this report concerning legal aid for the Palestinian prisoners in
Israeli prisons and PNA prisons, the unit pursued an additional 56 cases. The
following table illustrates the institutions to which the Unit intervened and the
responses of these institutions to the unit's correspondence or complaints.

Institution Number of Number of

Complaints Responses
The Attorney General 11 1
Ministry of Health 13 4
Municipalities 6 6
 Fund Authority 1 Nil
UNRWA 8 8
Ministry of Finance 1 1
Ministry of Housing 5 1
Ministry of Justice 1 Nil
Ministry of Education 1 Nil
General Personnel Agency 4 1
Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs 1 Nil
Health Work Committees Union 3 3
Others81 1 1
Total 56 26

The Women's Rights Unit provides legal aid for children and women who are victims
of human rights violations, especially the violation of family law, either through legal
consultation or through direct intervention with the concerned institutions, including
the Sharia' courts. In fact, PCHR is the only organization in Gaza Strip that provides
these services to women.82

(3) Raising Public Awareness on Human Rights and Democracy: Developing a

Training Program

During 2000, PCHR continued its activities regarding raising public awareness of
human rights and democracy based on its belief that the knowledge of these rights is a
crucial factor that contributes to human rights protection. In 2000, PCHR developed a
unit for training on human rights and democracy. This unit targeted groups from
different segments of society as a means to create an effective cadre able to promote
human rights norms. This improved understanding will then be reflected in their work
and activities. Efforts and activities of the unit are carried out in cooperation with the
Legal Aid Unit, Democracy Development Unit, Women’s Rights Unit and the Field
Work Unit. It also invited local human rights activists and legal experts to contribute
to its training programs. PCHR’s training activities focused on the organization of 7-
10 day training courses.

During the first nine months of 2000, the Training Unit organized 11 training courses,
in which 305 trainees of different segments of the society participated. Participants
were awarded certificates upon the conclusion of each training course. The unit
temporarily suspended its training activities in the last quarter of 2000, due to the
outbreak of clashes between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces,
which have created obstacles to the implementation of its training programs.

1) During the period of January 29 to February 3, 2000, PCHR in its Khan Yunis
branch organized a training course on human rights, international humanitarian
law, democracy, women’s rights, and the role of NGO’s in protecting and
enhancing human rights. The course targeted members of political parties and

81
A complaint by a citizen against a Palestinian company to urge it to fulfill its financial obligations to
one of its employees was pursued.
82
Regarding legal aid for women, see the Women’s Unit’s activities in detail.
 other groups in Khan Yunis. It consisted of 18 training hours, in which 26
trainees participated.

2) During the period of February 19 to 23, 2000, in its Khan Yunis branch, PCHR
organized a training course on: democracy, pluralism, separation of powers,
human rights, international humanitarian law, the Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
documentation of human rights violations, human rights in Palestine, and the
role of NGO’s in protecting and enhancing human rights. The course targeted
members of the Al-Mawasi Charitable Society. It consisted of 15 training
hours, in which 25 trainees participated.

3) During the period of March 5 to 14, 2000, PCHR in Gaza City, in co-
ordination with the Youth Rehabilitation Department at Ministry of Youth and
Sports, organized a training course on human rights and democracy. The
course targeted members of the Ministry. It consisted of 24 training hours, in
which 30 trainees participated.

4) During the period of April 1 to 8, 2000, PCHR, in co-ordination with the

College of Law at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, organized a training course on
human rights and democracy. The course, in which 30 students participated,
consisted of 18 training hours.

5) During the period of April 9 to 15, 2000, PCHR in Khan Yunis, in co-
ordination with the Youth Rehabilitation Department at Ministry of Youth and
Sports, organized a training course on human rights and democracy. The
course targeted activists of the ministry in the southern area of the Gaza Strip.
It consisted of 18 training hours, in which 30 trainees participated.

6) During the period of May 28 to June 12, 2000, PCHR in Gaza City, in co-
ordination with the College of Political Science at Al-Azhar University in
Gaza, organized a training course on human rights and democracy. The
course, in which 33 students of the college participated, consisted of 18
training hours.

7) During the period of May 29 to June 13, 2000, PCHR in Gaza City, in co-
ordination with the College of Political Science at Al-Azhar University in
Gaza, organized a training course on human rights and democracy. The
course, in which 33 students of the college participated, consisted of 18
training hours.

8) During the period of May 25 to June 22, 2000, PCHR in Khan Yunis, in co-
ordination with the Press Forum in Khan Yunis, organized a training course on:
human rights and democracy, free expression, press releases writing and
human rights in Palestine. The course targeted members of the forum. It
consisted of 18 training hours. Twenty-eight trainees participated.

9) During the period of July 4 to 8, 2000, PCHR in Jabalya, in co-ordination with

the UNDP, organized a training course on human rights and democracy. The
 course, which consisted of 15 training hours, targeted members of Sharek
(Participate) group of UNDP. Thirty-two trainees participated in the course.

10) During the period of July 30 to August 10, 2000, in Gaza City, PCHR, in co-
ordination with the Palestinian Journalist Block in the Gaza Strip, organized a
course on: human rights, democracy, free expression, the Palestinian law and
free expression, the role of press in protecting and enhancing human rights, and
the experience of Palestinian journalistic work with democracy. The course, in
which 20 trainees participated, consisted of 18 training hours.

11) During the period of September 16 to 21, 2000, in Gaza City, PCHR
organized a training course on: human rights and democracy with
concentration on relevant subjects, such as: international humanitarian law, the
rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, the role of the Palestinian Bar
Association in human rights protection and enhancement, documentation of
human rights violations, the legal status of the Gaza Strip, and human rights in
Palestine. The course, in which 18 lawyers participated, consisted of 18
training hours.

(4) Al-Mentar – PCHR’s Newsletter

In September 2000, as part of PCHR’s efforts to strengthen its relationship with local
society, PCHR started to issue a newsletter called “Al-Mentar”(observation post).
The newsletter seeks to promote awareness of human rights within Palestinian
society. PCHR believes that confronting human rights violations begins with an
individual’s knowledge and awareness of his rights. Al-Mentar aims at promoting the
concepts of pluralism, democracy, respect for the rule of law and others’ opinions. It
also seeks to increase awareness within local society about human rights and the
mechanisms through which they are protected. It also invites the local society to avail
itself of PCHR’s legal and media services in defending their rights.

Through the end of 2000, PCHR published four issues of the newsletter. The first one
coincided with the outbreak of Al-Aqsa Intifada. The other subsequent issues
concentrated primarily on Israeli human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories. These issues included information on: killings, land leveling, and the
demolition of homes and civilian facilities. Al-Mentar concentrates on the human
dimensions of human rights violations which do not receive significant attention in
other reports.

(5) Participation in Local Workshops and Conferences

Another aspect of PCHR’s efforts to enhance its relations with the local community is
its involvement in activities that are organized locally, including lectures, workshops
and conferences, by NGO’s, political parties, or governmental institutions. The most
important activities in which PCHR participated during 2000 were:83

83
See the lectures conducted by the Women’s Rights Unit in co-operation with women organizations,
pages 87-88 of this report.
1) On February 29, 2000, Hanan Mattar, lawyer of the Women’s Rights Unit,
delivered a lecture titled “ Women and Law,” in a workshop on Palestinian
women between reality and hope, organized by Ministry of Information.

2) On May 7, 2000, upon an invitation by the Women’s Affairs Technical Staff,

Hanan Mattar, lawyer of the Women’s Rights Unit, contributed with a working
paper on the legal aid for women to a workshop on violence and mechanisms
to challenge it, which was held in PCHR offices.

3) On May 13, 2000, upon an invitation by the Enabling Project for

Development of the Development Studies Program of Bir Zeit University,
Khalil Shahin, Coordinator of the Training Unit, participated in a course on
democracy and human rights, held in the YMCA. He delivered a lecture titled
“the Right of Development.”

4) On June 6, 2000, Raji Sourani, Director of PCHR, delivered a lecture titled

“the International Law and the Final Status and the Future of Jerusalem,” in the
International Conference on Culture, the Community and Jerusalem: Strategies
for Human Rights Protection and Development in Palestine,” organized by the
Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment
(LAW), during the period of June 5 to 7, 2000.

5) On June 8, 2000, upon an invitation by the Future Society for Rehabilitation

of the Blind, Maysoun Mushref, a researcher of the Economic and Social
Rights Unit, participated in a study day on the handicapped and the society.
She delivered a lecture titled “Rights of the Handicapped in International
Conventions and Instruments.”

6) On July 12, 2000, upon an invitation by Can’an Institute for New Pedagogy,
Raji Sourani, Director of PCHR, participated in the Weekly Dialogue on civil
society and the state in Palestine. He delivered a relevant intervention.

7) On July 19, 2000, upon an invitation by Ministry of Youth and Sports, Hamdi
Shaqqura, Coordinator of the Democratic Development Unit, delivered a
lecture titled “Democracy and the Youth,” in the “Youth Leaders
Development” organized by the Ministry.

8) On August 17, 2000, with co-operation between PCHR and the Women’s
Struggle Office, a workshop on women and development, democracy and
human rights, was held in the office. Khalil Shahin, Coordinator of the
Training Unit, Muna Shawa, Coordinator of the Women’s Rights Unit, and
Hanan Mattar, lawyer of the Women’s Rights Unit, submitted interventions
titled “Women’s Rights and Human Rights,” “Women and Violence,” and
“Women Victims of Family and Social Violence: A Case Study.”

9) On August 22, 2000, upon an invitation of Al-Haq Institution in Ramallah and

the World Movement for Defending Children, Hanan Mattar, lawyer of the
Women’s Rights Unit, submitted a working paper titled “Laws of Youngsters
on Effect in the Gaza Strip,” to the first “Youngsters Conference” in Palestine,
held in Ramallah during the period of August 22 to 23, 2000.
 10) On September 3, 2000, upon an invitation by the Ministry of Information,
Raji Sourani, Director of PCHR, delivered a lecture titled “Viewpoint of the
Palestinian Elite Regarding the September 13 Obligation,” in a workshop on
“September 13 Obligation, Challenges and Alternatives.”

11) On September 4, 2000, upon an invitation by Gaza Mental Health Program,

Khalil Shahin, Coordinator of the Training Unit, participated in a workshop
titled “the Right to Health,” held in the headquarters of the program with the
participation of 40 representatives of local human rights organizations.
Shahin delivered a lecture titled “the Extent of the Implementation of the
Right to Health in Palestine.”

12) On September 27, 2000, upon an invitation by the College of Education, Raji
Sourani, Director of PCHR, submitted a working paper titled “Murders in
Palestine from a Human Rights Perspective,” in a workshop on murders in
Palestine.

13) On November 7, 2000, upon an invitation by the Culture and Free Intellect
Society, Raji Sourani, Director of PCHR, delivered a lecture titled
“A Legal Picture of Israeli Violations of Palestinian Children’s Rights,”
during a press conference on murdering Palestinian children.

14) On November 8, 2000, upon an invitation by Can’an Institute for the New
Pedagogy, Raji Sourani, Director of PCHR, delivered a lecture titled “the
Legal Status of the Occupied Palestinian Territories between International
Protection and the Fourth Geneva Convention.”

(6) Promoting Relations with Civil Society Organizations

Civil society organizations play an important role in establishing a democratic society

characterized by freedom and social justice. In this context, PCHR seeks to play an
important role in achieving this goal through continually improving its relationships
and partnerships with other civil society organizations based on creative co-operation.
During 2000, PCHR enhanced its relationships with Palestinian civil society
organizations through a series of meetings to discuss developments. These were
important to the work of PCHR and play a role in establishing a democratic society
characterized by social justice.84

84
For examples of co-operation between PCHR and the civil society organizations, see page 54-56 on
the subject of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, page 82 on the meeting organized by PCHR with
a number of organizations of the civil society to discuss the police order by Chief of Police on
public meetings, and pages 74-75 on the meeting organized by PCHR on the decision by the
Palestinian Bar Association to remove names of lawyers of Palestinian human rights organizations
from the roll of practicing lawyers.
 PART 4

PCHR’S ACTIVITIES ON THE

REGIONAL AND
INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
During 2000, PCHR continued its regional and international activities for increased
respect for human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and increased support
of the Palestinians’ inalienable political rights. One aspect of PCHR’s work during
2000 focused on securing the de jure application of the Fourth Geneva Convention
(1949) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. A second aspect of the PCHR work
involved statements and other work before UN bodies to report on Israeli violations of
Palestinian human rights. In addition, PCHR participated in many international
activities related to these matters. At the same time, it continued to enhance its
relationships with important regional and international institutions. Within this
context, PCHR received scores of governmental and non-governmental delegations.
Moreover, PCHR representatives met with journalists and staff of local and
international news agencies. During these meetings, PCHR provided a
comprehensive explanation of the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories.

All of PCHR’s publications, including press releases, research, and reports, are
translated into English and distributed internationally.

(1) PCHR’s Campaign to secure the de jure Application of the Fourth Geneva
Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

During 2000, PCHR continued its efforts at the local and international levels to secure
the de jure applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention Concerning the Protection
of Civilians in Time of War in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, continuing its two
years of work on this issue. Although the High Contracting Parties to the Convention
failed to convene to discuss measures to implement the Convention in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories, PCHR continued its efforts to urge the High Contracting
Parties to meet their obligations under the Convention and provide international
protection for Palestinian civilians in the face of blatant Israeli violations of the
Convention.

In a resolution adopted on February 8, 1999, the UN General Assembly set 15 July

1999 as the date to convene the Conference of the High Contracting Parties.
Accordingly, PCHR began to implement an international campaign with the
participation of a number of experts, human rights activists, and international, Arab
and Palestinian human rights organizations, in order to increase awareness of the
human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the Fourth Geneva
Convention. Moreover, PCHR’s campaign was directed at pressuring and
influencing the High Contracting Parties to the Convention, to fulfil their
commitments under the Convention.

The conference of the High Contracting Parties was convened for only ten minutes.
The HCP did not discuss measures to implement the Convention in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories nor did they set a date for the reconvening of the conference. It
was clear that the political pressure exerted by some states, mainly the USA,
undermined international efforts to implement the Convention in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories.

Despite these developments, PCHR continued its efforts in 2000 because the High
Contracting Parties are obligated under Article 1 of the Convention to ensure respect
for the Convention in all circumstances. According to the Convention, the High
Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention are obliged to immediately take
measures, individually or collectively, to ensure protection for Palestinian civilians in
the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In all its press releases and activities on the
international and regional levels, PCHR called on the High Contracting Parties to the
Fourth Geneva Convention to reconvene their adjourned conference in order to take
effective measures against Israeli human rights violations against Palestinian civilians
and to provide international protection for them

A Letter to the European Union to Activate the Fourth Geneva Convention

On November 7, 2000, PCHR sent a letter to members of the European Union

participating in the Fifth Special Session of the Commission on Human Rights on
October 18, 2000, in Geneva, to discuss the situation of human rights in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories in light of the clashes that erupted on September 28, 2000
between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces. In its letter, PCHR
noted its disappointment in EU members’ failure to stand in favor of protecting
Palestinian rights during the 19-16 vote (with 17 abstaining) on the session’s
resolution on October 19, 2000. This resolution called, inter alia, for the
establishment of an International Commission of Inquiry and called on the
international community to take all necessary measures to stop Israel’s grave breeches
of the international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.85

In the press release, PCHR wondered what happened to European support for human
rights and whether these countries were taking a position of selectively supporting
human rights standards. PCHR added that the negative vote gave Israel carte blanche
to continue and even increase its violations due to the inaction of European nations.
PCHR held the international community morally responsible for Israeli human rights
violations and grave breaches of international humanitarian law, some of which
constitute war crimes. PCHR demanded that the relevant conventions of international
humanitarian law be put into practice by these governments, because ethically and
politically, this is their minimum obligation.

PCHR reminded these countries of their obligations under Fourth Geneva Convention
and reiterated its great disappointment with the meeting of High Contracting Parties
held on July 15, 1999, which, unfortunately, disregarded the views of the human
rights community. The High Contracting Parties resolved to adjourn the Conference
to provide Barak’s government with a chance to make peace. However, this was not
only a farce, but it also neglected all human rights conventions and instruments.
PCHR believed that the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak had no peaceful intentions.
His rhetoric may have misled Europe but his actions on the ground (expanding
settlements and using excessive force against Palestinian civilians and children) did
not misled the Palestinian human rights community for one moment. Accordingly,
PCHR called once again on the High Contracting Parties to immediately intervene to
force Israel to comply with the Convention and to provide international protection for
the Palestinian people, especially in light of the clashes in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories.
85
For further details on the special session of the UN Commission on Human Rights and its
Resolution, see pages 110-111 of this report.
PCHR also called on European nations to activate Article 2 of the Euro-Israel
Association Agreement, which states that Israel’s upholding of human rights is a
precondition to trade. Israel is unambiguously failing to uphold these standards by
engaging in massive human rights abuses. However, there is no movement on the
part of European nations toward the cessation of economic ties.

A Study on the Fourth Geneva Convention

In January 2000, PCHR published a study titled “Politicization of the International

Humanitarian Law: An Analytical, Critical Study of the Conference of the High
Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention.” The study is an analytical
documentary file regarding the application of the Fourth Geneva Convention in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories, and the convening the conference of the High
Contracting Parties to the Convention. The study was published in Arabic and
English, in January and November 2000 respectively.

As the first such study of its kind, the book analyzes and documents steps taken by the
UN General Assembly over the course of two years. During these two years, six
resolutions were concluded that called for convening a conference of the High
Contracting Parties on July 15, 1999. This UNGA initiative came in response to the
escalation in Israeli violations of human rights, particularly intensive settlement
activities. For the first time in the history of the Fourth Geneva Convention, in order
to put an end to Israeli human rights violations, the UNGA called on the High
Contacting Parties to the Convention to meet their obligations under Article 1 of the
Convention and convene a conference for the application of the Convention to a
particular case--the Occupied Palestinian Territories. PCHR and other human rights
organizations prioritized work to ensure that the conference would be convened at the
specified time and for the goals identified by the UNGA.

The manner in which the conference was convened represented politicization of the
international humanitarian law. The US Administration pressure thwarted the
conference. The Swiss government, authorized by the UNGA as the depositary of the
Convention, acted against the word and spirit of UN resolutions. The conference was
convened for only ten minutes and issued a statement of less than ten lines that did not
resolve to put an end to Israeli violations of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories.

At the time of the HCP’s conference, PCHR and the Palestinian Society for the
Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW) organized a parallel
meeting of human rights organizations and activists and experts in international
humanitarian law. They joined together to lobby the HCP’s to hold a meaningful
conference to meet substantive issues addressed by the UNGA Resolutions.

PCHR would like to make clear that it will continue to work to put an end to Israeli
violations of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, through, amongst
other things, lobbying the HCP’s to fulfill their obligations under the Convention in
accordance with the UNGA Resolutions. Through the publication of this study,
PCHR achieved an important goal in increasing public awareness of this serious issue.
Increased public awareness on this issue is important because the lack of de jure
application of the Fourth Geneva Convention threatens the legal status of the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip. The lack of application of the Fourth Geneva Convention
also leads to a further deterioration in the human rights situation in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories as a result of Israeli efforts to create irreversible facts on the
ground prior to the final status negotiations.

(2) PCHR’s Interventions before UN Bodies

Since its establishment in 1995, PCHR has devoted part of its international efforts to
working within human rights mechanisms and specialized international commissions,
particularly those of the United Nations system. PCHR provided these specialized
bodies and commissions with oral and written statements on the human rights
situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. During 2000, PCHR continued its
efforts in this regard. It focused on the following:

Special Consultative Status to PCHR with ECOSOC

The year 2000 witnessed a significant achievement for PCHR, when it was granted
“Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council.” This
achievement represents appreciation by international organizations, especially the
Economic and Social Council, of PCHR’s efforts in the field of human rights.

At its substantive session of July 2000, the Economic and Social Council decided to
grant PCHR Special Consultative Status. Under this Status, PCHR is able to
designate official representatives to the United Nations – to the United Nations
Headquarters in New York and the United Nations in Geneva and Vienna. It also
allows regular presence of PCHR at the Economic and Social Council, which will
allow PCHR to effectively influence this UN body. Also under this status, PCHR
provides PCHR with the following title: “NGO in Special Consultative Status with the
Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.”

PCHR’s activities and co-ordination with the UN bodies was not limited to this
achievement. PCHR sought to build upon this accomplishment and continued its
efforts and activities in this context as follows:

The UN Commission on Human Rights

On March 29, 2000, Raji Sourani, Director of PCHR, presented the attached oral
submission to the 56th Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in
Geneva, under item 8, Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories. The statement was presented on behalf of the following organizations:
Federation Internationale des Ligues des Droits de L’Homme, LAW – the Palestinian
Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment, Arab Organization
for Human Rights, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Arab Lawyers Union,
World Federation for Democratic Youth, South-North Organization, and the
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.

The oral statement reviewed Israeli violations of the UN Resolutions and the
international humanitarian law, especially settlement activities, populations transfer,
administrative detention and torture against Palestinian prisoners. It referred to the
UNGA Resolution on July 15, 2000, which calls on the High Contracting Parties to
the Fourth Geneva Convention to convene a conference to discuss measures to force
Israel to respect the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Sourani
stated that the conference was a disappointment for those who believe in the rule of
the international humanitarian law since it did not take practical measures. Instead of
making attempts to meet substantive issues addressed in the UNGA Resolution, the
HCP’s decided to adjourn the conference without appointing a new date for its
reconvention, in order to give the new Israeli government a chance to resume peace
talks. The HCP’s stated that the conference may be reconvened in accordance with
developments on the ground.

Sourani asserted that there was no need to wait for future developments, as Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s policy proved that there was no difference in essence
between his government and previous Israeli governments, including Benjamin
Netanyahu’s government. Israeli settlement activities and human rights violations
escalated when Barak came to power, which proved that the situation that led the
UNGA to adopt its resolution did not change. Sourani also asserted that the decision
taken by the HCP’s to adjourn their conference represented a politicization of
international humanitarian law and threatened the safety and security of Palestinian
civilians living under Israeli occupation. Sourani reminded the international
community, especially the HCP’s, of their obligations to put an end to Israeli
violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories.

A Special Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights

On October 18, 2000, the UN High Commission on Human Rights convened a special
session in Paris to discuss human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories. The Special Session was requested by Algeria on behalf of the League of
Arab States and was convened after consenting signatures were obtained from 47 of
the Commission's 53 Member States. It was devoted to a discussion of Israeli
violations of human rights in the light of bloody clashes between Palestinian civilians
and the Israeli occupation forces that erupted in September 2000. The International
Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), in co-operation with the International
Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network
(EMHRN), submitted an intervention before the Commission, in which they urged the
taking of all necessary steps to stop continued Israeli violations of the international
humanitarian law and implement action of UN Security Council Resolution 1322
calling for the establishment of an inquiry commission to investigate Israeli violations
of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In its intervention, FIDH, of
which PCHR is a member, drew extensively upon PCHR documentation on Israeli
violations of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since September 29,
2000.

In a resolution (E/CN.4/S-5/L.2/Rev.1) on Israel’s grave and massive violations of the

human rights of the Palestinian people, the Commission strongly condemned the
disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force in violation of international law by
the Israeli occupying power against innocent unarmed Palestinian civilians, which
constitute a war crime and a crime against humanity. It also called upon Israel to put
an immediate end to any use of force against unarmed civilians and called upon the
international community to take immediate effective measures to secure the cessation
of violence by Israel and to put an end to the ongoing violations of Palestinian human
rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The Special Session decided to request the High Commissioner for Human Rights to
undertake an urgent visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories to: take stock of the
violations; facilitate Commission activities in implementation of the resolution; and to
keep the Commission informed of developments. It also requested UN
representatives to carry out immediate missions to the Occupied Palestinian
Territories and to report their findings to the Commission at its fifty-seventh session
and, on an interim basis, to the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session. The
representatives are the Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary
executions; the Representative of the Secretary-General for internally displaced
persons; the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture; the Special Rapporteur on
violence against women; the Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance; the Special
Rapporteur on racial discrimination; the Special Rapporteur on the right to housing;
and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.

As a result of the Israeli government’s refusal to receive any of the above

Rapporteurs, the year 2000 ended without any of them visiting the Occupied
Palestinian Territories. The one exception was the UN Special Rapporteur for the
Occupied Palestinian Arab Territories who visited the OPT in October 2000.86

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

This position was established upon UN General Assembly Resolution 141/48 on

January 7, 1994. The High Commissioner for Human Rights is the official
representative of the UN human rights activities, under the auspices of the UN
Secretary General. The Commissioner works under powers and resolutions of the UN
General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the UN Commission on
Human Rights. The most important goal of the Commissioner is to stop human rights
violations and to ensure respect for human rights throughout the world. Due to the
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ important role in defending human rights,
PCHR endeavors to remain in continual contact with the Commissioner in order to
keep the Commissioner appraised of Israeli human rights violations in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories.

On March 29, 2000, Raji Sourani, Director of PCHR met with Mrs. Mary Robinson,
the High Commissioner for Human Rights in her office in Geneva. During the
meeting, they discussed Israeli violations of human rights and grave breaches of
international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The meeting also addressed
issues related to the Palestinian National Authority, including the independence of the
civil judiciary and Palestinian human rights organizations and civil society and the
problems they face. Sourani presented a copy of PCHR’s annual report for 1999.

Sourani also praised the role of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for human
rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and voiced PCHR’s support for the

86
The visit will be detailed in later sections.
institution. He praised its representative Dr. Amin Mekki Madani and his strategic
investment in human rights through rehabilitation and training. Sourani also called
for the establishment of a regional office for human rights in the Arab region. Mrs.
Robinson welcomed the idea since the region is the only one in the world without a
regional office. The meeting also addressed the subject of a visit to the Occupied
Palestinian Territories. Mrs. Robinson asserted that she would visit the OPT soon.

On November 11, 2000, upon a call by the UN Commission on Human Rights, Mrs.
Mary Robinson, the High Commissioner for Human Rights visited the region to
observe bloody clashes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. She met with
representatives of Palestinian human rights organizations and civil society. PCHR
was represented by its director, Raji Sourani. Representatives of Palestinian human
rights organizations and civil society asserted that human rights were the victims of
the peace process. They stated that the Palestinian people did not get anything from
the peace process except for increased closure, continued land confiscation, and
settlement expansion. They reviewed Israeli practices against Palestinian civilians
since September 29, 2000, especially killings, land leveling and confiscation and the
total siege on Palestinian cities, villages and refugee camps. They asserted that these
practices are blatant violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, and called
on the international community to: immediately intervene to put an end to the
violations; provide international protection for the Palestinian people; and establish an
inquiry commission to investigate the situation in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories.

Mrs. Robinson asserted that she would prepare a report on the human rights situation
in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that would be submitted to the UN. She also
promised to do all her best to urge the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva
Convention to reconvene to discuss the human rights situation in the OPT.

On November 27, 2000, Mrs. Robinson issued her report on her visit to the region.
The report, which was submitted later to the UN Commission on Human Rights
asserted the importance of addressing the issue of sending international observers to
the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The High Commissioner believed that a
peaceful and stable future in the region could only be achieved on the basis of a
framework conforming to the requirements of international law and international
humanitarian law. In order to achieve security and stability in the region, the report
recommended, inter alia, that:

1. The construction of new settlements should cease and those located in the
midst of heavily populated Palestinian areas should be removed.

2. All cases of the use of lethal force should be investigated.

3. Compensation should be provided to victims of unlawful use of force,

including loss of property.

4. Curfew should be imposed only in extreme circumstances and as a last

resort. In no case should curfews be administered as a punitive measure. In
cases where a curfew is imposed, it should be done in consultation with
 local communities, with a view to limiting the adverse impact on the human
rights of those affected.

5. The enjoyment of economic rights within the OPT, including the right to
development, should be protected.

6. All holy sites and their access by all faiths should be respected.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian and Arab Territories

In its session number 49, held on 19 February 1993, the United Nations Commission
on Human Rights adopted decision number 2/1993, through which it approved the
appointment of a Special Commissioner according to the following mandate:

1. To investigate Israel's violations according to the standards of international law

and international humanitarian law including the Fourth Geneva Convention
Concerning the Protection of Civilians Persons During War of 1949, in the
Palestinian Territory occupied by Israeli in 1967.

2. To receive correspondence and to hear witnesses where necessary according to

its mandate.

3. To prepare a report for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in its
future sessions until the end of the Israeli occupation of the territory.

PCHR Receives the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian and

Arab Territories

PCHR pays close attention to the work of the United Nations Special Rapporteur, and
provides him with comprehensive information regarding Israeli violations of human
rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

On February 28, 2000, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian and
Arab Territory visited PCHR, where he was received by Raji Sourani.

During the meeting Sourani asserted the importance of not politicizing the mandate or
the report of the Special Rapporteur submitted to the UN Commission on Human
Rights. He also emphasized that the Special Rapporteur must work within the limits
of his mandate to monitor Israeli violations of international humanitarian law and the
Fourth Geneva Convention. Sourani recalled criticism by PCHR other Palestinian
human rights organizations of the former Special Rapporteur, who deviated from his
mandate and attempted to politicize the report.87 Moreover, Sourani outlined Israeli
violations of human rights during the previous year, particularly since the Barak-led
labor government took power. He highlighted the following points:

1. Israeli practices to judiaze Jerusalem and its ethnic cleansing policy against
Palestinians in the city.(All Israeli attempts to annex the city are illegal and
void.)

2. Israeli practices concerning settlement expansion and land confiscation are

continuing at an unprecedented level.

3. The closure policy and its disastrous economic, social and political impact on
the Palestinian people. The ‘safe passage’ which is in fact unsafe (Israel is
engaged in blatant manipulation of international public opinion in this regard.)

4. The closure policy is a deliberate and formal Israeli policy, and the outcome of
this policy is an apartheid system.

5. The practices and measures adopted by the Israeli prison administration against
Palestinian detainees, including measures taken against prisoners’ families,
during their visits to the prisons.

6. The Israeli High Court’s decision to ban torture. (PCHR was gravely concerned
about, and strongly condemned the Court’s advice to the Israeli legislature to
pass a law which would legalize torture against Palestinians.)

7. The refusal of the Court to apologize to Palestinian victims of torture. (The

logical result of the Court decision would be to release and compensate
Palestinian detainees who had been tortured in their interrogation and during
their time in Israeli jails.)

8. Israeli’s practice of preventing lawyers from the Gaza Strip from appearing
before courts and from visiting jails.

PCHR submitted to the Special Rapporteur a package of documents and reports that
provided documentary and empirical support for all the above-mentioned issues and
affirmed the importance of including the facts documented by Israeli and Palestinian
human rights organizations in the Special Rapporteur’s report.

Finally, Sourani also stated that he considered the Israeli refusal to officially receive
the Special Rapporteur to be a grave violation of the UN resolutions that established
his mandate.

87
On March 7, 1999, PCHR issued a press release which criticized the report by the former UN Special
Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories submitted to the 55th session of the UN
Commission on Human Rights. PCHR expressed its severe outrage for the Rappporteur’s mixing of
politics and human rights, as he manipulated the facts about Israeli violations of human rights for
the sake of goals that do not serve the respect for human rights in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories.
Director of PCHR Meets with the UN Special Rapporteur in Geneva

On March 29, 2000, Raji Sourani, Director of PCHR met Mr. Georgio Giacomelli, the
UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian and Arab Territories. During the
meeting, Sourani praised the report submitted by Mr. Giacomelli to the UN
Commission on Human Rights, considering it the most important since the
establishment of the position of the Special Rapporteur in 1993. Sourani considered
the report objective, in that it accurately represented the facts about the human rights
situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israeli violations of Palestinian
human rights. For the first time, the report reviewed Israeli violations of economic
and social violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It also addressed
increasing Israeli settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The report also referred to the Fourth Geneva Convention and its de jure applicability
to the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Moreover, the Special Rapporteur criticized
the Israeli High Court’s decision in September 1999 regarding torture, asserting that
Israeli interrogators continued to use methods of torture against Palestinian prisoners.

It is worth mentioning that the US, Israeli and Canadian representatives criticized the
report, considering that it was biased and “would damage the peace process.”

PCHR receives the UN Special Rapporteur to the Occupied Palestinian and Arab
Territories Again

On October 13, 2000, the UN Special Rapporteur to the occupied Palestinian and
Arab territories Mr. Georgio Giacomelli, accompanied by Dr. Amin Mekki,
representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; Josef Shechla and Darka
Topali visited PCHR as part of his mission to the Occupied Palestinian Territories to
evaluate the current situation and report to the UN Commission for Human Rights,
which will convene a special session in October 17-19, 2000 in Geneva solely to
discuss the human rights conditions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Raji Sourani, Director of PCHR, and PCHR staff met with Mr. Giacomelli and
briefed him on blatant Israeli human rights violations since the outbreak of clashes
between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces on September 29, 2000.
They provided him with legal documents and reports on the Israeli occupation forces’
crimes against Palestinian civilians, in which 91 people were killed and more than
2300 injured.

Representatives of PCHR emphasized the following legal demands to Mr. Giacomelli:

1) A clear and crucial international condemnation of brutal actions by the Israeli

occupation forces and settlers against Palestinian civilians, and calling on Israel
to immediately halt such actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,
including Jerusalem.

2) Provision of international protection for the Palestinian people in the Occupied

Palestinian Territories through international forces and the de jure
implementation of international law.
 3) The de jure implementation of Geneva Fourth Convention to protect
Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and urging the
High Contracting to reconvene the adjourned conference to pressure Israel
through practical and diplomatic steps to implement de jure the Convention in
the occupied Palestinian territories.

4) Establishment of an independent international commission of inquiry to

investigate the Israeli occupation forces’ crimes in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories.

5) Sending the UN special rapporteurs to the occupied Palestinian territories,

specially the UN Special Rapporteur for the rights of the Child, the UN
Special Rapporteur for Extrajudicial Killing and the UN Special Rapporteur
for Judiciary, the UN Special Rapporteur for Non-Discrimination, and other
relevant UN special rapporteurs.

6) Calling on the member European states to activate Article 2 of EU-Israel

Association Agreement, which calls on Israel to respect human rights, and to
adopt actions against Israel.

7) Increasing the presence of the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC)
to protect civilians.

They called also on UNRWA to increase its services to assist the Palestinian people in
the current situation. He strongly criticized UNRWA for reducing its services and
staff in the Gaza Strip in the past few years, and transferring its administration to
Amman.

PCHR called on Mr. Giacomelli to consider the meeting as a testimony by PCHR

before the UN Commission for Human Rights, because PCHR was not able to attend
the session and deliver its testimony directly before the Commission due to the
closure that was imposed on the Gaza Strip.

The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

On December 1, 2000, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

concluded its three-week session to discuss Israeli violations of economic, social and
cultural rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Israeli government was
supposed to submit a report to the Committee on economic, social and cultural rights
in the OPT, but it failed to do. As a result, the Committee, in its assessment of
violations of these rights, relied on the report of the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights, Mrs. Mary Robinson, after her visit to the OPT in the period of
November 8 to 16, 2000 to observe the situation of human rights in the OPT,
especially in light of the clashes that erupted in September 2000. PCHR submitted
reports and documents to the Committee, in which it reviewed Israeli violations of
human rights, especially the total siege on the OPT, house and property demolition,
and deprivation of Palestinians' rights to work, health and education. In light of this,
the Committee expressed its deep concern regarding the escalation in Israeli violations
of economic, social and cultural rights in the OPT. It expressed particular concern
regarding: the denial of entry of medical supplies and personnel into the OPT;
deprivation of Palestinians' the right to free movement; land leveling and confiscation;
house and property demolition; and the policy of economic suffocation adopted by
Israel.

In its resolution at the conclusion of its session, the Committee held the Israeli
government responsible for violations of economic, social and cultural rights in the
OPT. It rejected Israeli claims in its report on these rights submitted to the Committee
in December 1998, in which Israel denied its responsibility for blatant violations of
these rights. The Committee also decided to convene a special session in May 2001
to discuss this issue, and not to wait until December 2001, the regular time of the
session. The Committee called on the Israeli government to meet its obligations and
to abide to the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1976.

United Nations Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the

Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied
Territories

On May 19, 2000, a PCHR's delegation composed of Hamdi Shaqqura, Head of the
Democratic Development Unit and Iyad Alami, Head of the Legal Unit, testified
before the United Nations Special Committee to investigate Israeli practices affecting
the Human Rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the Occupied
Territories. The Special Committee opened its session in Cairo on 18th May 2000
and gathered testimonies regarding Israeli human rights violations in the Occupied
Territories. On May 20, 2000, the Special Committee concluded its work in Cairo
and pursued its mission to Jordan and Syria. Officially, the Israeli Government has
refused to receive the Committee and did not allow to its members to carry out their
mission in the Occupied Territories.

(3) Participation in International and Regional Conferences and Meetings

On April 8, 2000, upon an invitation by the College of Human Rights and Law of
Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, Raji Sourani conducted a lecture entitled
“Oslo Agreements and Palestinian Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories”. The lecture strongly condemned the stance of the United States
concerning the Fourth Geneva Convention and accused the US administration of
attempts to politicize international humanitarian law and of selectivity in
implementing the Convention. The lecture also highlighted the impact of the Oslo
Agreements on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,
describing the impact as disastrous, and as having created a de facto apartheid system
in the OPT’s.

In the period of May 23 to 24, 2000, PCHR participated in an international conference

on the rights of the Palestinian people. The conference was organized by UN
Commission on Palestinian people's Rights, and was convened in Athens.
Governmental and non- governmental delegations as well as experts participated in
the conference to discuss the peace process in the region, and the possibility of
harnessing the efforts of governments, international organizations, and NGO’s, to
support the Palestinian people’s rights.
PCHR was represented by Hamdi Shaqqura, Coordinator of Democracy Development
Unit in PCHR, and Iyad Alami, Coordinator of the Legal Aid Unit. PCHR had
prepared a report on Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights during the peace
process.

In the period of June 27 to July 1, 2000, Mr. Raji Sourani, Director of PCHR, had
meetings in Berlin. His visit was intended to strengthen coordination and cooperation
between German institutions and PCHR. During his stay, Mr. Sourani met the vice-
president of the Parliament and the MPs speakers of the different political factions in
the Committee for Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid of the Parliament. Regarding
government officials, the director of PCHR met the Commissioner for Human Rights
and Humanitarian Aid and other members of the Human Rights Department of the
Foreign Ministry. He also met the head of the Regional Division for Palestine in the
Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

In the NGO arena, Mr. Sourani exchanged views with Amnesty International
Rapporteur Ohne Grenzen, and the International League for Human Rights.
Moreover, he met members of the representative offices of the Protestant and Catholic
Churches to the German government.

Further meetings were convened with foundations and other organizations as the
German Foundation for International Development, the German Society for Foreign
Politics and the German-Palestinian Association.

On September 25, 2000, Mr. Raji Sourani, Director of PCHR visited the USA to
attend a reception at Robert F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. on the occasion
of publishing Kerry Kennedy’s book “Speaking Truth to Power.” This visit came
upon an invitation by Kerry Kennedy, the author of the book and Director of Robert
F. Kennedy Center. The book introduces 40 human rights defenders around the
world. It states their viewpoints on the issues they defend. It is worth mentioning that
Mr. Sourani contributed to the book with a section titled “Human Rights and the Right
to Self-Determination.”

Mr. Sourani was hosted by Middle East Studies Center at Georgetown University,
where he delivered a lecture. He delivered another lecture at the Jerusalem Fund
Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine, headed by Dr. Hisham Sharabi, in
cooperation with Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee.

During his visit to USA, Mr. Sourani met with Michael Jozner, Director of Human
Rights Lawyers Committee; Hanny Megally, Director of Middle East Monitoring
Department at Human Rights Watch; Steven Reskin, of the American Center for
Peace; Dr. Oscar Arias Sanchez, Chairman of the International Committee for
Disarmament and a holder of Nobel Prize; and with the editor-in-chief of the Journal
of Palestine Studies.

(4) Cooperation and Coordination with Other Regional and International

Organizations

During 2000, PCHR continued its efforts to improve its relations with regional and
international NGO’s concerned with human rights and well known for their support of
the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. PCHR sought improved relations with
these organizations as a means to support the human rights movement in Palestine and
to enhance the international efforts of PCHR to influence the positions of
governments and international public opinion. PCHR also worked with international
organizations to influence the concerned international bodies.

Since September 1998, PCHR has been affiliated with the International Commission
of Jurists located in Geneva. The Commission is an NGO and focuses its efforts on
enhancing and monitoring the rule of law, judicial independence, and legal protection
for human rights in the world. The Commission is considered the most important
international jurist body and includes a number of jurists in 59 branches all over the
world. Normally the Commission adopts the stance of its member organizations
regarding their respective governments.88

PCHR is a member of International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). The

Federation is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to the
worldwide defense of human rights as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights of 1948. Founded in 1922, FIDH has 89 national affiliates in all regions.

PCHR is also a member of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network

(EMHRN). It is a network of human rights organizations and individuals from the
Middle East, North Africa and the European Union, established in 1997. The overall
objective of the Network is to contribute to the protection of the human rights
principles embodied in the Barcelona Declaration of 1995.

An Inquiry Commission Established by Human Rights Organizations to

Investigate Crimes Committed by the Israeli Occupation Forces

In light of crimes and human rights violations perpetrated by the Israeli occupation
forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since the outbreak of clashes between
Palestinian civilians and these forces on September 29, 2000, PCHR and the
Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW)
called for the establishment of a commission of international human rights
organizations to investigate the violations. A commission of experts representing
three international bodies, the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) in
Paris, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) in Geneva, and the Euro-
Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) in Copenhagen, was established.89
The three organizations include approximately 250 human rights organizations around
the world. This commission did not constitute an alternative to an international
commission to investigate Israeli crimes called for by PCHR and other human rights
organizations. Nevertheless, it was part of international efforts to reveal realities of
Israeli crimes and, furthermore, it represents international civil society, because the

88
See pages 72-73 of this report on the mission of the ICJ to the Occupied Palestinian Territories to
observe the judiciary as well as the workshops it organized in co-operation with its local members,
PCHR, the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW) and
Al-Haq.
89
PCHR in Gaza and LAW in Jerusalem are members of the three international bodies.
constituent organizations represent approximately 250 human rights organizations
around the world.

The commission, which visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories from 4-
8 October, 2000, was comprised of four experts in the international humanitarian law.
They are: Iain Byrne, Researcher at the Human Rights Centre, University of Essex,
UK; Stefan August Lutgenau, Coordinator, Bruno Kreisky Foundation, Austria;
Hubért Prévot, President de la Coordination Sud, France, on behalf of the Euro-
Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) and the International Federation of
Human Rights (FIDH); and Per Erik Nilsson, former judge and Ombudsman on behalf
of the International Committee of Jurists, Sweden.

The members of the mission were mandated to evaluate the crisis and the parties’
handling of the situation in the light of international human rights standards, including
the provisions of the Barcelona Declaration in the field of human rights and the
Association Agreements. In carrying this out, they liaised closely with local EMHRN
and FIDH members, together with other human rights and humanitarian organizations
working throughout the affected areas of Northern Israel, East Jerusalem, the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The mission spoke to victims and families of people who died in violent clashes as
well as eye witnesses who were able to provide first hand information about particular
incidents. Site visits to places of conflict were also conducted.

The mission issued a report on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
and Israel, in which the Israeli occupation forces were held responsible for killing
dozens and injuring thousands of Palestinians. The report also asserted that the Israeli
occupation forces used excessive and indiscriminate force against Palestinian
civilians. The Israeli forces also employed lethal force, often targeting innocent
civilians and children. They also attacked and intimidated medical personnel. The
report also referred to the impunity and the lack of due process Israeli soldiers and
settlers enjoy before the Israeli judiciary when force is usedS against Palestinian
civilians.

(5) Meetings in Gaza with Politicians, Diplomats, UN Representatives, and Other

International NGOs

During 2000, PCHR received many visitors. These visitors included politicians,
United Nations representatives, and officials from international NGOs. During those
meetings, the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and
PCHR activities to improve it were discussed. Usually, PCHR encouraged its
international guests to do their best to influence the public opinion and policies of
their countries in support of Palestinian human rights and the legitimate rights of the
Palestinian people.
 The following is a list setting out the most important visitors to PCHR in 2000

Name of Visitor and Institution Date of Visit

Dr. Amin Mekki, the First Technical Advisor in the High January 4, 2000
Commissioner Office for Human Rights in Gaza.
Mr. Odd Einar Dorum, the Norwegian Minister of Justice; January 15, 2000
Mr. Sven Ole Fagernaes, Secretary General of the
Representative Office of Norway to the Palestinian National
Authority;
Mr. Grete Soereide Lauridsen, Political Advisor;
Mr. Geir O. Pedersen, Head of the Representative Office of
Norway to the Palestinian National Authority; and
Ms. Signe Marie Breivik, Project Advisor, the Representative
Office of Norway to the Palestinian National Authority.
S.Mr torgeir Larsen, Senior Executive Officer, Representative
Office Norway
Agneta Arekson, Head of the Middle East Desk in Norway; January 17, 2000
Reidan Roalds; and
Caroline Munkedue.
John Lister, First Secretary, the US Embassy in Tel Aviv January 17, 2000
Laila Bokhari, Temporary International Presence in Hebron
(TIPH);
Christophe Beney, International Committee for the Red Cross
in Gaza; and
Alexander Bovette, UNRWA.
Isabelle Avran, Bernard Ravenel, Joel Vincent and Dominique January 27, 2000
Vincent from Palestine-French Friendship; and
Representatives of CAW and CLC .
Pica Levy and Julie Connor, Director of Exchange Program in February 1, 2000
the US Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Walter Angst, lawyer from the Swiss Human Rights Group; February 3, 2000
and
Elinor Hammarskjold, the Swedish Consulate.
Richard Patcliffe, Consultant, Quaker Peace and Service, UK February 5, 2000
Romuald Follels, a volunteer at DRC. February 6, 2000
Jan Nijenhof, Vice-President of the Netherlands Court at February 8, 2000
Arnhem.
A delegation from Manonient Association, comprised of four February 12, 2000
persons and headed by Allan Weffar.
Waddah Hassan Hamdi, Representative of the US Committee February 13, 2000
for Refugee Affairs.
Torgeir Larson, Senior Executive Officer, the Representative February 22, 2000
Office of Norway to the Palestinian National Authority; and
Annie Jay, Field Coordinator, the West Bank, UNAIS.
‘Amer Zmali, Legal Advisor, Geneva; and February 23, 2000
Stephen Jakie, Director of ICRC in Gaza.
Marc Nordberg, Vice Consul, American Citizen Services, the February 24, 2000
US Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Arike Ackerman, PISR; and February 27, 2000
Georgio Giacomelli, the UN Special Rapporteur to the
Palestinian and Arab Occupied Territories.
Fron Hox, Head of the Israeli-German Friendship February 28, 2000
Torgeir Larsen and Gear Petersen, the Representative Office of February 29, 2000
Norway to the Palestinian National Authority.
Antonis Rigas, Head of Mission of Medecins Sans Frontieres March 1, 2000
(MSF), Greece Section.
Dr. Amin Mekki, the First Technical Advisor in the High March 7, 2000
Commissioner Office for Human Rights in Gaza.
Dutch Judge Jan Nijinhof, Vice President of the Netherlands March 8, 2000
Court at Arnhem; and
Jayd Davies, the British Consulate.
Ben Scott, Palestinian Affairs Officer, the Australian Embassy; March 21, 2000
Melissa Bray, the Australian Embassy, Cairo; and
Birgitta Tazelaar, Desk Officer of Development, the
Netherlands Representative Office to the Palestinian National
Authority in Ramallah.
Birgitta Tazelaar, Desk Officer of Development, the March 23, 2000
Netherlands Representative Office to the Palestinian National
Authority in Ramallah.
Thoger Berg Nielsen, Consultant, UNSCO; April 3, 2000
Svend Erik Holde, Swiss Consultant, Carp Bro International;
and
The German-Palestinian Commission of Jurists
Maureen Greenwood, Advocacy Director, North Africa, April 8, 2000
Middle East and Europe, Amnesty International;
Joanna Oyediran, Middle East Program, Amnesty
International; and
Patricia Frost, Gaza Baptist Society.
Matthias Trenel, Social Science Center, Berlin, Germany. April 11, 2000
Bruce Gregersen, the United Church, Canada, Middle East April 13, 2000
Working Group.
Sten Larsen, Police Officer, Danish Police; and April 19, 2000
Jesper Friedrechsen, Detective Superintendent, Danish Police.
Dalilah Ramadan and Ahmed Othmani, Penal Reform April 20, 2000
International, Paris.
Mr. Katsuyoshi Hayshi, the Japanese Ambassador. May 4, 2000
John Lister, First Secretary, the US Embassy in Tel Aviv; May 9, 2000
Andrew Parasiliti, Deputy, Middle East Initiative, Harvard
University; and
Sara Zuuler, Director, Project on Justice in Times of
Transition, Harvard University.
Jayd Davies, Vice Consul (Political), the British Consulate- May 24, 2000
General, Jerusalem.
Per Stadig, Swedish ICJ and Swedish Delegation. May 30, 2000
Karen Roxman, Swedish Consul in Jerusalem. June 1, 2000
Ahmed Arsalan, the Egyptian Ambassador to the Palestinian June 3, 2000
National Authority.
Hani Megally, Human Rights Watch, USA; June 10, 2000
Arne Malmgren, Lawyer, Statens Invandrarverk (the Swedish
Immigration Board);
Charlott Skarberg, Statens Invandrarverk (the Swedish
Immigration Board); and
Brigitta Elfstrom, Lawyer, Statens Invandrarverk (the Swedish
Immigration Board).
Anny Jay, UNAIS Institute June 12, 2000
A delegation of the Government and Parliament of Germany. June 13, 2000
Catherina Kipp, Consul General, the Swedish Consulate, June 19, 2000
Jerusalem;
Ingrid Santserg, the Swedish Consulate.
A delegation of Solidarity in Norway. June 25, 2000
Fateh Azzam, Ford Foundation. June 29, 2000
Bill Robert, the US Embassy in Tel Aviv. July 26, 2000
Francois Drefus, Director of CDCDSP. July 29, 2000
Bill Pierre, Director, Middle East Program; and August 7, 2000
Lillian Peters, International Affairs Representative, American
Service Committee – Quakers.
Scott Bolz, Creative Associate International. August 8, 2000
Jeremy Chivers, Field Cordinator, UNAIS, the West Bank and August 16, 2000
Gaza.
Brigetta Tazelaar, Desk Officer of Development, the August 17, 2000
Netherlands Representative Office to the Palestinian National
Authority, Ramallah; and
Mark Singleton, the Netherlands Representative Office to the
Palestinian National Authority, Ramallah.
Ahmed Banani, Professor of Political Science, Lausane August 25, 2000
University, Geneva.
Karen Koning Abu Zayed, Deputy of UNRWA’s High August 30, 2000
Commissioner; and
Sterzing Christian Boehme, Joern Kristen and Mans Henrich,
Beoll Foundation
Elinor Hammarskjold, the Swedish Consulate; August 31, 2000
Peter Selby and Michael Lawis, Bishop of Middleton, Church
of England; and
Brigetta Tazelaar, and Mark Singleton, the Netherlands
Representative Office to the Palestinian National Authority.
Marian Houk, Radio Producer, the United Nations Office of September 4, 2000
Geneva; and
Christina Storm, Lawyers without Borders.
Mr. Katsuyoshi Hayashi, Japanese Ambassador. September 14, 2000
Khaled Turaani, Executive Director, American Muslims for September 24, 2000
Jerusalem.
Dr. Amin Mekki, the First Technical Advisor in the High September 28, 2000
Commissioner Office for Human Rights in Gaza.
Karen Roxman, Representative of the European Commission October 10, 2000
Mr. Peter Bauct, Deputy of the Head of the Representative October 11, 2000
Office of Norway to the Palestinian National Authority.
Georgio Giacomelli, the UN Special Rapporteur to the October 13, 2000
Palestinian and Arab Occupied Territories.
Mr. Peter Bauct, Deputy of the Head of the Representative October 19, 2000
Office of Norway to the Palestinian National Authority.
Aurelie Neveu, a French lawyer. November 6, 2000
Ashraf Suleiman, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, South Africa; November 11, 2000
Bishara Shahin, the Representative Office of South Africa to
the Palestinian National Authority; and
Dr. Nancy Murray, American Civil Liberties Union – Boston
Coalition for Palestinian Rights.
Karen Roxman, Representative of the European Commission November 19, 2000
Dr. Amin Mekki, the First Technical Advisor in the High
Commissioner Office for Human Rights in Gaza.
Eddie Thomas, Child Rights Advisor, Save the Children, UK. November 26, 2000
Christine Enstad, the Representative Office of Norway to the November 27, 2000
Palestinian National Authority.
Dr. Amin Mekki, the First Technical Advisor in the High December 5, 2000
Commissioner Office for Human Rights in Gaza.
Edouard Salene, Program Officer, Enfants Refugies du Monde December 10, 2000
(ERM); and
Dr. Mireilli Szatan, Program Manager, Enfants Refugies du
Monde (ERM).
Hanlie Booysen, the Representative Office of South Africa to December 11, 2000
the Palestinian National Authority.
Mr. Per Stadig and Ms. Agneta Johansen, Swedish ICJ. December 16, 2000
Hashem Sarraj, Head of the Palestinian-Swiss Friendship; and December 18, 2000
Husni Saqqa, Secretary of the Palestinian-Swiss Friendship.
Edris Yazmi and Michelle Topianki, FIDH. December 19, 2000

(6) Receiving Visiting Delegations

The year 2000 witnessed a significant decline in the number of international

delegations to the Occupied Palestinian Territories who visited the PCHR office. It
seems that the political instability in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, especially
during the last quarter of the year, decreased the number of visiting international
delegations to the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In 2000, PCHR received 38
international delegations, totaling 674 persons, visiting the Occupied Palestinian
Territories, compared with 46 delegations of 800 persons last year.

PCHR presented to its visitors a comprehensive overview of the human rights

situation, particularly Israeli human rights violations against Palestinian civilians.
PCHR also encouraged them to work to influence the policies and public opinions of
their countries to support Palestinian human rights and the legitimate rights of the
Palestinian people. The following is a list of the delegations to PCHR in 2000.
 Date The Institution and Country Number of Coordinator
Participants
January 4 Students, Olaf College, 22 Council of
Northfield, MN, USA Churches
January 20 Lutheran Church of the 53 Lutheran Church of
Redeemer in Jerusalem the Redeemer
February 17 Swedish Free Churches Study 25 Council of
Association Churches
February 20 Kathe-Kollwitz-Gymnasium, 14 The PLC
Students Exchange Program
February 22 French Ecumenical Delegation 13 Cimade
February 24 Swedish Theological Center and 39 Council of
Swedish Churches Study Center Churches

February 29 Students of Theological School 30 PD Dr. Michael

From Europ Bongardt –
Thelogisches
Studienjahr,
Jerusalem
March 1 American University Students 24 Middle East
Studies Program
March 9 Presbyterian and United 9 Rev. Sandra
Methodise Justice & Peace Olewine, UM
Workers Ecumenical
Liaison
March 21 Lutheran Church in Cassel, 22 Council of
Germany Churches
March 25 Students from USA, Germany 20 Council of
and Ireland Churches
March 30 Palestinian 33 3 Ahmed Sourani
April 9 American students 16 Amideast
April 13 Church Group On Palestine 6 Council of
Churches
April 20 Students From University of 26 --
Copenhagen, Denmark
April 27 Swedish Christian Study Center 5 Council of
Churches
May 2 University of Kramfors, Sweden 15 Council of
Churches
May 4 Church of Scotland 50 Council of
Churches
May 9 A US delegation from 16 Al-Ahli hospital
Philadelphia
May 10 Students From Sundsgarden 26 Council of
Folkhogskolan for Livet, Churches
Sweden
May 13 A French delegation 14 Medical Relief
May 13 Concordia College, Canada 23 Council of
Churches
 May 17 Economic and Social Committee 7 European Union
Mission – European Union Jerusalem
May 17 American Church for Middle -- Council of
East Peace Churches
May 22 Catholic Relief Services, USCC 14 Council of
Churches
May 27 A student group from Chicago, 17 Hashem Abu Sidu
USA
June 12 Truman University 27 Council of
Churches
July 12 Youth for Development 10 Italian Association
Academy, Italy
July 15 Catholic Youth of Germany, 15 Council of
BDKJ Churches
July 20 Association Franco 10 Suliman Abu Ouda
Palestinienne d’Echange General
Culturel (AFPC) Coordinator-AFPC
August 8 Setem Institution, Spain 9 Mon’em ‘Edwan
August 27 Union of Norwegian 11 Amjad Shawa
Organizations for Palestine NGO
December 11 U.S. Ecumenical Delegation for 26 Council of
Peace Churches

(7) Interviews With Representatives of Local and International Media

During 2000, the director and the staff of PCHR continued to meet journalists and
representatives from local and international media. In addition, PCHR circulated its
press releases to hundreds of international, Arab, and Palestinian media institutions.
These institutions then report on what is published by PCHR. The following is a list
of journalists and media organizations met by PCHR in 2000.

The Names of Journalists and Media Organizations Date

Carmen Reinholz, Delegated Journalist, ICRC January 14, 2000
Ajial Radio Station February 20, 2000
Mary Abowd, Journalist, Palestine Report, San Francisco February 22, 2000
Examiner
Adnan Nejem, Nidal Al-Sha’b (the People’s Struggle) March 11, 2000
Christoph Reuter – Kay Hiedenhoefer, Reporter, GEO – April 1, 2000
Magazine
Nichola Khori, Bethlehem 2000 Radio Station April 19, 2000
Tim Palmer, ABC News April 28, 2000
Bethlehem 2000 Radio Station May 11, 2000
Nofouz Al-Bakri, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida Newspaper June 22, 2000
Lee Hockstader, Director, Washington Post Newspaper July 2, 2000
Sam Kily, Middle East Bureau Chief, The Times July 5, 2000
Philip Reeves, Jerusalem Correspondent, The Independent July 5, 2000
E’tidal Qanita, Al-Resala Newspaper July 5, 2000
Schwartzbrod, Journalist, Liberation Newspaper July 8, 2000
Mark Matthews, Middle East Correspondent, Baltimore Sun. July 19, 2000
Deborah Horan, Correspondent; and Shanon Abbady, July 19, 2000
Photographer, Houston Chronicle
Jenifer Ludden, Journalist, National Public Radio July 20, 2000
Mathew McAllester, Middle East Correspondent, Newsday July 20, 2000
Stephane Bussard, Journalist, Le Temps July 29, 2000
Rula Amin, Christian Streib, Tom Fenton and Maher Ali, CNN August 1, 2000
Anne Mergier, Journalist, Troces Mexico Weekly Mgazine 2 August 3, 2000
A journalist of BBC August 6, 2000
Elizabeth Farnsworth, Producer of program “The News Hour,” August 12, 2000
with Joanne Elgart and Jim Lehrer, PBC 4
Hugh Dellios, Middle East Correspondent, Chicago Tribune 2 August 26, 2000
Vincent Hugeuy, Reporter, L’Express 3 August 30, 2000
BBC World Vision September 5, 2000
Marc De Chaluron, Header Journalist, France 2 September 16, 2000
Slowakewicz, Journalist, Gazeta Wyborcza September 20, 2000
Luis De Vega, Photographer, ABC Newspaper, Spain September 24, 2000
Sharif Abdu, Sawt Al-Arab (the Arab Voice) October 1, 2000
Tages Anzeiger, Swiss Daily Astrid October 2, 2000
MBC, London October 3, 2000
Abu Dhabi Television October 3, 2000
Palestine Satellite Channel October 7, 2000
Francois Diolier, Reporter, Liberation 2 October 14, 2000
An interview with CNN at Ramtan October 15, 2000
A journalist of the Financial Times October 16, 2000
BBC Television October 17, 2000
Keith Richburg, Foreign Correspondent, The Washington Post October 18, 2000
Alain Menargues and Nieles Machier, Radio France 3 October 19, 2000
George Lindaik, Journalist, a Dutch newspaper October 23, 2000
Michael Gavshon, Producer, 60 Minutes, CBS News October 24, 2000
Stephen Franklin, Correspondent, the Chicago Tribune October 26, 2000
Didier Francois, Liberation October 26, 2000
Christine Hauser, Reuters Correspondent November 6, 2000
Palestine Radio Station
An interview with Elham Mane’, Swiss Radio November 14, 2000
Maria Fialho – Sus Van Elzen, Journalist, Knack November 14, 2000
Christian Chesnot, Journalist, Middle East Correspondent, RFI November 14, 2000
– Le Point, La Tribune de Genuine
Najah Awadh and Nabila Mabrouk, Palestine Television November 18, 2000
Suzanne Goldenberg, Middle East Correspondent, The November 20, 2000
Guardian and The Observer
Sandro Contenta, Journalist, Toronto Star November 20, 2000
Al-Manar Radio Station November 22, 2000
Mohammad Bazze, Staff Writer, Newsday, New York City November 23, 2000
Mohammed Abu Sharekh, Al-Resala newspaper November 27, 2000
Shams Al-Wazir, Palestine Television November 28, 2000
Catherine Hours, Journalist, AFP November 29, 2000
Jane Hutcheon, Correspondent, Australian Broadcasting November 30, 2000
Corporation
Betsy Hiel, Journalist, Pittsburgh Tribune – Review November 30, 2000
Artur K. Vogel, Correspondent, Fact Magazine November 30, 2000
Inge Gunther, Correspondent, FransFurter Rundschar, Berliner November 30, 2000
Zeitung
Are Hovdenak, Journalist, Norwegian Weekly December 3, 2000
Attila Peter Naoy, Reporter, Tu 2, Hungary 2 December 4, 2000
Alan Chin, Photographer; December 6, 2000
Deborah Sontag, Bureau Chief, the New York Times
Arnold Kanshens, Journalist, Niewe Revu, Netherlands December 13, 2000
Mike Donkin, Correspondent, BBC Radio, London December 16, 2000
Gilles Paris, Journalist, Le Monde December 17, 2000
Victor Kocher, Correspondent, NZZ Newspaper December 20, 2000
 PART 5

PARTICIPATION IN TRAINING
SESSIONS TO UPGRADE PCHR
STAFF’S EXPERTISE
As part of its ongoing efforts in staff development, during 2000, PCHR sent a number
of its staff from different units to participate in local, regional, and international
training sessions.

May 17, 2000, Muna Shawa, Coordinator of the Women’s Rights Unit, and Bassam
El-Aqra’, a field officer at the Fieldwork Unit, participated in the first stage of a
training session titled “Training Trainers of Human Rights,” organized by the Arab
Institute for Human Rights in Jordan. The session, in which 20 trainees participated,
discussed several issues relevant to human rights and training of human rights, such
as: political and civil rights, economic, social and cultural rights, mechanisms of
human rights protection, an introduction to training, preparation for effective training
and other relevant subjects.

June 28 – July 11, 2000, Hanan Mattar, a lawyer in the Women’s Rights Unit,
participated in Anabtawi training session on human rights, organized by the Arab
Institute for Human Rights in Tunisia. The session discussed several subjects related
to human rights, including the historical and philosophical background of human
rights, international mechanisms for human rights protection, the Covention on the
Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, and other subjects.

July 4 – 21, 2000, Bassam El-Aqra’, a field officer at the Fieldwork Unit, participated
in the seventh training session organized by Cairo Center for Human Rights Studies in
Egypt. The session, in which more than 70 trainees from Arab countries participated,
was convened in order to: provide a balanced view of the historical and philosophical
background of human rights, learn the basic dimensions of human rights and
international humanitarian law, create an accumulation of knowledge of the values
and concepts of human rights in the field of social science and humanities.

July 3 – 28, 2000, Tariq Hanafi, a researcher of the Democratic Development Unit,
participated in the 31st training session on human rights, organized by the
International Institute for Human Rights and held in Strasbourg in France. More than
350 trainees from around the world participated in the training session.

July 17 – 23, 2000, Samir Hassania, a lawyer at the Women’s Rights Unit,
participated in a workshop on the child’s rights organized by Peace and Justice
Program – the Council of Middle East Churches, in Cyprus. The workshop, in which
more than 25 persons from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Palestine participated,
discussed several subjects, including the adoption of economic and social rights, the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, human rights and sustained development,
street children, and other subjects.

August 22 – 27, 2000, Muna Shawa, Coordinator of the Women’s Rights Unit, and
Ibtissam Zaqout, Coordinator of the Fieldwork Unit, participated in a training session
titled “The Law between Interpretation and Reading in Personal Affairs,” organized
by Mashreqiat institution in Gaza. The session, which targeted members of NGO’s,
discussed issues relevant to the Law of Personal Affairs, such as alimony, marriage,
divorce, etc.
September 8 – 21, 2000, Bassam El-Aqra’, a field officer in the Fieldwork Unit,
participated in the second stage of a training session on training trainers of human
rights, organized by the Arab Institute for Human Rights in Tunisia, in which 18
participants from different Arab countries participated. The session discussed issues
of human rights, such as the Covention on the Rights of the Child and the Covention
against All Form of Discrimination against Women. At the conclusion of the session,
participants were awarded certificates as trainers of human rights.
 PART 6

ASSESSMENT OF PCHR’S
ANNUAL PLAN 2000
In 2000, PCHR continued its efforts to: protect and respect human rights according to
internationally accepted human rights standards; work to develop a democratic
political system based on the principles of the rule of law and institutionalization; and
establish an effective civil society; and promote democratic culture in Palestinian
society. In 2000, like past years, these goals were a guide for PCHR in its activities
and programs. However, this was undertaken with full awareness of the objective
conditions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories which sometimes necessitate
program adaptation in order to account for anticipated events and changes. The most
important amongst these conditions is the Israeli occupation, in both physical and
legal aspects. This occupation is still the foremost challenge and the basic obstacle to
respect for human rights and the development of a Palestinian democratic political
system based on the rule of law.

The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreements impose challenging conditions on the

human rights movement in Palestine. Human rights organizations had to rearrange
their priorities and plan strategies to adapt to a new reality, confronting unfamiliar
legal complexities and extremely unique human rights work conditions. Palestinian
human rights organizations had to be creative in planning their new strategies and
work programs under a lack of comparative international experience to draw upon in
their work on the unique Palestinian case. From the beginning, PCHR believed it was
inevitable to work on two separated agendas:

1) Israeli occupation agenda and the violations of international humanitarian law

and internationally accepted human rights standards; and
2) Palestinian National Authority agenda and its responsibility for violations of
internationally accepted human rights standards and the Palestinian law.

PCHR worked on the two agendas, with full knowledge that the Israeli-Palestinian
Interim Agreements did not pay much attention to respect for human rights. PCHR
had continually warned against sacrificing human rights for the sake of peace and
security. PCHR also asserted that any final settlement that did not respect Palestinian
human rights would not be a lasting one in which peace and security were achieved in
the long term.

In response to objective changes on the political level in past years, PCHR had to
adapt its programs in order to meet any emerging developments while simultaneously
working strenuously to fully implement its annual plans. Given political uncertainty
and the situation in the region, PCHR was not fully able to commit to its annual plans.
Instead, the implementation of these plans differed from year to year, and changes
were made. Sometimes planned activities were replaced with more needed new ones.
These changes occurred based upon extensive examination and rational decision-
making within PCHR on the programmatic and administrative levels. PCHR is
completely convinced that flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing
circumstances is one of the reasons for PCHR’s success—without this flexibility
PCHR would lose touch with the surrounding environment.

Dramatic changes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in 2000 prove more than
ever the importance of flexibility. This was especially the case during the last quarter
of the year in which there was a rapid and unprecedented escalation in Israeli human
rights violations, including killings and war crimes against Palestinian civilians.
PCHR’s annual plan for 2000 was profoundly affected by these developments and the
preceding political crisis which resulted deadlocked Palestinian – Israeli talks,
leaving the interim period open. PCHR had to cancel some planned activities and
incorporate new ones that were not included in its annual plan. Through a review of
PCHR’s 2000 annual plan and the activities and accomplishments of its units, the
following can be concluded:

1) There are units that were not affected by political changes and carried out their
activities as planned, such as the Women’s Rights Unit.

2) There are units, such as the Training Unit, that were directly affected by
incidents of the last quarter of 2000, cancelled their planned activities and
joined activities carried out by other units.

3) There are units that carried out most of its planned activities with little change
during the first nine months of 2000, but new activities were added to their
programs during the last quarter of 2000 – the Legal Unit, the Democracy
Development Unit, the Economic and Social Rights Unit and the Fieldwork
Unit.

Following is a detailed review of each unit’s achievements during 2000 compared to

the annual plan:

1. The Training Unit

1) Training Courses on Democracy and Human Rights:

It was planned that 20 training courses would be conducted targeting approximately

500 persons of various segments of the society, such as members of NGO’s, human
rights activists, university students, journalists, women’s institutions, and others.
During the first nine months of 2000, 11 training courses were conducted, while all
training activities were cancelled during the last quarter of the year due to the
outbreak of clashes between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces on
September 29, 2000.

2) An Advanced Training Course for Graduates of PCHR’s Previous

Courses

It was decided that this course would be organized during the last quarter of 2000. A
number of Arab and Palestinian experts were supposed to have been invited to train
20-25 persons who had previously received training at PCHR. The Training Unit
started its preparation for the course, but it was not conducted due to the outbreak of
clashes.

3) Workshops

The Rule of Law and the Independence of the Judiciary

PCHR decided to develop the idea to be a larger workshop organized in co-operation
the Center for the Independence of the Judiciary, the International Commission of
Jurists in Geneva.90

The Right to Free Expression

It was organized in co-operation with the Democratic Development Unit.

The coordinator of the Training Unit also participated in three workshops on the right
to development and the right to health held in Khan Yunis and Gaza.91

4) An Assembly for Graduates of PCHR’s Courses

The unit made necessary contacts with dozens of trainees to develop the idea. It
received positive feedback and extremely constructive suggestions for the
establishment of the body. The idea is now being developed and PCHR is in contact
with graduates of its courses. Some of them assisted in information gathering and
informing PCHR’s field officers of human rights violations, especially during the last
quarter of 2000. PCHR hopes to enhance this assembly and hold regular meetings of
its members.

2. The Legal Aid Unit

1) Legal Aid and Consultation

Lawyers of the Legal Aid Unit received hundreds of Palestinians, victims of human
rights violations on both the Israeli and Palestinian agendas. Efforts by the unit were
not limited to providing legal consultation, but the unit also intervened with relevant
parties, including courts. During the last quarter of 2000, the unit doubled its efforts
in order to adapt to the escalation in Israeli human rights violations. Lawyers received
hundreds of Palestinians in its headquarters in Gaza and its branches in Khan Yunis
and Jabalya. These cases primarily involved land leveling, house demolition and
attacks on private property by the Israeli occupation forces.

2) Legal Documentation

The unit prepared dozens of files on human rights violations on both the Israeli and
Palestinian agendas. It also collected affidavits and legal documents on the horrible
massacre committed by the Israeli occupation forces in Khan Yunis in 1956. This
activity was not in the annual plan for the unit for 2000.

3) Studies and Reports

The unit was not able to prepare studies that were included in its 2000 annual plan,
due to the lack of a legal researcher in the unit. For the same reason, it was also not
possible to issue legal awareness raising booklets.
90
For more details see activities of the Legal Aid Unit below.
91
For more information on these workshops, see page 102-104 of this report.
 4) Seminars and Workshops

Two workshops on the Palestinian Basic Law and criminal procedures were supposed
to be organized, but PCHR decided to give priority to an international workshop on
the independence of the judiciary, organized by the Center for the Independence of
the Judiciary in the Internal Commission of Jurists. The Legal Aid Unit prepared for
the workshop in Gaza.92 Priority was given to joint activities with the Palestinian
Ministry of Social Affairs and a number of institutions in solidarity with Palestinian
prisoners. Pririty was given to developments regarding the Palestinian Bar
Association and its unanticipated decision to remove names of lawyers of PCHR and
other human rights organizations from the roll of practicing lawyers.93 Consequently,
the two planned workshops were postponed to October and November respectively.
However, they were not held because of the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada.

5) The Expert Meeting on the Legal Status of Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli

Jails

The Legal Aid Unit organized this meeting on April 18 and 19, 2000. Although it
was not included in its annual plan, PCHR deemed it extremely important to conduct
this meeting to increase the effectiveness of efforts to release Palestinian prisoners in
Israeli jails.

3. The Economic and Social Rights Unit

1) Studies

A study on infrastructure projects in the Gaza Strip, issued in 2000.

A study on the handicapped in the Gaza Strip, issued in 2000.

2) A Series of Reports on the Total Closure Imposed by Israel on the Gaza

Strip (Closure Update)

The Economic and Social Rights Unit devoted a considerable amount of time and
effort during the last quarter of 2000 to issuing the “Closure Update,” a series of
reports that PCHR had issued in previous years. These reports were not included in
the unit’s annual plan for 2000, because it was not expected that the situation in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories would deteriorate and the Israeli policy of closure
would be resumed. The unit resumed issuing these reports upon the outbreak of Al-
Aqsa Intifada.

3) Other Reports

A report on the higher education in the Gaza Strip: a draft report was prepared,
but it has been not approved by PCHR’s Program Committee yet.

92
For more details about this workshop, see page 73 of this report.
93
See details about this subject on pages 78-80.
 A report on the right to development: a draft of the report was prepared, but it
has not been approved yet by PCHR’s Program Committee yet.
A report on the right of safety and security at work places: it was not prepared,
since priority has been given to Closure Updates.
A report on housing projects and multi-story buildings (towers) in the Gaza
Strip and the right to residence: a preliminary study was prepared, but it has not
been approved by PCHR’s Program Committee.
A report on poverty and an assistance program for poor families: work on the
report started, but has ceased since priority was given to other subjects.

4) Booklets on Awareness of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

All draft booklets were prepared, but they have not been approved by PCHR’s
Program Committee.

5) Workshops

The unit’s staff participated in several workshops relevant to economic, social and
cultural rights.

4. The Democratic Development Unit

1) Studies and Reports

A study on the right to free expression and peaceful assembly under the
Palestinian National Authority from January 1999 to May 2000: it was issued by
PCHR in 2000.
A study on the Palestinian Legislative Council’s performance from March 1999
to March 2000: it was issued by PCHR in 2000.
Translation of two previous studies on the Palestinian Legislative Council and
the right to free expression from English into Arabic: the two studies were issued
in English in 2000.
A report on Israeli violations on “Yellow Areas” in the Gaza Strip: it was
cancelled due large-scaled Israeli violations throughout the Gaza Strip, as the unit
devoted its efforts to prepare other relevant reports (see below).
An update of a study on Israeli settlement activities in the Gaza Strip, issued by
PCHR in 1996: it was translated into Arabic and was updated to cover Israeli
settlement activities up to 1999, but it has not been approved by PCHR’s Program
Committee yet.
Editing and preparation of a book on a workshop organized by PCHR in co-
operation with the International Commission of Jurists in 2000: this activity was
not included in the unit’s annual plan for 2000.
Periodical reports on land leveling and house and civilian facility demolition in
the Gaza Strip: this activity was not included in the unit’s annual plan for 2000.
A series of reports titled “Silencing the Press” about attacks by the Israeli
occupation forces against journalists during Al-Aqsa Intifada: this activity was not
included in the unit’s annual plan for 2000.
A report on Israeli violations of human rights in the OPT during the first month
of the Al-Aqsa Intifada: a draft report was prepared, but PCHR’s Program
Committee postponed its publication because the Al-Aqsa Intifada continued and
 there was a need to prepare a report to cover a longer period. This activity was
not included in the unit’s annual plan for 2000.

2) Press Releases

The unit prepared the majority of dozens of daily reports and press releases issued by
PCHR.

3) Workshops

A number of workshops on the Palestinian Legislative Council, election of local

councils and free expression were expected to be organized in 2000. However, only a
workshop on free expression was organized because it was not possible to raise the
subject of local council elections and the political situation in the OPT, without
highlighting this important issue. Nevertheless, the unit organized a number of
activities and meetings that were not included in its annual plan for 2000, such as
activities regarding the police order issued by the Palestinian Chief of Police on public
meetings.94 In addition, the unit’s staff participated in a number of workshops and
activities organized by other institutions.95

4) Visiting Delegations Reception

The unit’s staff participated in the reception of visiting international delegations

during 2000 and briefed them on the human rights situation in the OPT.

5) Al-Mentar – PCHR’s Newsletter

The Unit started to issue this newsletter during the last quarter of 2000. This activity
was not included in the unit’s annual plan for 2000. This newsletter is a means of
communication between PCHR and the local community. Its role is not limited to
covering PCHR’s activities; it also seeks to raise awareness of human rights.

5. The Women’s Rights Unit

1) The Legal Aid Program

From January 1 to December 31, 2000, the unit received 133 Sharia’ cases, provided
36 Sharia’ consultations and its lawyers pursued 29 women’s cases before civil
courts. Thus, the total number of cases received by the unit was 198.96

2) The Legal Awareness Program

During 2000, this program of the unit coordinated with governmental institutions,
such as the Ministry of Information and Ministry of Youth and Sports, as well as

94
For more details about this subject see pages 85-89 of this report.
95
See pages 102-104 of this report.
96
See page 92 of this report.
some women’s institutions. The unit organized 17 meetings that sought to increase
legal awareness on the Law of Personal Status and laws on children, in which 514
women throughout the Gaza Strip participated.97

3) Research and Studies

The unit prepared a booklet on women in the Sharia’ Courts as a part of a women’s
legal guide series, but it has not been approved by PCHR’s Program Committee yet.
The unit also prepared a study on Palestinian children killed by the Israeli occupation
forces, but it has not been approved by PCHR’s Program Committee yet.

4) Workshops

On February 19, 2000, the unit organized a workshop in PCHR’s branch in Khan
Yunis on co-operation and co-ordination between the unit, especially the legal aid and
awareness programs, and women’s centers and institutions in Khan Yunis. On
August 17, 2000, the unit, in co-ordination with PCHR’s Training Unit and in
partnership with the Woman Struggle Block in Khan Yunis, organized a workshop on
women, violence and development.

5) Interventions with Formal Institutions

During 2000, the unit intervened with women with formal institutions, mainly the
Attorney General, Ministry of Social Affairs and the Sharia’ Courts.

6) Relations with Women’s Institutions

The unit is the means of communication between PCHR and Palestinian Women’s
institutions. During 2000, the unit contributed to activities, meetings and committees
with women’s institutions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

6. The Fieldwork Unit

This unit is the basis of information in PCHR. Its staff collects precise information
about violations of Palestinian human rights by both the Israeli occupation forces and
the Palestinian security services. During 2000, the unit carried out this role perfectly,
despite heavy pressure on its filed officers in light of the unprecedented escalation of
Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights since September 2000. Despite
dangerous work conditions, field officers worked hard to cover daily incidents and
provided PCHR with complete and precise information on Israeli violations of
Palestinian human rights. The unit then classified the collected information and
prepared detailed files and tables which are used by PCHR in its reports, studies and
other activities.

In addition, the unit’s field officers played an important role in briefing visiting
international delegations, inquiry commissions, representatives of international human

97
For more details about these meetings, see page 92-93 of this report.
rights organizations, and foreign reporters and journalists on Israeli violations of
Palestinian human rights as well as accompanied them on field tours.
 ANNEXES
Annex (1): A List of Palestinians killed in Al-Aqsa Intifada from
September 29 to December 31, 2000

No. Name Age Place of Date of Notes

Residence Death
1. Ossama Mohammed Jeddah 23 Jerusalem 29/9/00 A explosive bullet in
chest – the Holy
Sanctuary (Al-Haram
Al-Sharif)
2. Yahya Hassan Faraj 34 Beit 29/9/00 A bullet in the neck
Safafa
3. Bilal Ali A’fana 26 Abu Deis 29/9/00 A bullet in the chest
4. Haitham Oweida Skafi 45 Jerusalem 29/9/00 A bullet in the chest
5. Nizar Ibrahim Shobaki 18 Silwan 29/9/00 A bullet in the head
near the ear
6. Mohammed Jamal El-Durreh 12 Al-Boreij 30/9/00 Several bullets in the
neck and abdomen –
Netzarim
7. Mohammed Mohammed El- 25 Gaza 30/9/00 A bullet in the head-
Otaleh Netzarim -a member
of the Palestinian
National Security
Forces
8. Bassam Fayez El-Bilbaisi 48 Gaza 30/9/00 A bullet in the chest-
an ambulance driver
carrying out his
duties- Netzarim
9. Maher Rajab Obeid 23 Jabalya 30/9/00 Three bullets in the
back – Netzarim
10. Khaled El-Bathyan 16 Nablus 30/9/00 A bullet in the head
11. Nizar Mahmoud E’ideh 16 Ra mallah 30/9/00 A bullet in the chest -
a cut in aorta
12. Zakrya Ersan El-Kilani 22 Nablus 30/9/00 A bullet in the chest
13. Mohammed Tawfiq El-Qalaq 23 Tulkarm 30/9/00 A medical reliever of
the Palestinian Marine
Police-a bullet in the
chest
14. Amjad Abdullah Dharaghmeh 22 Tubas 30/9/00 A health relief man of
the Palestinian Marine
Police-a bullet in the
chest
15. Mahamoud Hani Anbara 24 Jordan 30/9/00 A bullet in the head
16. Eyad Mahmoud El-Khashashi 22 Nablus 30/9/00 A bullet in the heart
on 30/9 inside a
building (his body was
discovered on the
following day)
17. Jihad Mahmoud El-A’loul 18 Nablus 1/10/00 A bullet in the head on
30/9
18. Sami Fathi El-Taramsi 19 Al-Shati/ 1/10/00 A explosive bullet in
Gaza the abdomen -
Netzarim
19. Mustafa Hilmi Ramadan 26 Tel/ 1/10/00 A bullet in the chest
Nablus
20. Hussam Na’im Nadjib 18 Balata/ 1/10/00 A bullet in the head
Nablus
21. Samer Sameer Tabanjah 12 Nablus 1/10/00 Shot by a heavy
machine gun from a
helicopter
22. Salah Ibrahim El-Faqih 25 Ramallah 1/10/00 A bullet in chest -a
member of the
Palestinian National
Security Forces
23. Mohammed Nabil Dawood 14 Ramallah 1/10/00 A bullet in the head
24. Emad Abdel El-Rahman Anati 29 El- 1/10/00 A bullet in the head-a
Ama’ri/ member of the
Ramallah Palestinian National
Security Forces
25. Sara Abdel Azeem Hassan 1.5 Nablus 1/10/00 A bullet in the head
shot by a settler
26. Mohammed Ahmed Jabarin 20 Um El- 1/10/00 A bullet in the chest
Fahem
27. Ahmed Ibrahim Siam 23 Ma’awia 2/10/00 A bullet in the head on
1/10
28. Rami Hatem Gharra 22 Jet / The 2/10/00 A bullet in the left eye
Triangle
29. Hatem Abdel Azziz El-Najjar 22 Khan 2/10/00 A bullet in the head -a
Yunis member of the
Palestinian Liaison
Forces – Jericho
30. Mahmoud Ghazi El-Nabeeh 29 Gaza 2/10/00 A bullet in the chest
31. Salah Abdullah Abu Qeinas 23 Gaza 2/10/00 A bullet in the heart
32. Ibrahim Samih Barahma 27 Jordan 2/10/00 A bullet in the head –
clashes in Jericho
33. Mohammed Amin Sajdi 17 Jericho 2/10/00 A bullet in the
abdomen
34. Wae’l Tayseer El-Qattawi 14 Nablus 2/10/00 A bullet in the head
35. Ahmed Sami Fayadh 21 Gaza 2/10/00 A bullet in the head-a
member of the
Palestinian National
Security Forces -
Ramallah
36. Emad Faraj Ghanayem 25 Sakhnin 2/10/00 A bullet in the head
37. Waleed Abdel Mone’m Abu 21 Sakhnin 2/10/00 A bullet in the heart
Saleh
38. Alla’ Khaled Nassar 22 Arrabeh 2/10/00 A bullet in the right
eye
39. Asseel Hassan A’asleh 18 Arrabeh 2/10/00 A bullet in the neck
40. Eyad Sobhi Lawabneh 20 Nazareth 2/10/00 A bullet in the heart
41. Musleh Hussein Abu Jarad 19 Deir 2/10/00 Two bullets in the
El-Balah chest-Um El-Fahem
clashes
42. Fahmi Fuad Abu Ammouneh 28 Nusseirat 3/10/00 A shell in the head -
Netzarim area
43. Khadhra Ahmed Abu Salameh 57 Jenin 3/10/00 Inhaling tear gas at the
Holy Sanctuary (Al-
Harm Al-Sharif) - 29/9
44. O’mar Mohammed Abdullah 31 Jabalya 3/10/00 A bullet of a heavy
Suleiman machine gun in the
head shot by a
helicopter at Netzarim
area
45. Ammar Khalil El-Refae’I 17 Al- 3/10/00 A bullet in the head at
Maghazi Netzarim area
46. Mohammed Yunis El- 21 Halhoul/ 3/10/00 A bullet in the head on
Zamae’reh Hebron 30/9
47. Ismail Shehda Shamallakh 21 Gaza 3/10/00 A bullet in the chest -
Ramallah
48. Hussam Ismail El-Hamshari 16 Tulkarm 3/10/00 A bullet in the head on
1/10
49. Ahmed Ali El-Nabris 21 Nablus 3/10/00 A bullet in the chest
50. Ramez Abbas Boshnaq 25 Kufor 3/10/00 Two bullets in the
Manda head
51. Sharif Faraj A’ashoor 18 Gaza 3/10/00 A bullet in the head –
Netzarim
52. Mohammed Fawzi Srouji 21 Sawahra 4/10/00 a bullet in the chest-
armed confrontation
53. Mahmoud El-Emwasi 21 Beitonia 4/10/00 a bullet in the chest-
armed confrontation
54. Mohammed Yousef Abu A’asi 9 Bani 4/10/00 A bullet in the back
Suheila
55. Alla’ Hassan Barghouthi 24 A’boud 4/10/00 A bullet in the chest
56. Ayman Akram El-Louh 22 Gaza 4/10/00 A bullet in the chest
57. Muhannad Wadei’ Fares 24 Deir 4/10/00 A bullet in the chest- a
El- member of the
Ghosoun Palestinian Special
Security Forces
58. Mahmoud Lutfi Masad 24 Borqien / 4/10/00 A bullet of a heavy
Jenin machine gun in the
head -a member of the
Palestinian security
forces
59. Mohammed Ghaleb 20 Kufor 4/10/00 A bullet in the chest
Khamayseh Manda on 3/10
60. Arafat Mahmoud El-Atrash 18 Hebron 4/10/00 A bullet in the chest –
shot by Israeli special
forces at Area “A”

61. Mahmoud Saleh Esbeita 26 Gaza 5/10/00 A bullet in the chest

62. Salama Saleh Ziadat 20 Jericho 5/10/00 A bullet in the right
kidney on 2/10
63. Mustafa Mahmoud El-Fararja 21 Bethlehem 5/10/00 A bullet in the chest -a
member of the
Palestinian National
Security Forces
64. Loai Abdullah Al-Moqayad 19 Jabalya 6/10/00 A bullet in the head
65. Eyad Abdel Halim Eshtayeh 23 Salem/ 6/10/00 A bullet in the back
Nablus
66. Dhia’ Abdel Rahman Essa 19 Salem/ 6/10/00 A bullet in the chest
Nablus
67. Mohammed Khaled Tammam 21 Tulkarm 6/10/00 A bullet in the chest
68. Marwan Abdel Razeq 23 Gaza 6/10/00 A bullet in the heart
Shamallakh
69. Saleh Essa Al-Riati 20 Rafah 6/10/00 A bullet in the head on
2/10
70. Majdi Sameer Maslamani 15 Jerusalem 6/10/00 A bullet in the head
71. Wajed Mousa Abu Awwad 21 Bani 6/10/00 A bullet in the
Suheila abdomen
72. Zuhair Rezeq Darabeih 24 Jabalya 6/10/00 A bullet in the head
73. Rashad Ismail El-Najjar 22 Al- 6/10/00 A bullet in the head
Maghazi
74. Mohammed Khaled Awadh 23 Deir El- 7/10/00 Bullets in both
Hatab/ kidneys on 6/10
Nablus
75. Hesham Ahmed Meqbel 45 Gaza 7/10/00 A bullet in the
abdomen
76. Fahed Fahmi Baker 22 Bedia/ 7/10/00 A bullet in the head by
Nablus a settler
77. Yousef Thiab Khalaf 18 Al-Boreij 7/10/00 A bullet in the head on
2/10
78. Abedel Hmid Taye’ Zeq 18 Al-Mazra’ 8/10/00 A bullet in the head on
Al- 4/10
Sharqia/
Ramallah
79. O’mar Mohammed Akkawi 42 Nazareth 8/10/00 A bullet in the neck
80. Wassim Hamdan Yazbek 26 Nazareth 8/10/00 A bullet in the chest
81. Ali Sayel Sweidan 25 Azzoun/ 8/10/00 A bullet in the head by
Qalqilya a settler – his body
was found on 9/10
82. Essam Joudeh Hamad 36 Um Safa/ 8/10/00 Killed and mutilated
Ramallah with sharp tools near
Halmish settlement
83. Sami Hassan Salama 17 Tulkarm 11/10/00 A bullet in the right
flank which settled in
the heart
84. Karam O’mar Qannan 19 Khan 11/10/00 A bullet in the chest
Yunis
85. Mohammed Ghassan Bouzia 39 Kufl 11/10/00 Killed by a settler
Hares/
Salfit
86. Maher Mohammed Motleq 22 Jamai’en/ 11/10/00 Bullets in the
Salfit abdomen and leg
87. Sami Fathi Abu Jazar 12 Rafah 12/10/00 A bullet in the head on
10/10
88. Khalil Laurence Bader 25 Beit 12/10/00 In an armed
Deqqo/ confrontation near
Ramallah Betonia- a member of
Force 17
89. Mansour Taha Said Ahmed 21 Hebron 13/10/00 A bullet in the
abdomen
90. Shadi Mohammed El-Wadi 21 Hebron 13/10/00 Bullets in the head and
the chest
91. Raed Yaaqoub Hammodeh 30 Al-Bireh 15/10/00 A bullet in the head on
12/10
92. Mosbah Abdulqader Abu 29 Beit Lahia 16/10/00 A bullet in the head -a
Etayyeq member of the
Palestinian National
Security Forces
93. Mo’ayyad Usama Al-Jawarish 13 Bethlehem 16/10/00 A bullet in the head
94. Farid Mousa Eissa Nsasra 28 Beit 17/10/00 A bullet in the
Fourik/ abdomen by a settler
Nablus
95. Nabil Sae’d Khater 42 Gaza 17/10/00 A bullet in the chest
96. Mohammed Hussein El- 26 Nablus 17/10/00 A bullet in the neck on
Dakhil 2/10
97. Ibrahim Abdel Rahman El- 25 Beit 18/10/00 A bullet in the head
A’lama Ommar/ fired by a settler on
Hebron 12/10
98. Zahi Fathi El-A’arda 34 Nablus 19/10/00 A bullet in the
abdomen fired by
Jewish settlers
99. A’dnan Khairi Asa’d 21 Nablus 20/10/00 A bullet in the head
100. Eissa Abdullah Shteiwi 32 Balata/ 20/10/00 A medium caliber
Nablus bullet in the heart
101. Amjad Ahmed Abu Eissa 32 Kufor 20/10/00 A bullet in the chest
Qallil
102. Feras Khalil Zeid 26 Nablus 20/10/00 A medium caliber
bullet in the chest
103. Alla’ Bassan Abdullah 15 Salfit 20/10/00 A bullet in the head
104. Thae’r Ali Daud Moa’lla (Al- 19 Al- 20/10/00 A bullet in the head
Malhi) Ama’ri/
Ramallah
105. Mohammed A’adel Abu 16 Tulkarm 20/10/00 Two bullets in the
Tahoun neck and chest
106. Samer Talal Al-Oweisi 16 Qalqilya 20/10/00 A bullet in the chest
107. Nidal Hammouda Al-Ashqar 22 Jenin 20/10/00 A bullet in the chest
108. Omar Ismail Al-Boheisi 16 Deir El- 21/10/00 A bullet in the heart
Balah
109. Fayez Mohammed Al- 30 Hebron 21/10/00 A explosive bullet in
Qeimari the head fired by a
sniper
110. Majed Ibrahim Hawamdeh 15 Al- 21/10/00 A bullet in the head
Sammou’/
Hebron
111. Tareq Ismail Hantoli 17 Jenin 21/10/00 Two bullets in the
back
112. Wae’l Mahmoud Emad 13 Jabalya 22/10/00 A rubber-coated metal
bullet in the head
113. Nae’l Ali Al-Zama’reh 25 Halhoul/ 22/10/00 A bullet in the chest
Hebron
114. Emad Ismail Al-Hawamdeh 23 Al- 22/10/00 A bullet in the heart
Sammou’/
Hebron
115. Salah Fawzi Nejem 15 Al- 22/10/00 A bullet in the heart
Maghazi
116. Sae’d A’dnan Al-Tanbour 17 Nablus 23/10/00 A bullet in the head on
20/10
117. Ashraf Habayeb 15 A’skar/ 23/10/00 A bullet in the head on
Nablus 16/10
118. Nada Srouji 52 Tulkarm 23/10/00 A heart attack when
chased by the Israeli
occupation forces
119. Abdel Aziz Abu Sneineh 55 Hebron 23/10/00 A shell in the head
fired at his house
120. Nedal Mohammed Aibaki 16 Gaza 24/10/00 A bullet in the
abdomen
121. Eyad Ossama Shaath 12 Khan 24/10/00 A rubber-coated metal
Yunis bullet on 21/10
122. Nemer Yousef Marei 22 Kufr Dhan 24/10/00 A explosive bullet in
/ Jenin the chest
123. Alla’ Mohammed Mahfouzh 14 Hebron 26/10/00 A bullet in the head on
6/10 – died at hospital
in Saudi Arabia
124. Ahmed Mohammed Qassem 25 Tulkarm 27/10/00 Several medium
caliber bullets in
several parts of his
body
125. Bahir Saleh Shalawi 15 Qalqilya 27/10/00 Several bullets in the
abdomen – deaf
126. Ghassan Yousef Awaisa 26 Ramallah 27/10/00 A bullet in the chest –
from Zhaherya and
resident of Ramallah
127. Jaber Ahmed Al-Meshal 23 Al-Shati/ 27/10/00 A bullet in the chest –
Gaza Erez area
128. Fadi Amin Turukman 22 Jenin 29/10/00 A bullet in the head on
26/10
129. Shadi Hssan El-Shouli 22 Northern 29/10/00 A bullet in the chest
Assira/
Nablus
130. Esmat Khalil El-Saber 34 Nablus 29/10/00 A bullet in the heart
131. Samir Mousa Eleiwa 31 Al- 29/10/00 Two bullets in the
Zaytoon/ chest and abdomen
Gaza
132. Husni Ibrahim Al-Najjar 22 Rafah 29/10/00 A bullet in the head
133. Bilal Rashad Salahat 22 Ya’bad 29/10/00 A bullet in the head
134. Hilal Rashad Salahat 18 Ya’bad 29/10/00 A bullet in the head
135. Thae’r Ibrahim El-Zeid 17 Jalazon/ 31/10/00 A bullet in the
Ramallah abdomen
136. Shadi Awadh Oudeh 22 El- 31/10/00 A bullet in the head
Zaytoun/
Gaza
137. Hazem Mousa Abu Daf 22 El- 31/10/00 A bullet in the head
Zaytoun/
Gaza
138. Mohammed Khazzaa’Helles 23 Shojaeya/ 31/10/00 A bullet in the chest
Gaza
139. Mahmoud Ahmed Abu El- 20 Shojaeya/ 31/10/00 A bullet in the head
Kheir Gaza
140. Mohammed Ibrahim Hajjaj 14 Shojaeya/ 1/11/00 A bullet in the head
Gaza
141. Ahmed Suleiman Abu Tayeh 14 Al-Shati/ 1/11/00 A bullet in the head
Gaza
142. Ibrahim Rezeq Omar 15 Al-Shati/ 1/11/00 A bullet in the chest
Gaza
143. Mohammed Mahmoud Al- 27 Dora/ 1/11/00 A bullet in the chest
Hroub Hebron
144. Wae’l Shoe’ib Ghoneim 27 Al- 1/11/00 A medium caliber
Khader/ bullet in the head shot
Bethlehem by a combat helicopter
145. Marwan Taye’A’ssaf 21 Wadi 1/11/00 A bullet in the
Foukin/ abdomen
Bethlehem
146. A’dli Ghassan Obeid 21 Al-Shati/ 2/11/00 A bullet in the
Gaza abdomen
147. Khaled Ahmed Rezeq 17 Hazma/ 2/11/00 Two bullets in the
Jerusalem chest and abdomen
148. Yazan Mohammed Halaiqa 19 Al- 2/11/00 A bullet in the head –
Sheyoukh/ Al-Khader
Hebron
149. Nahedh Fathi Ahmed El-Louh 21 Deir El- 3/11/00 A bullet in the chest –
Balah Tulkarm
150. Mahmoud Abdel-Jawad 18 Hazma/ 3/11/00 A bullet in the chest
Ese’id Jerusalem
151. Rami Ahmed Abdel-Fattah 15 Hazma/ 3/11/00 A explosive bullet in
Jerusalem the flank
152. Maher Mohammed El-Se’idi 16 Al-Boreij 5/11/00 A bullet in the head
153. Marwan Khalil El-Ghamri 27 Al- 5/11/00 A bullet in the heart
Shojae’ya/
Gaza
154. Wjdi A’llam Hattab 15 Tulkarm 6/11/00 A bullet in the heart
155. Mohammed Nawwaf El- 17 Deir El- 6/11/00 A bullet in the back –
Ta’ban Balah Kfar Darm
156. Mohammed Mustafe El- 19 Rafah 6/11/00 A bullet in the head on
Jazzar 28/10 – Salah El-Din
Gate, Rafah
157. Abdullah Khaled A’marneh 24 Al-Douha/ 7/11/00 A bullet in the heart
Bethlehem
158. Sae’id Ehmeid Abu Khatleh 24 Rafah 7/11/00 A bullet in the
abdomen – near
Morag
159. Ahmed Amin Al-Khuffash 7 Salfit 7/11/00 run over by a Jewish
settler on the settler
road Transamaria
160. Ibrahim Fuad El-Qassas 16 Khan 7/11/00 A bullet in the head on
Yunis 4/11 – Al-Tuffah
roadblock, Khan
Yunis
161. Fares Fae’q Oudeh 14 Al- 8/11/00 A bullet in the neck –
Zaytoun/ Al-Mentar
Gaza
162. Mohammed Nemer Mahani 24 Shojaeya/ 8/11/00 A bullet in the
Gaza abdomen on 7/11 –
Al-Mentar
163. Mohammed Mesbah Abu 16 Khan 8/11/00 A bullet in the chest –
Ghali Yunis Al-Tuffah roadblock,
Khan Yunis
164. Khalil Yousef Sa’d 18 Al-Shati/ 8/11/00 A bullet in the chest –
Gaza Al-Mentar
165. Rae’d Abdel-Majid Daoud 14 Hares/ 8/11/00 A explosive bullet in
Salfit the side
166. Hussein Mohammed Ebayyat 37 Al- 9/11/00 Three launched
Ta’amra/ missiles hit his car in
Bethlehem Beit Sahour
167. Mahmoud Kamel Abed 18 Khan 9/11/00 A bullet in the back
Shorrab Yunis which penetrated the
heart
168. A’ziza Dannoun Jobran 52 Beit 9/11/00 Wounded with a shell
Sahour from a combat
helicopter
169. Rahma Rashid She’ibat 50 Beit 9/11/00 Wounded with a shell
Sahour from a combat
helicopter
170. Mohammed Ali Hamed 23 Jabalya 10/11/00 A bullet in the head –
Beit Hanoun
Checkpoint
171. Ossama Samir Al-Jerjawi 17 Al-Daraj/ 10/11/00 A bullet in the Chest –
Gaza Al-Mentar
172. Ossama Mazen A’zzouqa 15 Jenin 10/11/00 Two bullets in the
head and the chest –
Al-Jalama roadblock
173. Eyad Fawzi Fahmawi 25 Jenin 10/11/00 A explosive bullet in
the head
174. Rae’d Sa’di Al-Muhtaseb 25 Hebron 10/11/00 A medium caliber
bullet in the back
during shelling of the
city
175. Hani Abdullah Marzouq 35 Jenin 11/11/00 A bullet in the neck on
10/11
176. Munib Mohammed Barakat 18 Hebron 11/11/00 A bullet in the chest
Abu Monshar
177. Mohammed Yassin Darwish 25 Al-Shati/ 11/11/00 Heavy bullets
Al-Madhoun Gaza throughout his body –
Gush Qatif junction
178. Monther Hamdi Yassin 25 Al-Shati/ 11/11/00 Heavy bullets
Gaza throughout his body –
Gush Qatif junction
179. Mousa Ibrahim El-Debes 14 Jabalya 11/11/00 A bullet in the chest –
Beit Hanoun
Checkpoint
180. Ayman Salah Wadi 19 Khan 11/11/00 A bullet in the head on
Yunis 8/11
181. Ossama Khali Al-Bawwab 28 Al-Bireh/ 11/11/00 During the shelling of
Ramallah Ramallah from Psagot
settlement (remaining
bodily parts dispersed)
182. Majed Hussein Rdwan 32 Al-Bireh/ 11/11/00 During the shelling of
Ramallah Ramallah from Psagot
settlement (remaining
bodily parts dispersed)
183. Mahmoud Nafedh Abu Naji 15 Sheikh 12/11/00 Two bullets in the
Radwan/ chest – Beit Hanoun
Gaza Checkpoint
184. Mohammed Nasser Al-Tawil 18 Khan 13/11/00 A bullet in the heart –
Yunis the industrial zone
near Neve Dekalim
settlement
185. Yahia Nayef Abu Shammala 17 Kan Yunis 13/11/00 A bullet in the heart –
the industrial zone
near Neve Dekalim
settlement
186. Ahmed Hassan Dahlan 19 Khan 13/11/00 A bullet in the head –
Yunis near Al-Matehen
junction – Gush Qatif
settlement block
187. Tawfiq Abdullah Al-Jqe’idi 34 Qalqilya 13/11/00 Three bullets in the
head – a member of
Force 17
188. Rae’d Fahmi Shaqfeh 23 Rafah 14/11/00 A bullet in the side
penetrated the
abdomen – Al-Tuffah
roadblock
189. Mohammed Khater Al-E’jleh 13 Al- 14/11/00 A bullet in the head –
Shojae’ya/ Al-Mentar
Gaza
190. Saber Khamis Ebrashi 15 Al- 14/11/00 A bullet in the heart –
Ama’ri/ northern entrance of
Ramallah Al-Bireh
191. Mustafa Mahmoud O’leyan 54 A’skar/ 14/11/00 A huge stone hit his
Nablus chest thrown by a
settler from a short
distance
192. Ahmed Samir Bassal 15 Tal El- 15/11/00 A bullet in the heart –
Hawa/ Al-Mentar
Gaza
193. Fathi Oudeh Joma’a Salem 18 Tulkarm 15/11/00 A medium caliber
bullet in the chest
194. Samer Khairi Ahmed Khader 29 Kofor 15/11/00 A bullet in the heart
Romman
195. Jaddou’ Manei’ Abu Al-Kebash 16 Al-Samou’/ 15/11/00 A explosive bullet in the
Hebron abdomen
196. Abdel-Hafezh Mohammed 20 Jericho 15/11/00 A bullet in the chest
Gharrouf
197. Ahmed Sae’id Sha’ban 16 Jenin 15/11/00 A bullet in the
abdomen
198. Mohammed Nasser Al- 17 Al-Nasser/ 15/11/00 A bullet in the head –
Sherafi Gaza Al-Mentar
199. Ibrahim Abdel-Rao’uf Je’idi 17 Qalqilya 15/11/00 Two bullets in the
chest and the kidney
200. Jehad Suhail Abu Shahmeh 13 Khan 15/11/00 A bullet in the head –
Yunis Al-Tuffah roadblock
201. Harry Fischer 55 A German 15/11/00 During the shelling of
citizen Beit Jala, remaining
bodily parts dispersed
– a physician married
to a Palestinian
woman, worked in the
area for 15 years
202. Samer Mohammed Al- 17 Al- 16/11/00 A bullet in the chest
Khadhour Fawwar/
Hebron
203. Yousef Suleiman A’wwad 30 Beit 16/11/00 A bullet in the head
Ommar/ from a distance of
Hebron 50cm
204. Mohammed Abdel-Jalil Abu 16 Halhoul/ 17/11/00 A bullet in the head
Rayyan Hebron
205. Hamza Abdel-Mou’ti Abu 22 Halhoul/ 17/11/00 Two explosive bullets
Shekheidem Hebron in the liver
206. Mahmoud Zayed Sammour 38 Jordan 17/11/00 Four bullets in the
chest – Qalqilya
207. Rami E’mad Yassin 18 Gaza 17/11/00 A bullet in the chest –
Al-Mentar
208. Khaled Abdullah Salama 35 Jericho (a 17/11/00 A bullet in the chest –
returnee) a member of the
Palestinian National
Security Forces
209. Hassid Mohammed Qarawan 45 Jericho (a 17/11/00 A bullet in the chest –
returnee) a member of the
Palestinian National
Security Forces
210. Behae’ddin Salama Ben 29 Al- 18/11/00 Several bullets in the
Sae’id Maghazi head – member of the
Palestinian Preventive
Security Service
211. Abdel-Rahman Ziad El- 14 Al- 19/11/00 A bullet in the heart –
Dahshan Zaytoun/ Al-Mentar
Gaza
212. Ra’fat Muhib Joudeh 22 Zawata/ 19/11/00 Two bullets in the
Nablus neck and the back – an
armed confrontation
213. Ibrahim Ahmed Othman 17 Rafah 20/11/00 A bullet in the heart
214. Hamed Jaber Al-Qottati 69 Rafah 20/11/00 Inhaling tear gas on
6/11 – he was put into
the intensive care unit
of Nasser hospital
from that date
215. Hammad Othman Al-Semeiri 27 Al-Qarara 21/11/00 Several bullets in the
head and several parts
of the body – an
armed confrontation
near Kissufim road
216. Abdullah Mahmoud El-Farra 23 Khan 21/11/00 A bullet in the head –
Yunis an armed
confrontation near Al-
Tuffah roadblock in
Khan Yunis
217. Mohammed Suleiman Abu 32 Deir El- 21/11/00 A bullet in the head –
Samra Balah near Kfar Darom
settlement
218. Hussein Mohammed 35 Sourif/ 21/11/00 Died from a serious
Barade’ya Hebron injury by settlers on
15/11 while he was on
his way to work
219. Mohammed Lutfi Massad 25 Borqin/ 21/11/00 A bullet in the heart
Jenin
220. Yasser Taleb Nabtiti 16 Tulkarm 21/11/00 A bullet in the chest
221. Jamal Abdel-Qader Abdel- 30 Rafah 22/11/00 Several bullets in
Razeq several parts of the
body – Morag
222. A’wni Ismail Dhuheir 38 Rafah 22/11/00 Several bullets in
several parts of the
body – Morag
223. Nae’l Salem El-Leddawi 22 Rafah 22/11/00 Several bullets in
several parts of the
body – Morag
224. Sami Naser Abu Laban 29 Sheikh 22/1/00 Several bullets in
Radwan/ several parts of the
Gaza body – Morag
225. Ibrahim Hassan Al-Moqannan 15 Khan 22/11/00 A live bullet in the
Yunis head on 20/11
226. Najib Mohammed Qeshta 50 Rafah 22/11/00 A heavy bullet in the
head – Salah El-Din
Gate
227. Feras Dhiab Abu Hatab 26 Qabatya/ 23/11/00 A bullet in the
Jenin abdomen
228. Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Bani 34 Tammoun 23/11/00 Assassination through
Oudeh / Jenin a car bomb
229. Maram Emad Hssouna 3 Ramallah 23/11/00 Inhaling a large
amount of tear gas
230. Aysar Hammoudeh Hassis 15 Jenin 24/11/00 A explosive bullet in
the eye that destroyed
the head
231. Ghassan Majed Qara’an 20 Qalqilya 24/11/00 A bullet in the heart
232. Majdi Ali A’abed 15 Gaza 24/11/00 A bullet in the head on
17/11 – Al-Mentar
233. Ziad Khalil Abu Jazar 22 Rafah 24/11/00 Several bullets
throughout the body
shot from a tank
234. Sami A’adel Omar 32 Kufor 24/11/00 A shell in the head
Qallil/ during shelling of the
Nablus village – an armed
confrontation
235. Nahed A’adel Omar 26 Kufor 24/11/00 A shell in the head
Qallil/ during shelling of the
Nablus village – an armed
confrontation
236. Taysser A’dnan Abu El- 18 Khan 25/11/00 A shell in the chest –
A’rraj Yunis 250m away from Al-
Tuffah roadblock
237. Amjad A’zmi Husni 21 Jenin 25/11/00 A live bullet in the
abdomen
238. A’bdel-Mone’m Mohammed 17 Arrabeh/ 25/11/00 A live bullet in the
Ezzeddin Jenin head
239. Fuad A’dnan Doweikat 27 Balatta/ 25/11/00 A live bullet in the
(Hammad) Nablus back that settled in the
heart
240. Assa’d Khalil El-Shaghnobi 22 Al- 26/11/00 A bullet in the head on
Sabrab/ 20/11 – Al-Mentar
Gaza
241. Mahdi Qassem Jaber 17 Qalqilya 26/11/00 Six bullets throughout
the body, including
two in the head
242. Ziad Ghaleb Selmi 19 Qalqilya 26/11/00 Eleven bullets
throughout the body
243. Mohammed Mansour Edwan 20 Qalqilya 26/11/00 Four bullets in the
abdomen and the side
244. Qussai Faisal Zahran 22 Qalqilya 26/11/00 Six bullets throughout
the body
245. Mohammed Yousef El-A’dl 28 Qalqilya 26/11/00 Seven bullets
throughout the body
246. Zakaria Hammodeh El-Khour 18 Al-Sabra/ 27/11/00 A bullet in the head on
Gaza 21/11 – Al-Mentar
247. Walid Hassan El-Ja’afra 32 Hebron 27/11/00 A bullet in the chest
on 2/10
248. Karam Fathi El-Kurd 14 Rafah 28/11/00 A bullet in the head on
23/11
249. Emad Adib El-Dayeh 19 Al-Shati/ 28/11/00 A bullet in the head –
Gaza Al-Mentar
250. Ashraf Abdel-Karim El- 19 Gaza 28/11/00 Two bullets in the
Bassous neck and chest on
19/11 – Al-Mentar
251. Ibrahim Abdel-Jabbar Kuhleh 24 Rammoun 28/11/00 Inhaling a large
/ amount of tear gas
Ramallah
252. Mohammed Mohammed El- 14 Al-Tuffah/ 29/11/00 A bullet in the head on
Mashharawi Gaza 26/11 – Al-Mentar
253. Walid Mohammed El-Badan 17 Taqqoua’/ 30/11/00 A bullet in the heart
Bethlehem
254. Shadi Ahmed Za’oul 14 Housan/ 30/11/00 A settler willfully hit
Bethlehem him with his car
255. Ismail Abdel-Salam Abu El- 20 Al-Boreij 30/11/00 A bullet in the head –
Rous near the borderline to
the east of Al-Boreij
256. Mohammed Saleh El-A’rja 12 Rafah 1/12/00 A bullet in the neck –
near his house
adjacent to the
borderline in Rafah
257. Medhat Mohammed Jadallah 17 Al-Shati/ 1/12/00 A bullet in the head –
Gaza Al-Mentar
258. Hamza Nadi Suleiman El- 27 Al- 1/12/00 A bullet in the heart
Hassis Sammoua’
/ Hebron
259. Yassin Ibrahim Mohammed 23 Qalandya/ 1/12/00 A explosive bullet in
Shehadeh Jerusalem the abdomen
260. Shehadeh Mousa El-Ja’fari 27 Bitonia/ 2/12/00 A bullet in the neck
Ramallah and the heart while he
was working in a
building near the
northern entrance of
Al-Bireh
261. Abdel-Qader Omar Abu 22 Al- 5/12/00 A bullet in the
Qattan Duheisha/ abdomen – the
Bethlehem western entrance of
the village of Al-
Khader in Bethlehem
262. Ramzi A’adel Bayatneh 15 Abu Qash/ 5/12/00 A bullet in the head –
Ramallah the northern entrance
of Al-Bireh
263. Zuhair Mustafa El-Hattab 17 Al-Tuffah/ 7/12/00 Shrapnel of an
Gaza artillery shell in the
head on 20/11 – Al-
Mentar
264. Mohammed Joudeh El-A’assi 27 Al-Shati/ 7/12/00 Killed by an Israeli in
Gaza unclear circumstances
265. Mohannad Mohammed Abu 31 Borqin/ 8/12/00 An artillery shell that
Shadouf Jenin tore hid body – a
member of the
Palestinian National
Security Forces
266. Ziad Mahmoud Subeh 34 Kufor 8/12/00 An artillery shell that
Rae’i/ tore hid body – a
Jenin member of the
Palestinian National
Security Forces
267. Mahmoud Abdullah Yahia 17 Kufor 8/12/00 An artillery shell that
Rae’i/ tore hid body – a
Jenin member of the
Palestinian National
Security Forces
268. Alla’ Abdel-Latif Abu Jaber 17 Al- 8/12/00 An artillery shell that
Moghayar tore hid body – a
/ Jenin member of the
Palestinian National
Security Forces
269. Mohammed Rateb Taleb 21 Sabah El- 8/12/00 An artillery shell that
Kheir/ tore hid body – was
Jenin near a post of the
Palestinian National
Security Forces
270. A’mmar Salim El-Mashni 16 Beit O’ur/ 8/12/00 A bullet in the head
Ramallah during clashes in
Jerusalem
271. Moutaz Azmi Ismail 16 Al- 8/12/00 A explosive bullet in
(Teilakh) Doheisha/ the head – the northern
Bethlehem entrance of Bethlehem
272. Salim Mohammed El- 13 Rafah 9/12/00 A bullet in the head on
Hamayda 5/12 – Salah El-Din
Gate
273. Mohammed Yousef El- 24 Al- 9/12/00 While he was passing
Moghrabi Doheisha/ in the area of Talitta in
Bethlehem Beit Jala
274. Hekmat Abdel-Hadi Hanani 22 Beit 10/12/00 A bullet in the chest
Fourik/
Hebron
275. Ahmed Ali El-Qawasmi 14 Hebron 11/12/00 A bullet in the head
shot by a settler after
being caught and
thrown to the ground
276. Anwar Mahmoud Hamran 28 Arrabeh/ 11/12/00 19 bullets throughout
Jenin the body fired by
Israeli occupation
forces positioned on
Jerzim Mount in
Nablus, extra-judicial
killing
277. Yousef Ahmed Abu Sawi 28 Al- 12/12/00 17 bullets throughout
Khader/ the body –
Bethlehem assassination from a
military post of the
Israeli occupation
forces from a distance
of 200m
278. Mahdi Ahmed A’kkileh 27 Khan 13/12/00 A bullet in the
Yunis abdomen – a member
of the Palestinian
National Security
Forces – near Al-
Tuffah roadblock
279. Mohammed Jamal Abu El- 25 Khan 13/12/00 A bullet in the chest –
O’la Yunis a member of the
Palestinian National
Security Forces – near
Al-Tuffah roadblock
280. Ahmed Ismail Muttair 30 Rafah 13/12/00 A bullet in the head –
a member of the
Palestinian National
Security Forces – near
Al-Tuffah roadblock
281. Jaber Mohammed El-Sabe’ 25 Beit 13/12/00 A bullet in the head –
Hanoun a member of the
Palestinian National
Security Forces – near
Al-Tuffah roadblock
282. Abbas Othman Al-Oweiwi 26 Hebron 13/12/00 Three bullets in the
head and the chest
from a distance of
250m – an
assassination
283. Hani Hassan Abu Bakra 32 Rafah 14/12/00 Several bullets in the
head, the neck, the
chest and the limbs –
the junction leading to
Deir El-Balah (Al-
Heker) – an
assassination
284. Abdel-Moe’in Hassan 24 Tel/ 14/12/00 Five medium caliber
Ibrahim Nablus bullets in the head and
the back – from a
military post of the
Israeli occupation
forces at Yitzhar
settlement which is
1500m away – with no
clashes
285. Mohammed Lutfi Nouri 22 Tel/ 14/12/00 Several medium
Nablus caliber bullets in the
head and the chest –
the above-mentioned
incident
286. Sa’d Ibrahim El-Kharouf 32 Nablus 14/12/00 Two bullets in the left
thigh and the right
hand – near the village
of Borin in Nablus
287. Nehad Hassan Hantash 24 Baqat El- 15/12/00 Three bullets in the
Hatab/ neck and the chest – as
Qalqilya a result of opening fire
at a post of the
Palestinian National
Security Forces – a
member of these
forces
Annex (2): Palestinians killed by the Israeli occupation forces from January 1 to
September 8, 2000, before the Al Aqsa Intifada.

No. Name Age Place of Date Notes

Residence
1. Hussein Ghassan ‘Abdel- 25 Nablus Jan. 15 Wounded in
Hadi 1989 by a live
bullet fired by
an undercover
unit of the
Israeli
occupation
forces, when he
was 15.
2. Fatema ‘Abdel-Jalil Abu 63 Hebron Feb. 7 An undercover
Romeila unit raided her
house to arrest
her son Fawaz.
As a result, she
suffered from a
heart attack.
3. ‘Omar Mohareb Suleiman 24 Al- March 20 An Israeli
Hassanein Shojaeya commando
neighborh force raided the
ood/ Gaza house in which
he and a group
of Hamas
military wing
hid in Al-
Taybeh inside
the Green Line
4. Na’el Yassim Maohammed 24 Al-Shati/ March 20 The
Abu ‘Awad Gaza aforementioned
incident.
5. Ahmed Yousef El-Hattab 22 Al- March 20 The same
Shojaeya incident
neighborh
ood/ Gaza
6. Anwar Rajab El-Bora’ei 22 Jablaya March 20 The same
incident
7. Halima ‘Abdel-‘Azziz 45 Jab’a/ March 20 Received six
Ahmed El-Sharouf Hebron live bullets
throughout the
body fired by
the Israeli
occupation
forces at a
military
roadblock
8. Murad Samih El-Zaru 27 Shufat/ March 31 Died from a
Jerusalem wound received
the previous day
in ‘Anata villge,
when an Israeli
undercover unit
fired at him
when he was
distributing
invitations for
his wedding
party
9. Mahmoud Mustafa Abu 70 Kufor April 25 Run over by an
Kharma ‘Ein/ Israeli military
Ramallah vehicle near
Hawara village
in Nablus
10. Samer Ahmed ‘Abdel- 17 Qalqilya May 14 Received a live
Karim ‘Awartani bullet in the
chest, during
clashes between
Palestinian
civilians and the
Israeli
occupation
forces. .
11. Ahmed Jamal ‘Abdel-Fattah 20 Deir El- May 15 A live bullet in
‘Oudeh Hatab/ the head during
Nablus clashes with the
Israeli
occupation
forces
12. ‘Ayed Mutlaq El-Sfadi 18 ‘Ourif/ May 15 A live bullet in
Nablus the neck during
clashes with the
Israeli
occupation
13. Bashar ‘Omar El-Shantir 21 ‘Askar/ May 15 A live bullet in
Nablus the head in the
aforementioned
incident
14. ‘Eissa ‘Abed ‘Aabed 29 Qaddoura/ May 20 A live bullet in
Ramallah the head on May
19, during
clashes with the
Israeli
occupation
forces at the
northern
entrance of Al-
Bireh
15. Sa’do Medhi Hawarin 15 Hebron May 21 A live bullet in
the head on May
15, during
clashes with the
Israeli
occupation
forces at the
northern
entrance of Al-
Bireh
16. Yousef Mahmoud Abu 23 Gaza June 28 A live bullet in
Nahel the head on May
17, during
clashes with the
Israeli
occupation
forces at the
northern
entrance of Al-
Bireh
17. Khalil Yousef Abu ‘Arram 15 Janba/ July 5 An explosion of
Hebron a landmine
leftover by the
Israeli
occupation
forces
18. Safwat Ahmed ‘Assi 12 Beit Leqia/ July 6 An explosion of
Ramallah a landmine of the
remainders of
the Israeli
occupation
forces
19. E’tidal Hamza Mo’ammar 29 Rafah July 8 The car in which
she was
traveling by was
fired upon by
Israeli
occupation
soldiers
positioned at
Kfar Darom
settlement in the
east of Deir El-
Balah
20. Mahmoud As’ad El-Bazzar 73 Sarda/ Aug. 16 Killed by an
Ramallah undercover unit
of the Israeli
occupation
forces which
raided his house
to arrest his son
21. Mo’in Suleiman Talahma 13 Al-Borj/ Aug. 20 An explosion of
Hebron a landmine of the
remainders of
the Israeli
occupation
forces
22. Mohammed ‘Abdel-Jalil 34 ‘Askar/ Aug. 22 Died from a
Fayez Sa’id Nablus previous wound
in the head and
the spinal
column, after he
was beaten by
Israeli
occupation
forces on May
24, 1991. All
this time he was
completely
paralyzed.
23. Nassar ‘Abed ‘Ali K’abneh 15 Beit Dajan Aug. 29 An explosion of
a landmine of the
remainders of
the Israeli
occupation
forces
24. Ahmed Mustafa Tahayna 18 Seilat Al- Sept. 8 Run over by an
Harthia Israeli military
truck.
 Annex (3) A table of the areas and locations of land razed by the Israeli
occupation forces in the Gaza Strip, September 28 – December 30, 2001

Date Area in Type of Land Location Plants/Crops

Donums Destroyed
Oct. 7 20 Agricultural Al-Shuhada Citrus
(Netzarim) junction
Oct. 8 10 Agricultural Beit Lahia (Dogit Vegetables
settlement) (potatoes)
Oct. 10 10 Wooded Rafah (Morag Trees
settlement)
Oct. 16 80 Wooded Khan Yunis Trees
Oct. 18 2 Agricultural Khan Yunis Olives
Oct. 18 32 Sandy Bet Lahia (Dogit Trees
settlement)
Oct. 18 35 Wooded Near the Erez Trees
Crossing
Oct. 19 66 Agricultural Khan Yunis Citrus, olives and,
other vegetables
Oct. 22 2 Sandy Rafah Trees
Oct. 23 4 Agricultural Khan Yunis Olives
Oct. 23 120 Agricultural and Al-Shuhada Olive and trees
wooded (Netzarim) junction
Oct. 23 400 Wooded The north of Gaza Trees
(Nissanit settlement)
Oct. 25 26 Agricultural Rafah (Morag Olives and
settlement) vegetables
Oct. 26 30 Agricultural Khan Yunis Olives, palms,
(Kissufim junction) and other
vegetables
Oct. 26 7 Agricultural The middle area Citrus
(Kfar Darom
settlement)
Oct. 27 3 Agricultural Rafah (Morag Palms, guavas
settlement) and vegetables
Oct. 29 58 Agricultural Rafah (Morag Greenhouses
settlement) planted with
vegetables
Oct. 29 10 Wooded Khan Yunis Trees
(Kissufim junction)
Oct. 30 80 Agricultural Rafah – Al-Salam Olives and
neighborhood almonds
Oct. 30 5 Agricultural Rafah – Al-Salam Olives
neighborhood
Oct. 30 12 Agricultural Al-Mentar (Karni) Olives
Crossing A house was
demolished
Oct. 30 1 Agricultural Al-Mentar (Karni) Vegetables
Crossing
Nov. 1 33 Agricultural Rafah – the border Almonds and
other vegetables
Nov. 3 28 Agricultural Rafah – the border Olives and
almonds
Nov. 5 10 Agricultural To the south of Kfar Citrus and guavas
Darom settlement
Nov. 6 16 Agricultural To the east of Morag Olives and
settlement in Rafah almonds
Nov. 8 14 Agricultural Khan Yunis – Olives and
Kissufim road almonds
Nov. 8 600 Agricultural The border – from Olives, citrus,
the Rafah border mangos, and other
Crossing to the vegetables
village of Al-
Dehneya
Nov. 9-10 40 Agricultural Rafah – the above Olives, almonds,
location and other
vegetables
Nov. 11 7 Agricultural Rafah – the above Olives and a
location greenhouse
Nov. 10-11 12 Agricultural Khan Yunis – Vegetables
Qeizan Al-Najjar
Nov. 13-14 155 Agricultural Khan Yunis – Olives, almonds,
Kissufim road palms, grapes,
figs, and other
vegetables
Nov. 14-15 88.5 Agricultural Khan Yunis – Olives, almonds,
Kissufim road pomegranates,
palms, and other
vegetables
Nov. 15 13 Agricultural Rafah – the border Olives, citrus,
fruits, and other
vegetables
Nov. 13-15 220 Wooded The vicinity of Dogit Annexed to the
settlement – the settlement with
northwest of Beit other areas that
Lahia were razed on
Oct. 18
Nov. 15 60 Agricultural Salah El-Din Street – Olives and citrus
to the north of
Kissufim junction
Nov. 15-17 50 Agricultural Netzarim-Al-Mentar Olives
road
Nov. 16 54 Agricultural Rafah – Al-Salam Almonds, olives,
neighborhood and palms
Nov. 16 71.5 Agricultural Salah El-Din Street – Palms, olives,
to the south of Kfar citrus, fruits, and
Darom settlement greenhouses
planted with
vegetables
Nov. 18-19 65 Agricultural Salah El-Din Street – Olives and guavas
to the north of Gush
Qatif junction
Nov. 19-20 44 Agricultural Salah El-Din Street – Olives, oranges,
between Kfar Darom and other
settlement and vegetables
Kissufim junction
Nov. 20 50 Agricultural To the south of Kfar Palms
Darom settlement
Nov. 20 80 Agricultural Salah El-Din Street – Olives and other
to the south of Kfar vegetables
Darom settlement
Nov. 21 2 Agricultural The border in Rafah Olives
– Al-Salam
neighborhood
Nov. 21 1 Agricultural The border in Rafah A bird farm
– Al-Salam
neighborhood
Nov. 21 9.5 Agricultural To the east of Gush Palms, olives, and
Qatif junction a bird farm
Nov. 21 16 To the east of Kfar Greenhouses and
Darom settlement irrigation
facilities
Nov. 19 19 Agricultural To the south of Eli Lemons, olives,
Sinai settlement – and other fruits
the north of the Gaza
Strip
Nov. 21 67 Agricultural To the south of Eli Guava, olive,
Sinai settlement – lemon, and trees
the north of the Gaza
Strip
Nov. 22 12 Agricultural Khan Yunis – Salah Olives and citrus
El-Din Street – to
the south of Al-
Matahen Junction
Nov. 22 8 Agricultural To the south of Elli Fruits and
Sinai settlement vegetables

Nov. 24 38.5 Agricultural Gaza – the road Olives, and other

between Al-Suhada’ vegetables
(Netzarim) junction
and Al-Mentar
(Karni) Crossing
Nov. 24 16 Agricultural The middle area – Greenhouses
Salah El-Din Street
Nov. 26 8 Agricultural The middle area – Vegetables
Salah El-Din Street
Nov. 26 26 Agricultural The middle area – to Vegetables
the east of Kfar
Darom settlement
Nov. 26 26 Agricultural Um El-Selek – to the Olives
west of Morag
settlement
Nov. 26 26 Agricultural Near Dogit Citrus
settlement to the
north of Beit Lahia
Nov. 26 17 Agricultural Gaza – the road Olives and citrus
between Al-
Shuhada’ (Netzarim)
junction and Al-
Mentar (Karni)
Crossing
Nov. 27 40 Wooded Khan Yunis – to the Trees
west of Neve
Dekalim settlement
Nov. 27 69 Agricultural Gaza – the road Olives and citrus
between Al-
Shuhada’ (Netzarim)
junction and Al-
Mentar (Karni)
Crossing
Nov. 28 19 Agricultural The middle area – Olives and other
Salah El-Din Street vegetables
Nov. 28 23 Agricultural The middle area – to Olives and other
the southeast of Kfar vegetables
Darom settlement
Nov. 28 24.5 Agricultural Khan Yunis – Al- Olives
Qarara
Nov. 28 78 Agricultural Khan Yunis – the Olives and other
road at Al-Matahen vegetables
Nov. 28 1 Agricultural and Rafah – to the south Olive and trees
wooded of Morag settlement
Nov. 28 12 Agricultural Citrus and olives
Nov. 28 20 Agricultural Gaza – the road Olives and citrus
between Al-
Shuhada’ (Netzarim)
junction and Al-
Mentar (Karni)
Outlet
Nov. 28 16 Agricultural To the northwest of Citrus
Beit Hanoun – near
Erez Crossing
Nov. 29 57 Agricultural The middle area – to Olives, almonds,
the southeast of Kfar palms, and
Darom settlement vegetables
Nov. 29 87.5 Agricultural Gaza – the road Olives, citrus, and
between Al- other vegetables
Shuhada’ (Netzarim)
junction and Al-
Mentar (Karni)
Crossing
Nov. 30 16 Agricultural Gaza – the area Olives and citrus
between Al-
Shuhada’ (Netzarim)
junction and the
seashore
Dec. 1-5 134 Agricultural Gaza – the road Olives, fruits,
between Al- vegetables and
Shuhada’ (Netzarim) bird farms
junction and Al-
Mentar (Karni)
Crossing
Dec. 3 14 Agricultural Khan Yunis – the Vegetables
road at Al-Matahen
Dec. 4 13.5 Agricultural Rafah – the road of Citrus and
Oraybeh vegetables
Dec. 4 25 Wooded Rafah – the road at Trees
Oraybeh
Dec. 5-6 272 Agricultural The middle area – to Olives and
the southeast of Kfar almonds
Darom settlement
Dec. 6-7 253.5 Agricultural Gaza – the road Olives, citrus, and
between Al- wheat
Shuhada’ (Netzarim)
junction and Al-
Mentar (Karni)
Crossing

Dec. 7 8 Agricultural The northern area – Citrus

near Dogit
settlement to the
north of Beit Lahia
Dec. 9 7 Agricultural The middle area – to Olives, citrus,
the south of Deir El- vegetables, and a
Balah bird farm
Dec. 9 20 Agricultural Gaza – the road Vegetables
between Al-
Shuhada’ (Netzarim)
junction and Al-
Mentar (Karni)
Crossing
Dec. 10 26 Agricultural Gaza – the road Citrus and olives
between Al-
Shuhada’ (Netzarim)
junction and Al-
Mentar (Karni)
Crossing
Dec. 11 53 Agricultural The middle area – to Palms, fruits, and
the south of Deir El- vegetables
Balah
Dec. 11 7 Wooded Khan Yunis – Al- Trees
Mawasi
Dec. 11 10 Agricultural The northern area – Citrus, olives,
to the south of Dogit palms and other
settlement vegetables
Dec. 12 15 Agricultural The middle area – to Olives, palms,
the west of Kfar and other
Darom settlement vegetables
Dec. 12 15 Agricultural Khan Yunis – the Citrus
road to Kissufim
Dec. 14 31 Agricultural Khan Yunis – Gizan Vegetables
Al-Najjar
Dec. 14 17 Agricultural Rafah – to the east of Olives
Morag settlement
Dec. 15 7 Agricultural Khan Yunis – the Vegetables
road at Al-Matahen
Dec. 16 24 Agricultural Rafah – to the south Vegetables and
of Morag settlement fruits
Dec. 18 25 Agricultural Gaza – the road Olives and fruits
between Al-
Shuhada’ (Netzarim)
junction and Al-
Mentar (Karni)
Crossing

Dec. 19 30 Agricultural The middle area – to Vegetables

the north of Al-
Matahen junction
Dec.22 34 Agricultural The middle area – to Olives, palms,
the east of Kfar fruits, and other
Darom settlement vegetables
Dec. 28 115 Agricultural The northern area – Citrus
in the north of Beit
Hanoun
Dec. 29 69 Agricultural Al-Fokhari – in the Olives, almonds,
east of Khan Yunis other vegetables,
and bird and
animal farms
Dec.30 14 Agricultural Rafah – Oraybeh Vegetables
road
Total 4698
Annex (4): A table of Palestinian houses on agricultural land demolished by the
Israeli occupation forces from September 29, 2000 to December 31, 2001

Date Owner Number of Location Area in

Residents Square
Meters
Oct. 29, 2000 Omar Jaber Dhuheir 13 Rafah – Morag 180
settlement
Nov. 3, 2000 Mahmoud Ahmed 4 Rafah – the 150
Abu Riash border
Nov. 3, 2000 Suleiman Under Rafah – the 150
Mohammed El-Riatti construction border
Nov. 8, 2000 Hisham Mohammed 4 Rafah – the 180
Abu Shousha border
Nov. 8, 2000 Akram Mohammed 16 Rafah – the 220
Jaradat border
Nov. 8, 2000 Ayyoub Abed Rabbo 1 Rafah – the 50
El-Romeilat border
Nov. 8, 2000 Mohammed El- 2 Rafah – the 60
Weqeili border
Nov. 8, 2000 Salim Jaradat 2 Rafah – the 70
border
Nov. 11, 2000 Abed Hafezh Abdel- 16 Khan Yunis – 500
Karim Al-Najjar Morag
settlement
Nov. 13, 2000 Salman Mohammed -- The road to 150
Al-Semeiri Kissufim
Crossing
Nov. 13, 2000 Ossama A’ayesh Abu -- The road to 120
Haddaf Kissufim
Crossing
Nov. 13, 2000 Khalaf Hamdan Abu -- The road to 150
Hajjaj Kissufim
Crossing
Nov. 13, 2000 Najah Mohammed -- The road to 200
Abdel-Qader El-Baz Kissufim
Crossing
Nov. 14, 2000 Fawzi Shehadeh Under Gaza – near Al- 150
Erhim construction Shuhada junction
Nov. 20, 2000 A’amer Fuad El- Under Deir El-Balah – 160
Ja’farawi construction Kfar Darom
settlement
Nov. 20, 2000 Bassel Fuad El- Under Deir El-Balah – 160
Ja’farawi construction Kfar Darom
settlement
Nov. 20, 2000 Nafez Fuad El- Under Deir El-Balah – 160
Ja’farawi construction Kfar Darom
settlement
Nov. 20, 2000 Mohammed Fuad El- Under Deir El-Balah – 160
Ja’farawi construction Kfar Darom
settlement
Nov. 20, 2000 A’aida Khadher El- -- Deir El-Balah – 150
Ja’farawi Kfar Darom
settlement
Nov. 20, 2000 Hussein Hassan Abu 6 Deir El-Balah – 200
Bakra Kfar Darom
settlement
Nov. 20, 2000 Khaled El-Hussari -- Deir El-Balah – 120
Kfar Darom
settlement
Nov. 21, 2000 A’ashour Mousa 15 Khan Yunis – 200
A’abdin Al-Matahen
junction

Nov. 21, 2000 Nayef Mousa 12 Khan Yunis – 250

A’abdin Al-Matahen
junction
Nov. 21, 2000 A’dnan Nayef 6 Khan Yunis – 160
A’abdin Al-Matahen
junction
Nov. 21, 2000 Ali Nayef A’abdin 8 Khan Yunis – 200
Al-Matahen
junction
Nov. 21, 2000 Mohammed Nazhir A summer Khan Yunis – 60
Al-Farra resort Al-Matahen
junction
Nov. 21, 2000 Ahmed Ibrahim Al- 5 Khan Yunis – 150
Qedra Al-Matahen
junction
Nov. 21, 2000 Mahmoud Ibrahim 9 Khan Yunis – 150
Al-Qedra Al-Matahen
junction
Nov. 21, 2000 Salti Ibrahim Abu 10 Khan Yunis – 100
A’azem Al-Matahen
junction
Nov. 21, 2000 Salem Ibrahim Abu 7 Khan Yunis – 75
A’azem Al-Matahen
junction
Nov. 21, 2000 Ahmed Mansour Abu Rafah – Al-
Hemeid Salam
neighborhood
Nov. 21, 2000 Sami Eissa Abu 7 Rafah – the 200
Jarbou’ border
Nov. 22, 2000 Manar Qaseem Al- 2 Al-Qarara – to 200
Farra the west of Salah
El-Din Street
Nov. 22, 2000 Abdel-Hakim Abu -- Al-Qarara – to 200
Houli the west of Salah
El-Din Street
Nov. 22, 2000 Abed Mansour El- 20 Al-Qarara – to 200
Ghemari the west of Salah
El-Din Street
Nov. 22, 2000 Abdel-Azziz 2 Al-Qarara – to 150
Suleiman Abu E’id the east of Salah
El-Din Street
Nov. 22, 2000 Khadhra Mosallam 1 Al-Qarara – to 120
Abu E’id the east of Salah
El-Din Street
Nov. 24, 2000 Abdel-Karim 15 Khan Yunis – to 500
Mahmoud Madhi the west of Al-
Matahen
junction
Nov. 26, 2000 Yousef Hammoud 9 Khan Yunis – 250
Abu Houli Al-Qarara
Nov. 27, 2000 The Al-Moghanni -- Gaza – Al- 100
family Shuhada’
junction
Nov. 27, 2000 Yasser Ishaq El- -- To the east of 110
A’lami Gaza
Nov. 28, 2000 Ismail Saffi -- Deir El-Balah – 120
to the east of
Kfar Darom
settlement
Nov. 28, 2000 Sami Ismail Al-Qedra 8 Al-Qarara – 80
Salah El-Din
Street
Nov. 28, 2000 Suleiman Salem Abu 8 Al-Qarara – 90
Rezeq Salah El-Din
Street
Nov. 28, 2000 Abdel-Mou’ti 4 Khan Yunis – 150
Mohammed Abu Al-Matahen
Gayadh junction
Nov. 28, 2000 Mohammed Salim 13 Khan Yunis – 500
Abu Hassan Al-Matahen
junction
Nov. 28, 2000 Mohammed 7 Khan Yunis – 120
Suleiman Bureis Al-Matahen
junction
Nov. 28, 2000 Salim Suleiman Al- 8 Khan Yunis – 148
Muttib Al-Matahen
junction
Nov. 28, 2000 Nayef Suleiman Al- 14 Khan Yunis – 120
Muttib Al-Matahen
junction
Nov. 30, 2000 Ibrahim Suleiman Al- -- The road to 120
Semeiri Kissufim
Crossing
Nov. 30, 2000 Rae’d Suleiman Al- 1 The road to 150
Semeiri Kissufim
Crossing
Dec. 6, 2000 Oudeh Al-Ghefari -- Gaza – the road 150
between
Netzarim and
Karni
Dec. 6, 2000 Hamdi Hajji -- Gaza – the road 250
between
Netzarim and
Karni
Dec. 6, 2000 Hamdi Hajji -- Gaza – the road 250
between
Netzarim and
Karni
Dec. 9, 2000 Ahmed Mustafa Al- 7 Khan Yunis – to 150
Majaydeh the north of Al-
Matahen
junction
Dec. 10, 2000 Salim Hammad -- Gaza – the road 40
Dalloul the road between
Netzarim and
Karni
Dec. 12, 2000 Omar and A’mmar 6 Deir El-Balah – 260
Bashir to the west of
Kfar Darom
settlement
Dec. 12, 2000 Yousef Salman 6 Deir El-Balah – 220
Bashir to the west of
Kfar Darom
settlement
Dec. 17, 2000 Fawzi Khalil Abu 12 Deir El-Balah – 400
Samra to the east of
Kfar Darom
settlement
Dec. 19, 2000 Muttair Abed Rabbo 11 Deir El-Balah – 200
Abu Houli to the south of
Kfar Darom
settlement
Dec. 22, 2000 Ahmed Khalil Abu -- Deir El-Balah – 120
Samra to the east of
Kfar Darom
settlement
Dec. 30, 2000 Anwar Humeid 7 Rafah – Oraybeh 100
Hemeidan Qeshta road
Total 62
 FINANCIAL REPORT

PALESTINIAN CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2000 AND 1999

TOGETHER WITH INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT

 Independent Auditors’ Report

To: The Board of Directors

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
Gaza

We have audited the accompanying statement of financial position of the Palestinian

Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), a-non-for-profit organization registered in Gaza,
as of December 31, 2000 and the related statement of activities and cash flows for the
year then ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of PCHR’s
management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial
statements based on our audit.

We conducted our audit in accordance with international standards on auditing.

Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable
assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement.
An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and
disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the
accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well
as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit
provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all
material respects, the financial position of Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, a
non-for-profit organization, as of December 31, 2000 and the results of its operations
and cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with international accounting
standards.

Our audit was made for the purpose of forming an opinion on PCHR’s basic
financial statements referred to above taken as a whole. Supplemental financial data,
showing comparison between actual and budget results for the year ended December
31, 2000, are presented on pages 7 and 8. Such data, which are not a required part of
the basic financial statements, were presented for purposes of additional analysis and
were subjected to our audit of the basic financial statements; and in our opinion, are
presented fairly in all material respects in relation to PCHR’s basic financial
statements taken as a whole.

El Wafa & Co.

Gaza
January 16, 2001
 PALESTINIAN CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2000 AND 1999
(Currency: U.S. $)

Notes 2000 1999

ASSETS
Current Assets
Cash on hand and at banks 3 81,454 379,746
Contributions receivable 4 275,794 230,127
Other current assets 5 21,790 23,859
Total Current Assets 379,038 633,732

Property, Plant and Equipment – net 6 238,742 202,172

Total Assets 617,780 835,904

LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS

Current Liabilities 7 60,801 15,120

Net Assets
Unrestricted 349,082 420,983
Temporarily restricted 207,897 399,801
Total Net Assets 556,979 820,784

Total Liabilities and Net Assets 617,780 835,904

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

PALESTINIAN CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
STATEMENTS OF ACTIVITIES
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2000 AND 1999
(Currency: U.S. $)

2000 1999
Temporarily
Notes Unrestricted restricted Total Total

REVENUES
Donors’ contributions 8 575,031 144,696 719,727 896,188
Other 13,577 - 13,577 13,670
Net assets released from restriction 336,600 (336,600) - -
Total Revenues 925,208 (191,904) 733,304 909,858

EXPENSES
Programs 9 737,104 - 737,104 612,930
Administrative and general 9 260,005 - 260,005 210,505
Total Expenses 997,109 - 997,109 823,435
(Excess of expenses over revenues)
Excess of revenues over expenses (71,901) (191,904) (263,805) 86,423
Net assets, beginning of year 420,983 399,801 820,784 734,361
Net assets, end of year 349,082 207,897 556,979 820,784

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

PALESTINIAN CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2000 AND 1999
(Currency: U.S. $)

2000 1999
Cash Flows from Operating Activities

(Excess of expenses over revenues) Excess of

revenues over expenses (263,805) 86,423
Adjustment to reconcile (excess of expenses over
revenues) excess of revenues over expenses to net
cash from operating activities:
Depreciation 57,109 41,215
Gain on sale of fixed assets - (388)
Increase in contributions receivable (45,667) (19,702)
Decrease (increase) in other current assets 2,069 (2,832)
Increase (decrease) in current liabilities 45,681 (2,056)

Net Cash Used in (Provided from) Operating

Activities (204,613) 102,660

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

Purchase of property, plant and equipment (93,679) (57,274)

Proceeds from sale of fixed assets - 300

Net Cash Used in Investing Activities (93,679) (56,974)

Net Increase in Cash on Hand and at Banks (298,292) 45,686

Cash on Hand and at Banks, beginning of year 379,746 334,060

Cash on Hand and at Banks, end of year 81,454 379,746

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

 PALESTINIAN CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2000 AND 1999
(Currency: U. S. $)
PCHR and its Activities
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (“PCHR”) was established on April 1,
1995 and formally registered in Gaza as of August 10, 1995 as a non-for-profit
organization by a group of lawyers and human rights activists in order to
protecting human rights and promoting the rule of law in accordance with
international standards. In addition, PCHR goals are to create and develop
democratic institutions and an active civil society, while promoting democratic
culture within the Palestinian society.

PCHR activities include monitoring, investigating and documenting human

rights violations and extending the necessary consultation services to
individuals and groups through conducting necessary research in human
rights agreements and international law.

PCHR sets, independently, its three years plan, which is fully, or partially,
financed by donors. Further, PCHR program units are: fieldwork, legal aid,
woman, social & economic, library, training and democratic development,
which are supported by administrative and general staff.

During the year, PCHR established two offices in Jabalia and Khan Younis in a
step to increase its services coverage to these areas.
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost
convention, the significant accounting policies follow:
− General
Net assets, revenues, expenses, and gains and losses are classified based
on the existence or absence of donor-imposed restrictions. Accordingly,
net assets and changes therein are classified as unrestricted, temporarily
restricted and permanently restricted. Unrestricted net assets are those
whose use by PCHR are not subject to donor-imposed stipulations.
Temporarily restricted net assets are those whose use by PCHR has been
limited by donors specific time period or purpose. Permanently restricted
net assets are those restricted by donors to be maintained by PCHR in
perpetuity. During 2000 and 1999 PCHR had no permanently restricted
net assets.
− Donors Contributions
Unconditional promises to give cash and other assets to PCHR are
recorded at the fair market value at the date promises to give are made.
Conditional promises to give and indications of intention to give are
recorded at the fair market value at the date contribution is received.
Unconditional promises to give are promises that depend only on
passage of time and certain performance by the promising donors.
Restricted contributions are recorded as either temporarily or
permanently restricted revenues. When donors restricted contributions
expire, that is, when a stipulated time restriction ends or purpose
 restriction is accomplished, temporarily restricted net assets are
reclassified as unrestricted net assets and reported in the statement of
activities as net assets released from restriction.
− Fixed Assets
Fixed assets are recorded at cost and depreciated over their estimated
useful lives using the straight-line method. The estimated useful lives of
these assets are –
Years
Furniture and fixtures 10
Office equipment 6.67
Computers, software and printers 4
Motor vehicles 6.67
Library books 10

− Foreign Currency
PCHR’s basic functional currency is the U.S. Dollar. Transactions, which
are expressed or denominated in other currencies, were translated to U.S.
Dollar using exchange rates in effect at the time of each transaction.
Assets and liabilities, which are denominated in other currencies, are
translated to U.S. Dollar using exchange rates prevailing at year-end.
Gains and losses arising from the translation are reflected in the
statement of activities.
Cash on Hand and at Banks
2000 1999
Petty cash 900 482
Bank of Jordan 31,992 73,077
Bank of Jordan – Certificate of deposit 48,562 306,187
81,454 379,746
Contributions Receivable
2000 1999
Grassroots International – USA (1) 27,627 33,200
Open Society Institute (2) - 50,000
NOVIB (3) 181,346 -
DanChurchAid/DANIDA (4) 66,821 119,708
Development Cooperation Division -
Department of Ireland Foreign Affairs. - 27,219
275,794 230,127
(1) Grassroots International approved an unrestricted grant for the year
ended December 31, 2000, which will be disbursed for PCHR in 2001.
(2) During 1999, Open Society Institute agreed to pay PCHR U.S.$ 50,000.
PCHR received the amount in 2000.
(3) The amount represents the unconditional promise to give a grant to
PCHR as referred to in note 8 below.
(4) DanChurchAid grant to PCHR comprises U.S. $ 196,695, of which U.S.
$ 76,987 and U.S.$ 52,887 were received during the 1999 and 2000,
respectively. A balance of U.S.$ 66,821 remains as contribution
receivable.

2
Other Current Assets
2000 1999
Prepaid rent 19,587 18,217
Employees receivable 2,203 5,642
21,790 23,859
Property, Plant and Equipment
Components of property, plant and equipment as of December 31, 2000 and
movement during the year follow.
Balance, Balance,
January December
1, 2000 Additions Retirements 31, 2000
Costs:
Furniture and fixtures 55,582 28,192 - 83,774
Office equipment 113,511 29,704 - 143,215
Computers, software and printers 60,904 34,483 - 95,387
Motor vehicle 35,000 - - 35,000
Library books 42,525 1,300 - 43,825
307,522 93,679 - 401,201
Accumulated Depreciation:
Furniture and fixtures 15,726 7,691 - 23,417
Office equipment 37,889 19,669 - 57,558
Computers, software and printers 34,620 20,176 - 54,796
Motor vehicle 5,436 5,250 - 10,686
Library books 11,679 4,323 - 16,002
105,350 57,109 - 162,459

Net Book Value 202,172 238,742

Current Liabilities
2000 1999
Accrued fax and telephone expense 7,124 2,981
Accrued professional fees 5,000 4,095
Accrued payroll tax 8,550 1,000
Due to pension fund 31,255 1,545
Accrued utilities 565 -
Accrued health expense 1,100 -
Other accrued liabilities 7,207 5,499
60,801 15,120

3
 Donors’ Contributions
Donors’ Contributions during the year 2000 were as follows.
2000 1999
Temporarily restricted
Contribution Promises Total
Unrestricted received to give Total contributions Total
Swedish ICJ – Sweden (1) 115,009 - - - 115,009 129,011
Ford Foundation – USA (2) 150,000 - - - 150,000 -
NOVIB – Holland (3) 193,127 - 141,076 141,076 334,203 173,236
Representative Office of Norway – PA 50,000 - - - 50,000 40,000
Christian Aid – UK - 2,420 - 2,420 2,420 80,345
Australian Embassy 33,165 - - - 33,165 -
Grassroots International – USA (4) 27,627 - - - 27,627 34,200
Open Society Institute - - - - - 50,000
Development Cooperation Division–
Department of Ireland Foreign Affairs. - - - - - 91,219
DanChurchAid/DANIDA - 1,200 - 1,200 1,200 196,695
Royal Danish Representative Office- PA - - - - - 70,000
U.N.A.I S. - - - - - 21,952
Arab Cause Solidarity Committee – Spain 5,815 - - - 5,815 -
Other donors 288 - - - 288 9,530
575,031 3,620 141,076 144,696 719,727 896,188

(1) Swedish ICJ grant was in the form of a three-year financing agreement of
PCHR’s budget for SEK 1,000,000, annually, started in 1998. Swedish ICJ
transferred funding for 1998, 1999 and 2000. Included in ICJ contribution for
the year an additional U.S.$ 10,000 after an emergency request made by PCHR.
(2) The Ford Foundation approved a grant of U.S.$ 150,000 to PCHR in support of
the protection and promotion of human rights in Gaza. PCHR received the
grant during 2000.
(3) During the year, NOVIB agreed to finance PCHR budget for DFL 1,118,580,
approximately U.S.$ 451,040 at 2.48 DFL to 1 U.S.$ exchange rate. The amount
received during the year was DFL 372,860, equivalent to U.S.$ 152,857. In
addition, NOVIB approved an amount of DFL 100,000, equivalent to U.S.$
40,270 for an emergency assistance, which was received in January 2001.
Included in the grant the equivalent of U.S.$ 141,076, which represents
unconditional promise to give and expected to be received as follows:

Expected date of Amount in Equivalent

disbursement DFL in U.S.$
January 2001 175,000 70,564
January 2002 100,000 40,270
May 2002 75,000 30,242
350,000 141,076

These amounts and the emergency assistance grant of U.S.$ 40,270 referred to
above were recorded as contribution receivable of U.S.$ 181,346 in note 4
above.
In addition to above amounts, NOVIB’s grant includes conditional promise to
give for the amount equivalent to U.S.$ 159,563, which will be recorded when
received. (See note 10 below)
(4) The amount represents unrestricted grant made by Grassroots International for
the year ended December 31, 2000, referred to in note 4 above.

4
 Expenses
2000 1999
Management
Programs & General Total Total
Salaries and related costs * 413,615 218,947 632,562 507,112
Publication, publicity, and photocopy 51,108 409 51,517 49,410
Fax, phone and postage 37,700 6,653 44,353 32,238
Hosting visitors 6,343 705 7,048 4,116
Depreciation 48,542 8,567 57,109 41,215
Rent 22,131 3,905 26,036 16,100
International cooperation –travel and
meetings 11,325 1,258 12,583 11,364
Staff training development 11,017 - 11,017 12,175
Hosting/conducting workshops and
seminars 30,305 - 30,305 41,459
Transportation 9,775 2,444 12,219 7,774
Professional fees 42,091 1,710 43,801 44,956
Attending conferences and seminars 13,151 5,636 18,787 19,227
Stationery and supplies 13,319 2,350 15,669 9,790
Utilities 4,909 866 5,775 3,573
Bank charges - 1,265 1,265 834
Motor vehicles expenses 974 243 1,217 2,097
Maintenance 10,053 1,774 11,827 8,762
Subscription to magazine and internet 5,879 653 6,532 4,465
Miscellaneous 4,867 2,620 7,487 6,768
737,104 260,005 997,109 823,435

* Details of this item follow:

2000 1999
Management
Programs & General Total Total
Salaries 285,770 153,876 439,646 357,176
Payroll tax 11,615 6,255 17,870 14,866
End of service indemnity (1) 24,081 12,967 37,048 29,433
Pension (2) 54,854 29,536 84,390 72,577
Bonus 20,769 11,184 31,953 18,040
Employees’ health insurance 16,526 5,129 21,655 15,020
413,615 218,947 632,562 507,112
(1) PCHR is required, by the labor law, to provide indemnity payments
upon termination of relationship with its employees. The benefit is
based on each employee’s current monthly salary.
(2) PCHR has a policy of providing pension funds to its employees based
on 7% of employee contributions matched with 14% of PCHR’s
contribution of gross salaries. These benefits are accounted for
separately as a part of the end of service indemnity and the pension
fund (the Fund) which constitutes a separate accounting entity.
Separate audited financial statements are issued for the Fund. The
Fund has a special bank account, in the name of PCHR employees’

5
saving, into which benefits are deposited shortly after they are
accrued.

Conditional Promises to Give

According to PCHR accounting policy concerning conditional promises to give
made by donors as referred to in note (2) above, conditional promises to give
are recorded when received. The following comprises conditional promises to
give as of December 31, 2000.

Donors 2000 1999

Swedish ICJ – Sweden - 123,508
NOVIB – Holland * 159,563 -
159,563 123,508

* These amounts, equivalent to U.S.$ 159,563, represent conditional

promises to give. NOVIB will disburse these amounts after receiving funds
from the Dutch Government International Cooperation. These conditional
promises to give will be recorded when received, and expected to be
received as follows:
Expected date of Amount in Equivalent
Disbursement DFL in U.S.$
May 2001 197,860 79,782
May 2002 168,181 67,815
May 2003 29,679 11,966
395,720 159,563

Comparative Financial Statements

The 1999 financial statements were audited by another firm of accountants
whose report dated January 15, 2000 was unqualified. Also, certain balances as
of December 31, 1999 have been reclassified to conform with the current year
presentation.

6
 PALESTINIAN CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL DATA TO
THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ACTUAL AND BUDGET RESULTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2000
(Currency: U. S. $)

The following comprises a comparison between actual and budgeted expenses, and
additions to fixed assets for the year ended December 31, 2000. Certain similar
expense items as per PCHR’s budget have been reclassified to conform with the
financial statements presentation.
Actual Budget Variances
Salaries and related costs 632,562 815,239 182,677
Publication, publicity, printing and photocopy 51,517 55,500 3,983
Fax, phone, communication and postage 44,353 36,000 (8,353)
Rent 26,036 25,000 (1,036)
International Cooperation –travel and meetings 12,583 36,000 23,417
Staff training development 11,017 20,000 8,983
Hosting seminars, conferences, workshops and
Visitors 37,353 21,000 (16,353)
Transportation 12,219 10,200 (2,019)
Professional fees 43,801 38,000 (5,801)
Attending conferences and seminars 18,787 24,000 5,213
Stationery and supplies 15,669 9,500 (6,169)
Utilities 5,775 7,300 1,525
Bank charges 1,265 - (1,265)
Motor vehicle expense 1,217 2,000 783
Maintenance 11,827 10,050 (1,777)
Subscription in magazine and internet 6,532 9,090 2,558
Miscellaneous 7,487 5,360 (2,127)
Subtotal * 940,000 1,124,239 184,239

Fixed assets ** 93,679 66,410 (27,269)

Total 1,033,679 1,190,649 156,970

∗ The following is to reconcile with total actual expenses

referred to in note 9 to the financial statements.

Total actual expenses other than depreciation 940,000

Depreciation - unbudgeted non cash item 57,109
Total expenses as per financial statements 997,109

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** Details of this amount for the year follow.

Actual Budget Variance

Furniture and fixture 28,192 11,310 (16,882)
Office equipment 29,704 21,000 (8,704)
Computer, software and printer 34,483 22,100 (12,383)
Library books 1,300 12,000 10,700
93,679 66,410 (27,269)