25 apr 2019
In a newly published report, the United Nations noted that the scope of the challenges facing the Palestinian people and government is unprecedented. A major fiscal crisis, coupled with growing humanitarian needs, and the lack of a political prospect for a negotiated solution, threatens the stability of the West Bank and the very survival of the Palestinian state-building effort, according to a press release issued on Thursday.
The report, which was issued by the office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) for the upcoming bi-annual meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) in Brussels on April 30th, warned of the unprecedented financial, security, and political challenges faced by the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The UN report detailed the backdrop, which includes continued Israeli military occupation, settlement expansion and demolitions, territorial fragmentation, lack of jurisdiction, increased Palestinian protection needs, violence between Palestinians and the Israeli Security Forces and dwindling financial support.
Of particular concern, is the financial crisis caused by Israel’s decision to partially withhold six percent of the clearance revenue it collects on behalf of the PA and the subsequent Palestinian decision not to accept any such revenue unless the full amount it is owed is transferred. As a result of these decisions, the Palestinian Government has been deprived of some 65% of its revenue and forced to take extreme austerity measures.
The report also warned that unless resolved, the impact of this crisis will take years to undo and reiterated the UN Secretary-General’s call to both sides to engage in a constructive manner with the goal of restoring the revenue transfers in full, in line with the Paris Protocol on Economic Relations.
It stressed the United Nations’ firm commitment to continue working with Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the international community to find a solution to the unprecedented fiscal crisis as a matter of urgency.
The report outlined a number of steps taken by the UN to facilitate the implementation of critical humanitarian and economic interventions in Gaza, which were supported by the AHLC in September 2018.
These achievements include a more than doubling of the electricity supply to the Gaza Strip since October 2018, the creation of thousands of temporary jobs, and the provision of emergency medical supplies. It further detailed continuing efforts to find sustainable solutions for the energy, water and health sectors.
The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, said, “Addressing the deteriorating humanitarian and economic situation in Gaza requires not only donor funding and project implementation, but bold policy decisions by all sides.”
Mladenov added, “The continued Israeli closures on Gaza, coupled with internal Palestinian division and more than a decade of Hamas rule in Gaza, has resulted in the breakdown of governance in the Gaza Strip and increased the risk of war.”
The AHLC, chaired by Norway and co-sponsored by the European Union (EU) and the United States with the participation of the UN together with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), serves as the principal policy-level coordination mechanism for development assistance to the occupied Palestinian territory and seeks to promote dialogue between donors, the PA and the Israeli government.
The report, which was issued by the office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) for the upcoming bi-annual meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) in Brussels on April 30th, warned of the unprecedented financial, security, and political challenges faced by the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The UN report detailed the backdrop, which includes continued Israeli military occupation, settlement expansion and demolitions, territorial fragmentation, lack of jurisdiction, increased Palestinian protection needs, violence between Palestinians and the Israeli Security Forces and dwindling financial support.
Of particular concern, is the financial crisis caused by Israel’s decision to partially withhold six percent of the clearance revenue it collects on behalf of the PA and the subsequent Palestinian decision not to accept any such revenue unless the full amount it is owed is transferred. As a result of these decisions, the Palestinian Government has been deprived of some 65% of its revenue and forced to take extreme austerity measures.
The report also warned that unless resolved, the impact of this crisis will take years to undo and reiterated the UN Secretary-General’s call to both sides to engage in a constructive manner with the goal of restoring the revenue transfers in full, in line with the Paris Protocol on Economic Relations.
It stressed the United Nations’ firm commitment to continue working with Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the international community to find a solution to the unprecedented fiscal crisis as a matter of urgency.
The report outlined a number of steps taken by the UN to facilitate the implementation of critical humanitarian and economic interventions in Gaza, which were supported by the AHLC in September 2018.
These achievements include a more than doubling of the electricity supply to the Gaza Strip since October 2018, the creation of thousands of temporary jobs, and the provision of emergency medical supplies. It further detailed continuing efforts to find sustainable solutions for the energy, water and health sectors.
The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, said, “Addressing the deteriorating humanitarian and economic situation in Gaza requires not only donor funding and project implementation, but bold policy decisions by all sides.”
Mladenov added, “The continued Israeli closures on Gaza, coupled with internal Palestinian division and more than a decade of Hamas rule in Gaza, has resulted in the breakdown of governance in the Gaza Strip and increased the risk of war.”
The AHLC, chaired by Norway and co-sponsored by the European Union (EU) and the United States with the participation of the UN together with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), serves as the principal policy-level coordination mechanism for development assistance to the occupied Palestinian territory and seeks to promote dialogue between donors, the PA and the Israeli government.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns that the Israeli authorities stationed at Beit Hanoun “Erez” Crossing arrested a patient’s companion, from the Gaza Strip, while returning to the Gaza Strip.
According to PCHR’s investigations, at approximately 12:00 on Tuesday, 23 April 2019, the Israeli authorities arrested Karam Mustafa Mohammed Tantawi (51), from al-Qal’a buildings, south of Khan Younis. Karam, who was accompanying his wife Safa’ ‘Abed al-Majeed Tantawi (47), a cancer patient, was arrested while returning to the Gaza Strip after his wife received treatment at al-Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem.
Safa’ said to PCHR’s fieldworker that on 01 April 2019, she left the Gaza Strip along with her husband to al-Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem through Beit Hanoun “Erez” Crossing. She added that she received treatment for 20 days and while she was returning to the Gaza Strip along with her husband, the Israeli authorities arrested him. She clarified that after around 15 minutes, Israeli soldiers ordered her to leave alone to the Gaza Strip, but she refused and waited until 18:00. After that, the Palestinian Civil Liaison informed her that she should return to the Gaza Strip because her husband was arrested.
It should be noted that the PCHR’s lawyer, in his capacity as the legal agent for al-Tantawi, was prevented today from visiting him in al- Majdal Prison. The court extended his arrest until next Tuesday, 30 April 2019.
PCHR stresses that the ongoing Israeli forces policy of arresting patients and their companions is considered as violation of the international human rights law and the international humanitarian law. It also constitutes a form of inhuman and degrading punishment, which coincides with the policy of tightening the illegal closure imposed on the Gaza Strip. This aggravates the patients’ suffering as their treatment is not available in the Gaza Strip hospitals.
In light of the above, PCHR:
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For more information, please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 – 2825893
Gaza- Jamal ‘Abdel Nasser “al-Thalathini” Street – Al-Roya Building- Floor 12 , El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
According to PCHR’s investigations, at approximately 12:00 on Tuesday, 23 April 2019, the Israeli authorities arrested Karam Mustafa Mohammed Tantawi (51), from al-Qal’a buildings, south of Khan Younis. Karam, who was accompanying his wife Safa’ ‘Abed al-Majeed Tantawi (47), a cancer patient, was arrested while returning to the Gaza Strip after his wife received treatment at al-Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem.
Safa’ said to PCHR’s fieldworker that on 01 April 2019, she left the Gaza Strip along with her husband to al-Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem through Beit Hanoun “Erez” Crossing. She added that she received treatment for 20 days and while she was returning to the Gaza Strip along with her husband, the Israeli authorities arrested him. She clarified that after around 15 minutes, Israeli soldiers ordered her to leave alone to the Gaza Strip, but she refused and waited until 18:00. After that, the Palestinian Civil Liaison informed her that she should return to the Gaza Strip because her husband was arrested.
It should be noted that the PCHR’s lawyer, in his capacity as the legal agent for al-Tantawi, was prevented today from visiting him in al- Majdal Prison. The court extended his arrest until next Tuesday, 30 April 2019.
PCHR stresses that the ongoing Israeli forces policy of arresting patients and their companions is considered as violation of the international human rights law and the international humanitarian law. It also constitutes a form of inhuman and degrading punishment, which coincides with the policy of tightening the illegal closure imposed on the Gaza Strip. This aggravates the patients’ suffering as their treatment is not available in the Gaza Strip hospitals.
In light of the above, PCHR:
- Strongly condemns the arrest of Palestinian patients and their companions during their travel to receive treatment by the Israeli authorities. PCHR also calls for their immediate release and ensuring not to put their lives in danger.
- Calls upon the international community, including the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to fulfill their obligations and assume their responsibilities and intervene to put an end to the Israeli forces’ violations to the international humanitarian law against Palestinians.
- Calls for ensuring the freedom of movement of the Gaza Strip’s residents from/to the West Bank, including Jerusalem
Public Document
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Follow PCHR on Facebook and Twitter
For more information, please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 – 2825893
Gaza- Jamal ‘Abdel Nasser “al-Thalathini” Street – Al-Roya Building- Floor 12 , El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
24 apr 2019
A Pew research survey found that far more Americans favor Israelis than their government; support for Israel among Republicans is higher than among Democrats and most have negative view of the PA
A survey in the United States found that most Americans, 64%, have a positive opinion regarding Israeli society. However, only 41% of those surveyed had a positive view on the Israeli government; 51% have a negative view.
The survey was conducted by the Pew Research Center during the first half of April and included 10,523 people. The survey demonstrated a stark difference in how Republican and Democratic voters view Israel. 77% of Republicans support Israel while among Democrats that number is 57%.
Regarding opinions on the government, the gap was even wider: 61% of Republicans support the Israeli government while only 32% of Democrats said they do. Two thirds of Democrats have a negative opinion regarding Israel's government, compared to 26% of Republicans polled.
More Democrats view the Palestinians favorably than Republicans, 58% versus 32%. Voters of both parties have strongly negative views of the Palestinian government — 81% of Republicans and 65% of Democrats.
Overall, 46% of Americans said they supported the Palestinians while only 19% said they supported their government.
Ahead of the yet-to-be unveiled Trump peace plan, half of those polled thought that the president would be able to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians and 34% said they felt that Trump is more inclined to support Israel, compared to 6% who view Trump as somewhat hostile to Israel.
79% of Republicans believe that Trump treats both sides equally while among Democrats, 54% said that the president is biased in Israel's favor.
Most Democrats who consider themselves to be liberals —66% —believe that Trump is very biased toward Israel, while among more moderate Democrats, 43% said that Trump is biased and 38$ said that his approach is balanced.
A survey in the United States found that most Americans, 64%, have a positive opinion regarding Israeli society. However, only 41% of those surveyed had a positive view on the Israeli government; 51% have a negative view.
The survey was conducted by the Pew Research Center during the first half of April and included 10,523 people. The survey demonstrated a stark difference in how Republican and Democratic voters view Israel. 77% of Republicans support Israel while among Democrats that number is 57%.
Regarding opinions on the government, the gap was even wider: 61% of Republicans support the Israeli government while only 32% of Democrats said they do. Two thirds of Democrats have a negative opinion regarding Israel's government, compared to 26% of Republicans polled.
More Democrats view the Palestinians favorably than Republicans, 58% versus 32%. Voters of both parties have strongly negative views of the Palestinian government — 81% of Republicans and 65% of Democrats.
Overall, 46% of Americans said they supported the Palestinians while only 19% said they supported their government.
Ahead of the yet-to-be unveiled Trump peace plan, half of those polled thought that the president would be able to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians and 34% said they felt that Trump is more inclined to support Israel, compared to 6% who view Trump as somewhat hostile to Israel.
79% of Republicans believe that Trump treats both sides equally while among Democrats, 54% said that the president is biased in Israel's favor.
Most Democrats who consider themselves to be liberals —66% —believe that Trump is very biased toward Israel, while among more moderate Democrats, 43% said that Trump is biased and 38$ said that his approach is balanced.
23 apr 2019
A new report [pdf] documenting Israeli human rights violations of Palestinian rights in Jerusalem was issued, on Tuesday, by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor.
The Euro-Med report, entitled "Strangers in their Land: Human Rights Violations in the Holy City," covers cases of home raids, searches, demolitions, travel bans, expulsions and other violations during March 2019.
The report documents Israel's systematic and deliberate escalation policies and illegal practices, which constitute gross human rights violations against Palestinians in the occupied East Jerusalem.
The report stressed that the United States Trump administration's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in December 2017, gave the green light to the Israeli authorities to continue and escalate their flagrant violations against the Palestinian people in general and those of Jerusalem in particular, in an attempt to obliterate the Arab, Christian, and Islamic identities from the Holy City.
The report documents cases where Israel deliberately shut down social and political activities and events organized in Jerusalem, revealing that the long-term contribution would be erasing the Palestinian identity from the public scene in Jerusalem.
The Euro-Med report monitors grave violations committed by the Israeli authorities against the Palestinian population of Jerusalem, including procedures followed during and after their arrest, such as home searches without a judicial warrant and high fines.
Documenting Israeli religious violations, the report relies primarily on testimonies collected by Euro-Med's team and human rights activists in Jerusalem.
Concluding the report, the Euro-Med called on the international community to act seriously and effectively to stop Israeli policies in violation of international law, including displacement, abuse, and arbitrary detention practices, and calls for safeguarding freedoms, especially relating to religion.
Euro-Med also condemned in the strongest terms the blatant violations of the rights of Jerusalemites to live in dignity and without racial discrimination, especially as the Israeli municipality continues to deny Palestinians an organizational plan to regulate construction in East Jerusalem.
The human rights organization urged human rights organizations to highlight the seriousness of the measures taken by the Israeli occupation authorities regarding the policy of sudden demolition without warning, including the destruction of properties with families' belongings buried under the rubble.
The Euro-Med report, entitled "Strangers in their Land: Human Rights Violations in the Holy City," covers cases of home raids, searches, demolitions, travel bans, expulsions and other violations during March 2019.
The report documents Israel's systematic and deliberate escalation policies and illegal practices, which constitute gross human rights violations against Palestinians in the occupied East Jerusalem.
The report stressed that the United States Trump administration's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in December 2017, gave the green light to the Israeli authorities to continue and escalate their flagrant violations against the Palestinian people in general and those of Jerusalem in particular, in an attempt to obliterate the Arab, Christian, and Islamic identities from the Holy City.
The report documents cases where Israel deliberately shut down social and political activities and events organized in Jerusalem, revealing that the long-term contribution would be erasing the Palestinian identity from the public scene in Jerusalem.
The Euro-Med report monitors grave violations committed by the Israeli authorities against the Palestinian population of Jerusalem, including procedures followed during and after their arrest, such as home searches without a judicial warrant and high fines.
Documenting Israeli religious violations, the report relies primarily on testimonies collected by Euro-Med's team and human rights activists in Jerusalem.
Concluding the report, the Euro-Med called on the international community to act seriously and effectively to stop Israeli policies in violation of international law, including displacement, abuse, and arbitrary detention practices, and calls for safeguarding freedoms, especially relating to religion.
Euro-Med also condemned in the strongest terms the blatant violations of the rights of Jerusalemites to live in dignity and without racial discrimination, especially as the Israeli municipality continues to deny Palestinians an organizational plan to regulate construction in East Jerusalem.
The human rights organization urged human rights organizations to highlight the seriousness of the measures taken by the Israeli occupation authorities regarding the policy of sudden demolition without warning, including the destruction of properties with families' belongings buried under the rubble.
22 apr 2019
The Palestinian Center For Human Rights (PCHR): In a new and unprecedented move, an Israeli Court on April 16, 2019 has decided to uphold the revocation of the work permit of Human Rights Watch (HRW) Israel and Palestine Director, Omar Shakir, ordering him to leave the country within 14 days based on allegations that he supported a boycott of Israel.
The ruling was based on a lawsuit filed by Human Rights Watch in May 2018 to challenge the decision of the Israeli government to revoke the work permit of Omar Shakir, who assumed his role as Director of HRW in Israel and Palestine in October 2016, as well as the law upon which the ruling is based, the anti-boycott law, a 2017 amendment to Israel’s Law of the Entry which bars entry or the grant of residence or work permit to foreign nationals who allegedly support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The court found that Shakir has “continuously” been calling for boycotts of Israel, citing his student activism as well as his subsequent work for HRW particularly through his social media posts.
The court found as “boycott-promoting activities” HRW’s research on the activities of businesses such as Airbnb, Booking.com, and Fifa, and its recommendations that they crease operating in settlements in the West Bank as their continuation will make them complicit in violating Palestinians’ human rights and constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. Moreover, the court held that the anti-boycott law applies equally to boycotts directed at Israel and those directed at the settlements.
This ruling sets a dangerous precedent and is a reflection of the shrinking space for human rights defenders, who work on monitoring and documenting violations of international humanitarian and human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).
In recent years, particularly in the aftermath of 2014 Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, Israel has increasingly targeted civil society organizations and human rights defenders, particularly those who have submitted evidence to the ICC, including PCHR, by launching attacks in the form of false accusations, defamation, and smear campaigns intended to undermine their legitimacy, silence their independent voices, and limit their donor funding.
The rights and responsibilities that protect the work of human rights defenders are well-entrenched in international law.
Among other primary human rights instruments, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights have proclaimed the inalienable freedoms of opinion and expression, and movement.
Those foundational instruments do not only champions all people rights, but also the activities of human rights defenders. Furthermore, the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly in 1999, provides a range of rights and protection for human rights defenders and imposes duties and responsibilities on states to protect them even if they are openly critical of government entities, policies, or actions in the name of promoting and protecting human rights (Article 12).
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the measures taken against Omar Shakir, whose case represents the latest assault by Israel on human rights defenders. PCHR calls upon the international community to pressure Israel to abide by its obligations under international law by taking measures to repeal the 2017 amendment to Israel’s Law of the Entry and to cease hampering the work of human rights defenders and organizations.
Public Document
**************************************
Follow PCHR on Facebook and Twitter
For more information, please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 – 2825893
Gaza- Jamal ‘Abdel Nasser “al-Thalathini” Street – Al-Roya Building- Floor 12 , El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
The ruling was based on a lawsuit filed by Human Rights Watch in May 2018 to challenge the decision of the Israeli government to revoke the work permit of Omar Shakir, who assumed his role as Director of HRW in Israel and Palestine in October 2016, as well as the law upon which the ruling is based, the anti-boycott law, a 2017 amendment to Israel’s Law of the Entry which bars entry or the grant of residence or work permit to foreign nationals who allegedly support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The court found that Shakir has “continuously” been calling for boycotts of Israel, citing his student activism as well as his subsequent work for HRW particularly through his social media posts.
The court found as “boycott-promoting activities” HRW’s research on the activities of businesses such as Airbnb, Booking.com, and Fifa, and its recommendations that they crease operating in settlements in the West Bank as their continuation will make them complicit in violating Palestinians’ human rights and constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. Moreover, the court held that the anti-boycott law applies equally to boycotts directed at Israel and those directed at the settlements.
This ruling sets a dangerous precedent and is a reflection of the shrinking space for human rights defenders, who work on monitoring and documenting violations of international humanitarian and human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).
In recent years, particularly in the aftermath of 2014 Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, Israel has increasingly targeted civil society organizations and human rights defenders, particularly those who have submitted evidence to the ICC, including PCHR, by launching attacks in the form of false accusations, defamation, and smear campaigns intended to undermine their legitimacy, silence their independent voices, and limit their donor funding.
The rights and responsibilities that protect the work of human rights defenders are well-entrenched in international law.
Among other primary human rights instruments, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights have proclaimed the inalienable freedoms of opinion and expression, and movement.
Those foundational instruments do not only champions all people rights, but also the activities of human rights defenders. Furthermore, the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly in 1999, provides a range of rights and protection for human rights defenders and imposes duties and responsibilities on states to protect them even if they are openly critical of government entities, policies, or actions in the name of promoting and protecting human rights (Article 12).
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the measures taken against Omar Shakir, whose case represents the latest assault by Israel on human rights defenders. PCHR calls upon the international community to pressure Israel to abide by its obligations under international law by taking measures to repeal the 2017 amendment to Israel’s Law of the Entry and to cease hampering the work of human rights defenders and organizations.
Public Document
**************************************
Follow PCHR on Facebook and Twitter
For more information, please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 – 2825893
Gaza- Jamal ‘Abdel Nasser “al-Thalathini” Street – Al-Roya Building- Floor 12 , El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
20 apr 2019
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The Palestinian Centre For Human Rights (PCHR): On Friday, 19 April 2019, in excessive use of force against peaceful protesters on the 55th Friday of the Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege, Israeli forces wounded 100 civilians, including 23 children, 5 women, 4 paramedics, and 4 journalists, in the eastern Gaza Strip. Two of those wounded sustained serious wounds.
According to observations by PCHR’s fieldworkers, the Israeli forces who stationed in prone positions and in military jeeps along the fence with Israel continued to use excessive force against the protesters by firing bullets and tear gas canisters at them. |
As a result, dozens of the protesters were hit with bullets and teargas canisters without posing any imminent threat or danger to the life of soldiers.
During this week, Israeli forces have escalated their attacks against the medical personnel in the field, wounding 4 members of them and targeting an ambulance belonging to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in eastern Khan Younis with a teargas canister directly while in field and evacuating those wounded.
This indicates that there is an Israeli systematic policy to target the medical personnel and obstruct their humanitarian work that is guaranteed under the rules of the international humanitarian law.
On Friday, 19 April 2019, the incidents were as follows:
At approximately 16:00, thousands of civilians, including women, children and entire families, started swarming to the five encampments established by the Supreme National Authority of Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege adjacent to the border fence with Israel in eastern Gaza Strip cities.
Hundreds of protesters, including children and women, gathered adjacent to the border fence with Israel in front of each encampment and its vicinity tens and hundreds of meters away from the fence. The protesters chanted slogans, raised flags, and in very limited incidents attempted to approach the border fence and throw stones at the Israeli forces.
Although the protesters gathered in areas open to the Israeli snipers stationed on the top of the sand berms and military watchtowers and inside and behind the military jeeps, the Israeli forces fired live and rubber bullets in addition to a barrage of tear gas canisters.
The Israeli shooting, which continued at around 19:00, resulted in the injury of 100 civilians, including 23 children, 5 women, 4 paramedics, and 4 journalists. Thirty-three of those wounded were hit with live bullets and shrapnel, 42 were directly hit with tear gas canisters and 13 were hit with rubber bullets. In addition, dozens of civilians suffered tear gas inhalation and seizures due to tear gas canisters that were fired by the Israeli forces from the military jeeps and riffles in the eastern Gaza Strip.
The following table shows the number of civilian casualties due to the Israeli forces’ suppression of the Great March of Return since its beginning on 30 March:
Killed Wounded
Total 203 12161
Children 44 2351
Women 2 367
Journalists 2 198
Medical personnel 3 194
Persons with disabilities 8 Undefined
Note: Among those wounded, 543 are in serious condition and 137 had their lower or upper limbs amputated; 123 lower-limb amputations, 14 upper-limb amputations, and 25 children had their limbs amputated according to the Ministry of Health. The number of those wounded only include those wounded with live bullets and directly hit with tear gas canisters, as there have been thousand others who suffered tear gas inhalation and sustained bruises.
PCHR reiterates Palestinians’ right to peaceful assembly to confront Israel and its forces’ denial of the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination, right to return and right to end the occupation of the Palestinian territory.
PCHR stresses that the Israeli forces should stop using excessive force and respond to the legitimate demands of the demonstrators, particularly lifting the closure which is the real solution to end the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
PCHR reiterates the reported published in February by the UN Commission of Inquiry which emphasizes what came by PCHR and other Palestinian and international human rights organizations. The report at the time concluded that the Israeli violations may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
PCHR emphasizes that continuously targeting civilians, who exercise their right to peaceful assembly or while carrying out their humanitarian duty, is a serious violation of the rules of international law, international humanitarian law, the ICC Rome Statute and Fourth Geneva Convention.
Thus, PCHR reiterates its call upon the ICC Prosecutor to open an official investigation in these crimes and to prosecute and hold accountable all those applying or involved in issuing orders within the Israeli Forces at the security and political echelons.
PCHR also emphasizes that the High Contracting Parties to the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention should fulfill their obligation under Article 1; i.e., to respect and ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances and their obligations under Article 146 to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
PCHR calls upon Switzerland, in its capacity as the Depository State for the Convention, to demand the High Contracting Parties to convene a meeting and ensure Israel’s respect for this Convention, noting that these grave breaches constitute war crimes under Article 147 of the same Convention and Protocol (I) Additional to the Geneva Conventions regarding the guarantee of Palestinian civilians’ right to protection in the occupied territories.
During this week, Israeli forces have escalated their attacks against the medical personnel in the field, wounding 4 members of them and targeting an ambulance belonging to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in eastern Khan Younis with a teargas canister directly while in field and evacuating those wounded.
This indicates that there is an Israeli systematic policy to target the medical personnel and obstruct their humanitarian work that is guaranteed under the rules of the international humanitarian law.
On Friday, 19 April 2019, the incidents were as follows:
At approximately 16:00, thousands of civilians, including women, children and entire families, started swarming to the five encampments established by the Supreme National Authority of Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege adjacent to the border fence with Israel in eastern Gaza Strip cities.
Hundreds of protesters, including children and women, gathered adjacent to the border fence with Israel in front of each encampment and its vicinity tens and hundreds of meters away from the fence. The protesters chanted slogans, raised flags, and in very limited incidents attempted to approach the border fence and throw stones at the Israeli forces.
Although the protesters gathered in areas open to the Israeli snipers stationed on the top of the sand berms and military watchtowers and inside and behind the military jeeps, the Israeli forces fired live and rubber bullets in addition to a barrage of tear gas canisters.
The Israeli shooting, which continued at around 19:00, resulted in the injury of 100 civilians, including 23 children, 5 women, 4 paramedics, and 4 journalists. Thirty-three of those wounded were hit with live bullets and shrapnel, 42 were directly hit with tear gas canisters and 13 were hit with rubber bullets. In addition, dozens of civilians suffered tear gas inhalation and seizures due to tear gas canisters that were fired by the Israeli forces from the military jeeps and riffles in the eastern Gaza Strip.
The following table shows the number of civilian casualties due to the Israeli forces’ suppression of the Great March of Return since its beginning on 30 March:
Killed Wounded
Total 203 12161
Children 44 2351
Women 2 367
Journalists 2 198
Medical personnel 3 194
Persons with disabilities 8 Undefined
Note: Among those wounded, 543 are in serious condition and 137 had their lower or upper limbs amputated; 123 lower-limb amputations, 14 upper-limb amputations, and 25 children had their limbs amputated according to the Ministry of Health. The number of those wounded only include those wounded with live bullets and directly hit with tear gas canisters, as there have been thousand others who suffered tear gas inhalation and sustained bruises.
PCHR reiterates Palestinians’ right to peaceful assembly to confront Israel and its forces’ denial of the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination, right to return and right to end the occupation of the Palestinian territory.
PCHR stresses that the Israeli forces should stop using excessive force and respond to the legitimate demands of the demonstrators, particularly lifting the closure which is the real solution to end the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
PCHR reiterates the reported published in February by the UN Commission of Inquiry which emphasizes what came by PCHR and other Palestinian and international human rights organizations. The report at the time concluded that the Israeli violations may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
PCHR emphasizes that continuously targeting civilians, who exercise their right to peaceful assembly or while carrying out their humanitarian duty, is a serious violation of the rules of international law, international humanitarian law, the ICC Rome Statute and Fourth Geneva Convention.
Thus, PCHR reiterates its call upon the ICC Prosecutor to open an official investigation in these crimes and to prosecute and hold accountable all those applying or involved in issuing orders within the Israeli Forces at the security and political echelons.
PCHR also emphasizes that the High Contracting Parties to the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention should fulfill their obligation under Article 1; i.e., to respect and ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances and their obligations under Article 146 to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
PCHR calls upon Switzerland, in its capacity as the Depository State for the Convention, to demand the High Contracting Parties to convene a meeting and ensure Israel’s respect for this Convention, noting that these grave breaches constitute war crimes under Article 147 of the same Convention and Protocol (I) Additional to the Geneva Conventions regarding the guarantee of Palestinian civilians’ right to protection in the occupied territories.
