Israel: West Bank Barrier Endangers Basic Rights U.S. Should Deduct Costs From Loan Guarantees
According to the World Bank, some 150,000 Palestinians will be harmed by th e first phase of the barrier, which has already been completed. Other phaseswere likely to affect at least 150,000 more.
"Even in its first phase, the barrier is taking a terrible toll on tens of thousands of people," said Joe Stork, acting executive director of the Middle East an d North Africa division of Human Rights Watch. "President Bush should ensurethat the U.S. government does its utmost to prevent these serious violation s of international law. Deducting the barrier's cost from the loan guarantees is an obvious place to start."
Human Rights Watch recognizes that the Israeli government has a duty to protect its civilians, but notes that Israel is obliged to make sure that i ts security measures do not violate international human rights and humanitarian law.
Under Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Right s (ICCPR), freedom of movement can be restricted for security reasons - but t he restrictions should be limited to what is necessary and proportionate. As defined by the U.N. Human Rights Committee, the authoritative human rightsbody interpreting the ICCPR, the restrictions should not make movement theexception rather than the norm. The barrier, however, is creating walled-in enclaves confining tens of thousands of people. It will institutionalize a system in which all movement is sharply curtailed except to a handful of permit- holders, and endanger Palestinians' access to basic services like education and medical care.
The Israeli government has failed to respond publicly to charges that it co uld adopt less intrusive and less restrictive alternatives to address the secur ity of civilians. In fact, the Israeli State Comptroller published a report in Jul y 2002 strongly criticizing the inadequacy of checkpoint procedures and the lack o f army deployment in border areas.
Even if a wall is the least intrusive method available to Israel, as planne d the barrier is by definition intrusive because it is being constructed around i llegal government sponsored settlements in the West Bank. These intrusions into th e West Bank deprive Palestinians of land and are cutting many of them off fro m services such as education and health care. The Israeli government cannot u se security concerns for Israelis living in illegal settlements to justify fur ther illegal changes to occupied territory. Despite the illegality of such changes beyon d the Green Line, not one of the competing proposals for the barrier's route is contiguous with the this line which is the post-1948 demarcation line betwe en Israel and the West Bank.
"Israel has a long history of severe and arbitrary restrictions on movement ," Stork said. "The barrier will institutionalize these restrictions and reinf orce the long-term harm done by illegal settlements. That's why we need strong U.S.intervention, now."
Background
Human Rights Watch takes no position on the territorial dispute that lies a t the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including any changes in land st atus that might accompany an eventual peace agreement. However, it seeks to ensure that the treatment of people living under Israeli occupation conform s to international legal standards. With this in mind, the organization has impa rtially and carefully monitored abuses of international human rights and humanitari an law by all parties in the Occupied Territories since 1989.
On April 14, 2002, the Israeli cabinet announced that "fences and other physical obstacles" were to be constructed to prevent Palestinians crossing into Israel. The government announcement, made during Israel's "Defensive Shield " campaign launched after a spate of suicide attacks against Israeli civilian s, said the "buffer zones" were to be created in three areas along the Green Line, the post-1948 demarcation line between Israel and the West Bank.
The "fences" mentioned in that announcement have since become known as the separation barrier, made up of multiple obstacles that will wind throug h the northern and southern West Bank as well as East Jerusalem. Israeli official s refer to the barrier as the "seam zone."
Although many public commentators liken the barrier to the fence surroundin g the Gaza Strip, the two are not alike. Most important, the separation barri er does not follow the Green Line that divides Israel from the occupied West Bank. The barrier's division of Palestinian land is what contributes to its harmful humanitarian impact on the Palestinian population.
The first phase of the separation barrier was completed at the end of July 2003. It winds approximately 108 miles through the northwestern West Bank. It has resulted in the confiscation of some 2,850 acres of land and carved off som e 2 percent of the total area of the West Bank. Two more phases are under construction: one in the northeast of the West Bank, and another in the reg ion of East Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The route of a fourth phase is still under negotiation. Depending on the barrier's final route, the cost of constructi on is estimated at up to $1.3 billion.
Although the barrier's exact elements differ according to location and topography, its core is an electrified fence, 10 feet high, equipped with surveillance cameras and other sensors. It is flanked on either side by six -foot- tall barbed-wire pyramids. Other obstacles include a trench six to eight fe et in depth, a military patrol road, and a dirt path to record footprints. The ba rrier's total width ranges from 60 to 100 yards.
In at least two locations, Qalqilya and Tulkarem, the barrier takes the sha pe of a 26-foot-high concrete wall with embedded guard and surveillance towers.
As is common in other locations throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli officials have informed local residents that all movement in the ar ea 50- 80 yards adjacent to the barrier will be forbidden. Passage through the bar rier will be arranged via gates and larger terminals, although the Israeli autho rities have yet to specify the basis on which people will be allowed to cross.
In addition to the separation barrier, Israeli planning maps specify the cr eation of three "depth barriers"- presumably deep trenches to prevent vehicular tr affic- in Jenin and Tulkarem governorates. These are to be built significantly fur ther into the West Bank than the separation barrier's first phase.
Under customary international humanitarian law, Israel has a positive oblig ation to ensure the welfare of residents of the West Bank (1907 Hague Regulations on Land Warfare, Article 43). It is also obliged to ensure the passage of emergency medical services, to respect the sick, to allow the passage of foodstuffs and medical goods, and to facilitate education (Fourth Geneva Convention, Articles 16, 20, 25, 50, 55 and 59). Israel is prohibited under customary international law from making permanent changes to the West Bankthat do not benefit the local inhabitants (1907 Hague Regulations, Article 55), and from transferring members of its own population into the Occupied Territories (Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 49 (6)).
Israel has also ratified numerous human rights treaties that oblige it to u phold rights to freedom of movement, and access to education, healthcare, work, a nd water. These include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Righ ts (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In August the U.N.
Human Rights Committee said that "in the current circumstances, the provisions of the [ICCPR] apply to the benefit of the population of the Occ upied Territories, for all conduct by [Israeli] authorities or agents in those te rritories that affect the enjoyment of rights enshrined in the Covenant and fall with in the ambit of State responsibility of Israel under the principles of public inte rnational law."
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