Occupied Palestinian Territories - Humanitarian Update, February 2007

Summary of monthly Humanitarian Monitor report produced by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

KEY ISSUES OVERVIEW

Forced displacement
"The civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection against dangers arising from military operations...The civilian population must not be the object of attacks, Acts or threats of violence, the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited." (Protocol I Addition to the Geneva Conventions, Article 51)

The UN reports 53 structures, including 22 Palestinian homes and shelters, demolished by Israeli authorities, mostly in the southern West Bank. The Israeli authorities claim the structures were built without permits. This compares to a monthly average of 17 demolitions throughout 2006. More than 158 people, including 94 children, were displaced.

Other vulnerable communities are approximately 3000 Jahalin Bedouin in Area C near the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim. The community has received demolition orders from the Israeli authorities due to construction of the Separation Wall and settlement expansion.

Child protection
"Child protection includes strategies and activities aimed at the protection of children under 18 against abuse, exploitation and violence." (UNICEF)

Defence for Children International (DCI) reports that 398 Palestinian children (defined as under 18 years of age) are currently held in Israeli detention. As witnesses to the Israeli military's search and arrest operations, children are seriously affected, suffering clear signs of distress such as panic attacks and recurrent fears, while also being deprived of a parent, commonly their father and the family breadwinner.

Restrictions on movement
"Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country." (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 13)

The number of physical roadblocks and checkpoints in the West Bank increased to 550 in February (from 528 in January). There were also additional temporary restrictions, such as age and residence. For example, between 7-20 February "flying checkpoints" around Nablus, Tulkarem and Jenin saw Palestinian men aged between 16-35 barred from crossing checkpoints and from travelling south.

Palestinian fisheries
"Food security exists when all people, at all times, have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and lead an active and health life." (FAO/WHO/WFP)

Palestinian living standards and food security continues to seriously decline due to Israeli closure policies, which isolate markets and restrict movement of goods and people.

The fishing industry in Gaza has been heavily affected. Between 26 June and 24 October 2006 the Israeli authorities banned all fishing of the Gaza coastline following the capture of an Israeli solider on 25 June 2006 by Palestinian militants. Over 35,000 people who rely on fishing for their livelihoods are now recipients of food aid.

Gaza's fishing zones have diminished from a 20 nautical mile (nm) limit as agreed in the 1995 Oslo Accords, to 12nm in the 2002 Bertini Accord and then to 6nm as enforced by the Israeli navy since October 2006. This is in addition to sea exclusion zones of 2km on the southern border with Egypt, and 3km on the northern border with Israel. Overfishing and the depletion of fish stocks is a major threat.

REGIONAL OVERVIEW

West Bank & East Jerusalem

Nablus - Seventy Palestinians were arrested, with 58 later released, by the Israeli military in operation 'Hot Winter', 25-28 February, which saw 20,000 residents of the Old City of Nablus placed under curfew while the Israeli army conducted house-to-house searches for seven wanted Palestinians. Two Palestinian schools were used as detention and interrogation centres by the Israeli military, all other schools and the two universities were closed, and checkpoints set up outside three local hospitals which checked all incoming and outgoing vehicles, ambulances, patients and visitors. One Palestinian was killed, 24 injured, 284 houses and shops damaged, and 3000 people required emergency rations during the curfew.

Old City of Jerusalem - Palestinian men under the age of 45 have been restricted from entering the Old City since 17 February 2006. These restrictions were rarely lifted for Muslim worshippers to access the Al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayers and during the Holy Month of Ramadan. Four checkpoints - Qalandiya, Shufat, Ras Abu Sbeitan and Gilo - control Palestinian access to East Jerusalem. Even a valid Israeli permit to enter and work in East Jerusalem and Israel did not guarantee free access.

Gaza Strip

Internal violence - Inter-factional violence between Hamas and Fatah activists has killed 86 Palestinians, including 11 children, and injured 486 people since the start of 2007. This internal violence has almost ceased since the signing of the Mecca Accord on 8 February, and Gazans have been largely able to resume their daily lives. However, law and order has not been fully restored, with armed family feuds and community disputes continuing throughout the Gaza Strip, including incidences of honor-related crimes against women and girls, and internet cafes and their owners targeted with violence.

Isolation from the world - Control of the Gaza Strip's only international crossing point, Rafah on the border with Egypt, which was formerly overseen by the European Border Assistance Mission (EU BAM) following the November 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access (AMA), has been resumed by the Israeli authorities since June 2006. The border was open only six days in February for Palestinian access, significantly affecting the movement of Palestinian businesspeople and patients referred for medical treatment abroad.

Recent published reports

• Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967; Prof. John Dugard, 29 January 2007; www.ohchr.org
• After Mecca: Engaging Hamas; International Crisis Group, 28 February 2007; www.crisisgroup.org

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

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