For Immediate Release Ref: 15.2004E 5 June 2004

Dear Secretary-General Annan and Members of the Security Council,

  On 5 June 2004, the 37th anniversary of Israel's occupation of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip, Al-Haq reminds the Council Members and other members of the international community that Israeli authorities are continuing to flagrantly disregard international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Such disregard includes Israel's consistent failure to comply with United Nations (UN) General Assembly and Security Council resolutions pertaining to the OPT. This has resulted in disastrous human, economic, social and political consequences for the Palestinian people, severely jeopardising the possibility of a viable, independent Palestinian state, and in turn, a just and durable solution to the conflict.

  The Palestinian people are considered to be Protected Persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Despite this protected status, Israeli occupying forces have continuously subjected Palestinians to such violations as mass and arbitrary arrests, denial of due judicial process, torture, wilful killings, forced transfer and property seizure and destruction. These acts are deemed grave breaches (i.e, war crimes with mandatory universal jurisdiction) under Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Although the convention clearly mandates that Israel and all other High Contracting Parties must search for, arrest, and hold criminally accountable persons responsible for such grave breaches, these unlawful actions continue with full impunity.

  Al-Haq is particularly disturbed by the inaction of the international community in light of the further deterioration of the situation in the OPT, to the severe detriment of the Palestinian population and their rights under international law. Israeli authorities have continued to deny Palestinians their fundamental rights through the creation of additional facts on the ground, such as the construction and expansion of settlements, the development of an extensive network of bypass roads, and the construction of the Annexation Wall. Many of these efforts to change the demographic nature of the OPT have been condemned by the international community. This has been seen in repeated UN resolutions reiterating the illegality of Israeli settlements, and most recently through the emergency session of the UN General Assembly in October 2003 which addressed and condemned the construction of the Annexation Wall.

  Al-Haq welcomes the repeated statements from the international community regarding the illegality of such acts. However, on the anniversary of the Israeli occupation of the OPT, Al-Haq reminds the international community that a just and durable solution to the conflict cannot be achieved without the firm implementation and enforcement of international law, including UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and General Assembly Resolution 194. Israeli authorities have consistently and continually violated international law throughout the 37-year occupation, and it is time for the international community not merely to condemn, but to take clear steps to make sure that international law in enforced in the OPT. Common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions obligates all 191 High Contracting Parties to “respect and to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances.” Al-Haq calls on Council Members and all other members of the international community, collectively or as individual states, to uphold this obligation and take effective actions to ensure respect for international law in the OPT and protection of the Palestinian people.

  Sincerely,

  Randa Siniora General Director – Ends–

Al-Haq, PO Box 1413 – Ramallah, West Bank Tel: +972 2 295 4646/9 Fax: +972 2 295 4903

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