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UNGA requests International Court of Justice to issue opinion on Separation Wall

8 December 2003


The tenth emergency special session of the 191-member United Nations General Assembly this morning adopted a resolution asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s construction of a separation barrier in the West Bank. The text was adopted by a recorded vote of 90 in favour, to 8 against, with 74 abstentions. The Hague-based ICJ, established in 1946, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. 

One democratic state might be the solution (2/2)

Rifat Odeh Kassis 7 December 2003


The two-state solution might have been possible some years ago. Not any more. Rifat Odeh Kassis concludes that the realties, which Israel itself created on the ground are beyond the scope of honest co-existence simply because too much water has flowed under the bridge of this conflict. In the aftermath of Oslo, it became apparent that Israel was quite unwilling to countenance even some objective essentials and fundamentals in the route to peace. To persist with the idea of a two-state solution is to ignore reality. 

One democratic state might be the solution (1/2)

Rifat Odeh Kassis 7 December 2003


The two-state solution might have been possible some years ago. Not any more. Rifat Odeh Kassis concludes that the realties, which Israel itself created on the ground are beyond the scope of honest co-existence simply because too much water has flowed under the bridge of this conflict. In the aftermath of Oslo, it became apparent that Israel was quite unwilling to countenance even some objective essentials and fundamentals in the route to peace. To persist with the idea of a two-state solution is to ignore reality. 

Indictment against Israeli soldier in killing of Palestinian child in Gaza

6 December 2003


Mahmoud Al-Talalqa was killed on 1 March 2002, while he was playing in the street with his friends near the al-Nada housing project in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, after afternoon prayers. According to a preliminary investigation conducted by PCHR’s into the incident, al-Talalqa was shot at close range by an Israeli soldier. In response to a complaint submitted by PCHR on behalf of the family, the office of the Israeli Military Prosecutor of the Southern Command stated on 4 December that an Israeli soldier has been charged with “causing death by negligence.” 

Israel unlawfully transfers 12 Palestinians

5 December 2003


In the last 24 hours, Israeli Occupying Forces transferred 12 Palestinians from the West Bank, to the Gaza Strip.  Eight of the group were moved to the Gaza Strip yesterday evening; the remaining four Palestinians were moved to the Gaza Strip at approximately 1:30am this morning. This follows a ruling issued by the Israeli High Court yesterday morning approving transfer orders issued against the group. PCHR Condemns this latest transfer within occupied territory as a violation of international human rights and humanitarian law. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

4 December 2003


This week Israeli forces killed 12 Palestinians, including four children. Israeli forces invaded a number of towns and villages in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. During the invasion of Ramallah, Israeli forces killed four Palestinians, including a child, and demolished three buildings. In Rafah Israeli forces demolished four homes. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces razed agricultural land. Israel continued to indiscriminately shell Palestinian residential areas in which a number of Palestinian civilians were wounded. 

Divide and destroy

Alex Klaushofer 4 December 2003


Israel’s separation wall is creating a new kind of humanitarian crisis for the Palestinians who live in its shadow. Cutting into Palestinian lands by up to six kilometres, the barrier takes different forms along its length - here an imposing concrete construction, there a steel fence and a tangle of barbed wire. The new dependency emerging in the communities destroyed by the barrier is yet another example of how the poverty afflicting the Palestinians is a human creation. Christian Aid’s Alex Klaushofer witnesses the devastation of communities. 

Palestinian museum exhibition "lost" by American Airport Security

4 December 2003


On 1 November 2003 the Palestinian Costume Archive’s exhibition, Symbolic defiance: Palestinian costume and embroidery since 1948, was taken for a security check/ x-ray at Los Angeles airport’s Terminal 4 and has not been seen since. All attempts by the Palestine Costume Archive, Qantas, Alaskan Airlines and MESA to locate the exhibition over the last three weeks failed and the search has been abandoned. The “loss” of this exhibition raises major concerns for all museums and curators worldwide currently touring Middle Eastern exhibitions in the United States. 

OPEC Fund extends US$570,000 grant to help finance capacity building projects in Palestine

1 December 2003


The OPEC Fund for International Development today approved a grant of US$570,000 to help finance four capacity building projects designed to address some of the most urgent needs of the poorest, hardest hit communities in the West Bank. The aim is to enable them to secure a decent standard of living. This is the fifth grant approved under the Fund’s Special Grant Account for Palestine, which was set up with an initial endowment of US$10 million. The first grant was approved in December 2002 to provide financial support to Palestinian universities and students.