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With the Palestine Medical Relief Society in Jenin

Bill Dienst Jenin 14 December 2006


I am here in the local Jenin district office of Palestine Medical Relief Society (PMRS) with Dr. Jameel Hamad, the district manager. The City of Jenin has a total population of about 50,000, of which 13,000 live in the Jenin refugee camp. The entire district of Jenin has 300,000 inhabitants. In terms of health care, the main provider of health services until recently has been the Ministry of Health under direction of the Palestinian Authority. It runs the main hospital in Jenin, as well as many primary health care centers in the city. Unfortunately, because of the Israeli/American/EU sanctions, which were the West’s reaction to a democratically elected Hamas majority in the Legislative Counsel, the PA’s health systems are falling apart. Many health care workers have been on strike, because they are not being paid. 

Bethlehem Welcomes Church Leaders' Visit

12 December 2006


The Catholic and Anglican bishops of Jerusalem have welcomed the announcement by UK church leaders of their pilgrimage to Bethlehem. The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the Moderator of the Free Churches the Revd David Coffey, and the Primate of the Armenian Church of Great Britain Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian are to undertake a four-day visit to the Holy Land from the 20th-23rd December. The focal point of their visit will be a pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The visit has also been welcomed by Open Bethlehem, which campaigns to keep the city open to the world at a time when the Israeli wall and land annexations are causing hardship for its inhabitants. 

Human Rights Updates on Security Chaos and Proliferation of Small Arms

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 13 December 2006


PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 7:40 on Wednesday, 13 December 2006, gunmen in two vehicles shot and killed Bassam Abdel Malek Abdel Salam El-Farra, a 32-year old resident of Khan Yunis. The victim worked as the Director of Family Counseling in Sharia Courts in the southern Gaza Strip. And he was a commander in Izzedeen El-Qassam Battalions, the armed wing of Hamas. The incident took place near the Bani Suhaila Sharia Court to the east of Khan Yunis. El-Farra was killed by several bullets to the head and chest. In another incident at approximately 19:00 on Tuesday, 12 December 2006, gunmen intercepted the vehicle of Ibrahim Jamil Mohammad Asabna (43-year old resident of Fahma village southeast of Jenin), who is a Hamas activist. 

Protest Israel's visa denial policy

5 December 2006


In March 2006, the Israeli government initiated a policy of visa denial to individuals of Palestinian descent having foreign passports, many of whom Israel has arbitrarily denied residency rights to in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Many of these persons have lived in the OPT for years without succeeding to obtain residency rights even though they made Palestine their primary residence and place of employment/business, married local Palestinians, and had children who were born in Palestine. These people have managed to stay in the Occupied Palestinian Territory by means of tourist visas issued by the Israeli government. 

Court overturns Israel's intifada law

13 December 2006


Israel’s Supreme Court has overturned a controversial Israeli law banning Palestinians from claiming compensation for harm suffered at the hands of soldiers. Citizens of “enemy states and members of terrorist organisations”, however, would not be permitted to file for compensation, according to the court’s ruling. Palestinians will also have to prove that the Israeli military operations in question did not take place as part of a clearly defined ‘war’. Hassan Jabareen, the general director of Adalah, a body championing Arab rights in Israel, said he expected more legal wrangling over what is and what is not a combat situation. “We foresee in the future another legal battle on the question of what is the scope of combat operations,” he said. 

UNICEF speaks to memory of boys killed in Gaza

Sabine Dolan 13 December 2006


The killing of three young brothers in Gaza City yesterday has shocked the Palestinian community across the political divide and exposed, once again, the plight of children living in the volatile region. “I am shocked by the tragic event,” stated UNICEF’s Special Representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Dan Rohrmann. “This is another event highlighting the serious deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory - and with tragic consequences for civilians, including children.” Masked gunmen shot at a car carrying the three boys, between the ages of four and nine, on their way to school. No one has claimed responsibility for the killings. 

UNRWA appeals for emergency funding

13 December 2006


Living conditions amongst Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have slumped to levels unseen since 1967. Every aspect of life has been affected. The crisis that began in September 2000 has deepened dramatically during 2006, as a result of the international isolation of the Palestinian Authority (PA), the conditions of siege imposed on Gaza and the ongoing fragmentation of the West Bank. The majority of Palestinians are now dependent on food and cash handouts. Violence, poverty and despair are overtaking hopes for recovery and prospects for development. 

Ruling: Israel cannot exempt itself from compensating Palestinians harmed by military

12 December 2006


Today, 12 December 2006, the Supreme Court of Israel, in a unanimous ruling delivered by nine justices, decided that the State of Israel cannot exempt itself from paying compensation to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza who have been harmed by the Israeli military. The decision invalidates a provision of a recent amendment to the Civil Wrongs (Liability of the State) Law (popularly known as “the Intifada law”). This provision was intended to release the state from all liability for compensation for any damages caused to Palestinians by the Israeli military or other security forces in areas designated as “conflict zones” (nearly all of the West Bank and Gaza) by the Ministry of Defense. 

Noting progress in Lebanon, Security Council warns of threats and challenges

12 December 2006


Welcoming the progress so far in implementing and monitoring the cessation of hostilities in southern Lebanon, the Security Council today voiced concern at reports of illegal movements of arms into the country, Israeli violations of Lebanese air space and the continuing presence of “very high numbers of unexploded ordnance” in the affected area. In a presidential statement, the 15-member Council also reiterated its “full support for the legitimate and democratically-elected Government of Lebanon,” urged all parties to pay “full respect for the democratic institutions of the country in conformity with the constitution” and condemned any attempt to destabilize the State. 

NGO's concerned over the working of the UN Register of Damage caused by the Wall

12 December 2006


On December 11, a number of NGO’s sent a letter to Riyadh Mansour Head of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations. The letter includes a response to the Report of the Secretary-General pursuant to General Assembly resolution ES-10/15 on the establishment of the UN register of damage in connection with paragraphs 152 and 153 of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of 9 July 2004. Palestinian civil society welcomes the UN register as a step towards the implementation of the International Court of Justice advisory opinion, but serious concerns remain over the working of the Register.