Human Rights

What gas is Israel using?

“Here is a disturbing ordeal that has not yet been mentioned in any mainstream US papers or media. It exposes some shocking aspects of Israel’s treatment of Palestinian political prisoners, including the use of a gas that impacts the nervous and respiratory systems. It should be noted that Israel has denied using nerve gas against Palestinians, even though one account of its use has already been documented in James Longley’s searing film, ‘Gaza Strip’.” Jennifer Loewenstein and Angela Gaff report from London. 

Israeli government leaves Palestinian child detainees out of prisoner release

Defence for Children International/Palestine Section believes that there are only 13 child prisonersnames on the list of 344 Palestinian political prisoners due for release by the Israeli government this week as part of the roadmap to peace process. Nine of these children were on the list of 183 sentenced prisoners to be released and another 4 children were on the list of 161 administrative detainees. 

Addameer: Selection of Palestinian detainees to be released solely reflects Israeli criteria

On the morning of 4 August 2003, the Israeli Prisons’ Services published on their website a list of names of Palestinian prisoners and detainees expected to be released on Wednesday 6 August 2003. Of the 342 Palestinian prisoners slated for release, 159 are administrative detainees and 183 have been sentenced. Palestinian prisoners’ rights organisation Addameer examines the details. 

Knesset passes racist law barring family unification of Palestinians married to Israeli citizens



Today, by a vote of 53 in favor, 25 against, and one abstention, the Knesset passed a new law, introduced and supported by the government, which bars Palestinians from the Occupied Territories from obtaining citizenship or residency status in Israel by marriage to an Israeli citizen, thus prohibiting them from living in Israel with their spouses. 

Suffering in isolation - A report on life under occupation in the Mawasi areas in the Gaza Strip



PCHR has issued a report, entitled “Suffering in Isolation: A report on life under occupation in the Mawasi areas in the Gaza Strip.” The report details the dire situation in the Mawasi areas in the southern Gaza Strip and includes an examination of the violations of international human rights and humanitarian law perpetrated by the Israeli belligerent occupation forces and Israeli settlers in the area from the beginning of Al Aqsa Intifada (September 2000) to the end of May 2003. 

Abbas to Bush: "Israel is Blocking the Implementation of Road Map"



Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas came to his White House meeting with President George W. Bush carrying several messages, the most important being that the Palestinians have fulfilled the vast majority of their phase one road map obligation and that Israel was blocking further progress. Speaking at a 31 July 2003 Palestine Center briefing, Diana Buttu, a legal advisor to the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Negotiations Affairs Department, said Abbas emphasized to Bush three issues that were impeding progress on the road map: Israel’s construction of an apartheid wall, Israel’s continued settlement expansion, and the incarceration of several thousand Palestinian political prisoners. 

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