Facts:

• At the beginning of every year, Israel sprays chemical herbicides along the Gaza security fence, which extends to about 40 kilometers east of the Gaza Strip.
• Agriculture is the main source of livelihood and income of border area inhabitants. The area of agricultural lands on the borderline comprises 25% of the total agricultural area in the Gaza Strip, which is considered the main source of food therein.
• The total area of lands whose crops are damaged as a result of spraying herbicides is about 2,000 dunums. In 2020, the amount of physical damage to crops due to spraying toxic herbicides was 1.25 million U.S. Dollars.
• In the 2014-2018 period, Israeli chemical herbicides caused the destruction of 13,723 dunums of agricultural land.
• The area considered by Israel as a “buffer zone” between the fence and the Gaza Strip – which extends 300 meters into the Gaza lands – constitutes 25% of Gaza’s GDP. This area is the only source of livelihood for hundreds of poor families, whereas it mainly includes cultivated lands and represents a main food basket for the residents of Gaza. A total of about 30,000 Palestinian farmers work in this area.
• Israel conducts sudden spraying operations without prior warning in the months of April and December of each year. During these operations, Israel uses substances like Oxygal and Glyphosate, which are herbicides that destroy the vegetation and germination of plants. The droplets of these sprayed materials reach as far as 1,200 meters inside the Gaza Strip, thereby damaging winter and summer crops and plants and leading to substantial losses for Gaza’s farmers. In fact, the sprayed substances can stay inside the soil for 70-80 days as they take a long time to decompose. These substances also affect the quality of the soil and they weaken its fertility and cause serious damages to it.
• According to the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) guide issued by the Israeli manufacturer of Oxygal, this substance can cause severe irritation if it comes in contact with the skin or eyes, whereas it must be used with special caution after isolating all living creatures from sprayed areas. This substance can also affect the livestock and damage their offspring and breeding. Therefore, the spraying process is a great threat to livestock, of which more than 70% are located on the borderline. Sudden spraying operations also affect and destroy beehives in the area.
• It is worth noting that the Israeli Supreme Court prohibited the use of these substances after a spraying operation was carried out in 2007 by the Israel Land Administration in fields belonging to unrecognized villages in the Negev. During its ruling, the Court considered these substances as a threat to the life and health of creatures (including human beings) and harmful to crops.
• The spraying of agricultural lands with chemical herbicides mainly takes places in two periods each year (December-January and April), in order to inflict maximum damage on winter and summer crops.
• Spraying operations are conducted in an abrupt manner without prior warning to farmers, and with the use of chemicals whose safety period is unknown.
• The Glyphosate substance is an active component in many herbicides used by Israel against Gaza’s agricultural lands. This substance can cause tumors/cancer in human beings.
• In the period of 11-22 January 2020, Israeli planes continuously sprayed chemical herbicides on agricultural lands east of the Gaza Strip,.

Negative Effects of Herbicides on Farmers and Agricultural Lands

• Herbicides pose a direct threat to the lives of creatures (human beings and livestock) if the latter eat plants that were sprayed with these chemicals. For example, these substances can cause an unnatural increase in weight in a dangerous manner.
• Many Palestinians lost their food security due to Israeli policies that aim to inflict damage on agricultural lands east of the Gaza Strip (especially in Khan Younis). These policies also affect Palestinian developmental plans because the agricultural sector is one of the most important developmental sectors in the country.
• Israel forces the farmers of the area to abandon their lands and lose their main source of income, thereby leading to their impoverishment and unemployment and undermining the economic and social stability of their families.

Recommendations

• Urge the global community and international organizations, especially the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO), to conduct extensive investigations to expose the devastating effects of spraying herbicides. These parties should also perform their legal and moral duty of holding the Occupying Power accountable for the substantial damage to the agricultural sector in the Gaza Strip.
• Call on the international community to assist the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture in establishing a special laboratory for analyzing plants that were subjected to herbicide spraying by the Israeli Army.
• Call upon the Human Rights Council and all relevant international organizations, agencies and bodies to take the necessary measures to stop the aerial spraying of herbicides.
• Adopt a clear mechanism for supporting the resilience of farmers east of Khan Younis and compensating them for their suffered damages. This mechanism should also assist in soil development and rehabilitation by providing agricultural antidotes to help farmers confront the harmful effects of Israeli herbicides.

References:

1. Ministry of Agriculture
2. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
3. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is part of World Health Organization (WHO).
4. Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

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Introduction

At a time in which world governments are combating the COVID-19 pandemic that threatens the global health and economy, Israel is intentionally aggravating the impact of the virus on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. This includes the perpetual violation of Palestinian basic rights, such as the right to life, right to health, and right to enjoy an adequate standard of living.

In addition to the imposed siege on the Gaza Strip for more than 13 years, Israeli aircraft have been spraying dangerous chemical materials composed of Glyphosate, Oxygal and Diurex, since 2014. These substances are sprayed on the agricultural lands of Palestinians living in border areas of the Gaza Strip. For example, in the past two years, Israeli forces sprayed Palestinian agricultural lands with chemical substances at least 17 times, whereas updated data shows the dangerous impact of these substances on crops, the environment, and health of residents. According to the testimonies of tens of Palestinians farmers, these chemicals damaged numerous agricultural crops and changed the crops’ color. Substances included in these chemical materials can also cause cancer and other chronic diseases.

The spraying of the above-mentioned chemical substances leads to several environmental risks and the violation of the right to have a clear, healthy and sustainable environment; right to life; right to enjoy the highest possible level of physical and mental health; and the right to an adequate standard of living.

Access restricted areas in the Gaza Strip are undergoing multiple forms of Israeli assaults, whereas the latter sprays chemical herbicides along the eastern borders of the Gaza Strip. This includes agricultural lands that feed thousands of Palestinian households. The policy of destroying Palestinian crops led to a severe impact on the lives of Palestinian residents and their economic and food security. For example, the systematic spraying of chemical herbicides significantly damages the soil, thereby undermining the Palestinian farmers’ resilience throughout the eastern areas of the Gaza Strip.

It is worth noting that Israeli forces deliberately conduct spraying operations in these areas at the beginning of agricultural seasons, especially in December and April of every year. These months are the main ones for harvesting winter and summer crops (such as watermelons and okra in the summer, and peas, beans, wheat and barley in the winter) and planting different kinds of leaves (e.g., spinach, dill (Anethum graveolens), parsley and chard). According to Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture data, approximately 2,000 dunums of agricultural lands are subjected to attacks by spraying operations. Another harmful element of Israeli spraying operations is their unexpected timing, whereas they usually take place without any prior warning or notification, especially as a result of droplets that extend to far-reaching areas. These droplets are also spread as a result of the wind speed and direction, thereby exacerbating the damage and affecting a larger agricultural area.

Spraying operations pose a direct threat to Palestinian farmers. For example, many farmers lost their main source of income due to the damaging of their crops/plants and harming their livestock (such as cattle and birds that feed on weeds in these areas). The used chemical substances are also considered anti-germination materials.

Israeli forces many times use false pretexts and allegations to justify their spraying operations and obliterate the herbs and plants growing next to the separation wall. This led to ravaging large agricultural lands and prevented Gaza’s farmers from cultivating their lands and performing agricultural activities. In other words, the occupation intentionally attacks agricultural lands in the Gaza Strip, while occasionally leveling off these farmlands. This raises serious questions about the feasibility of spraying herbs with chemical herbicides and simultaneously razing and leveling off these lands.

Context of the Policy Issue

First: Areas Suffering from Spraying Operations

The Israeli policy of spraying herbicides on agricultural lands in the access restricted areas east of the Gaza Strip is a serious hindrance for hundreds of Palestinian farmers who depend on agriculture to support their families. This practice constitutes collective punishment against Gaza Strip residents, who have been living under siege for 13 years in a row. According to Palestinian human rights organizations, Israeli forces deliberately and systematically spray Palestinian agricultural lands with herbicides in the period between November and April of every year to damage crops, whereas Israeli airplanes fly at low levels and attack farmlands with chemical herbicides as far as 2,000 meters within the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces also ignite rubber tires to check the direction of the wind, in order to maximize the area of lands that receive the harmful droplets of herbicides. According to human rights organizations in the Gaza Strip, aircraft used by occupation authorities can carry between 400-800 gallons of herbicides. These planes can fly at a speed of 120-160 miles per hour, which enables them to maximize the area of lands affected by herbicides. In response to a “Freedom of Information” request made by Gisha Center in November 2016, the Israeli Ministry of Defense confirmed that herbicides are dropped by airplanes along Gaza’s border area, and that the spraying takes place between the Erez crossing in the north and Karm Abu Salem crossing in the south, over an estimated area of 12 dunums.

The results of Forensic Architecture analysis showed the concentration of herbicides and their westward direction towards the Gaza Strip

Second: Materials Used in Aerial Spraying Operations

According to environmental expert George Kurzom, Israeli occupation forces spray access restricted areas with a mixture of Glyphosate, Oxygal and Diurex. Kurzon also pointed out that the herbicides dropped by Israel on Gazan farmers’ lands might remain inside the soil for several years without decomposing. He also noted that, in general, herbicides are considered carcinogenic and may cause genetic, congenital and reproductive disorders. Moreover, a report issued by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) [which is a subordinate of World Health Organization] shows that Glyphosate, which is an active substance in many herbicides used by the occupation, is indeed a cancerous substance.

Third: Impact of Herbicides on the Agricultural Sector

The spraying of chemical herbicides on agricultural lands in the Gaza Strip damages numerous crops and changes their color due to penetrating their roots. This is clearly seen in several plants and leaves, such as spinach, parsley, peas, turnips, cabbage, zucchini, wheat and barley. The sprayed substances (especially the cancerous Glyphosate) ravage the soil and prevent its germination, thus leading to substantial losses incurred by farmers. For example, the total losses of farmers due to Israel’s spraying of herbicides on their lands from the beginning of 2020 until the time of preparing this paper were approximately $379,670 U.S.

Vegetation losses in days 5 to 15 after spraying herbicides. The red color shows the areas where vegetation has been lost.

In light of what was mentioned above, the paper presents a number of policy options for relevant Palestinian and international bodies. This encompasses alternatives and suggestions to introduce policies that support Palestinian farmers in access restricted areas. The paper assumes that the presented propositions can be simultaneously implemented to lead to a stronger impact within a reasonable time-period.

First Alternative: Internationalize the Agricultural Crisis in Gaza’s Border Areas and Resort to International Bodies

This alternative suggests referring this issue to the international community (such as the Human Rights Council, World Health Organization, and other international agencies) and calling upon them to fulfill their legal and moral duty of confronting unjust policies and taking effective measures to stop the Israeli violation of Palestinian farmers’ rights. International parties must also oblige the occupation to stop spraying toxic herbicides, as well as examining the possibility of pressuring Israel to compensate Palestinian farmers for the suffered losses.

Second Alternative: Adoption of National Policies and Interventions to Enhance Palestinian Farmers’ Resilience in these Areas

This alternative focuses on strengthening the resilience of Palestinian farmers and helping them mitigate the damages of spraying crops with herbicides. Moreover, it enables farmers to bear the losses related to Israel’s spraying activities, by creating a fund to support Palestinian farmers to compensate them for suffered damages. This alternative also includes exempting farmers of taxes related to agricultural lands in these areas, as well as establishing “medical points” to provide adequate treatment for livestock in these areas. It is also possible to cooperate with a number of international parties in this context to finance that fund and provide the necessary anti-pesticide materials.

Main Recommendations:

• Call for an international investigation by specialized committees to examine the chemical materials sprayed by Israeli aircraft on agricultural lands and highlight their impact on the soil, environment, and health of residents. This will facilitate the curbing of spraying assaults and can expose the occupation’s violation of international law.
• Request from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to establish scientific laboratories in the Gaza Strip. It is also vital to develop Palestinian capacities to examine the nature of chemical substances sprayed on agricultural lands, as well as providing farmers with the necessary materials to protect their soil from spoilage.
• It is necessary to implement Decree Law No. (12) of 2013 regarding the Palestinian Agricultural Disaster Risk Reduction and Insurance Fund (PADRRIF).
• Protect the agricultural sector from hostile military activities and enable Palestinian farmers to cultivate their agricultural lands in Gaza Strip border areas.
• Adopt all available measures and means to end the siege on the Gaza Strip, along with holding the perpetrators accountable for their blatant human rights violations.

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1. In 1997, there were more than 10,000 Palestinians working in the fishing sector. However, in 2019, there were only 5,606 workers in this sector, including 3,606 fishermen.
2. The distribution of Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip is as follows: 7% in Northern Gaza Strip, 45% in Gaza City, 17% in Al-Wusta governorate (i.e., Deir Al-Balah governorate), 19% in Khan Younis governorate, and 12% in Rafah governorate.
3. The number of fishing boats in the Gaza Strip is only 1,261.
4. According to Oslo II Accords signed in 1995 between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, the fishermen of Gaza have the right to access fishing areas up to 20 nautical miles from the coast.
5. In 2020, there were 308 incidents of gunfire shooting by the Israeli Navy on fishing boats coming from Gaza. In the same year, 10 fishermen were arrested and 12 were injured, along with confiscating 4 boats and sabotaging fishermen’s equipment in 12 incidents.

   Type of Violation in the Gaza Strip	Number of Violations in 2020	Number of Violations in 2019
   Violation incidents	309	351
   Cases of gunfire shooting	308	347
   Number of detainees	10	35
   Number of injuries	12	16
   Number of confiscated boats	4	15
   Number of cases of sabotaging fishing equipment/boats	12	11

6. The permitted fishing areas for Palestinian fishermen are up to 6 nautical miles in the governorates of Gaza and Northern Gaza and around 9-15 nautical miles in the governorates of Al-Wusta, Khan Younis and Rafah (south of Gaza Strip). Also, there is one nautical mile in which maritime activity is prohibited and which is parallel to the southern water borders of the Gaza Strip, as well as 1.5 nautical miles of prohibited maritime activity parallel to the northern water fence. These prohibitions deprive Gaza’s fishermen of accessing fishing areas that have diverse kinds of fish. It should also be noted that Israel’s reduction and increase of “permitted” fishing areas are below the limits set forth by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and violates the Oslo Accords signed by Palestinian and Israeli parties. Not less importantly, the average number of days in which sea access is closed for Gaza’s fishermen is between 10-15 days each month.

Implications of Violating Fishermen’s Rights in the Gaza Strip

Israel’s illegal curtailment of permitted fishing areas and denying the entry of fishing tools and equipment have serious implications for the Gaza Strip. For example, the number of Palestinian fishermen plummeted by 73% in a 20-year period. Israel’s policy of closures and denial of entry of fishing equipment caused a drastic reduction in the number of fishing boats in Gaza. These violations also led to lower economic returns due to smaller quantities of fish that are caught in the confined fishing areas. This forced many fishermen to use certain types of smaller nets to increase the quantities of fish that are caught in the permitted areas, thus leading to negative effects on the maritime environment.

Recommendations:

At the Level of the Palestinian Authority:

• This paper recommends that the Palestinian Authority would call upon international organizations (including the Human Rights Council) to consider the issue of Palestinian fishermen as a top priority. The paper also urges the Palestinian Authority to exert diplomatic efforts and run international advocacy campaigns to highlight the suffering of Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip.
• The budget of the Ministry of Agriculture is estimated at 0.65% of the total Palestinian general budget. Also, no fair portion of this budget is allocated for Gaza’s fishermen as a result of the Palestinian division. Hence, this paper calls for increasing the share of the Ministry of Agriculture from the general budget in light of the structural misdistribution of percentages on ministries. We also recommend unifying the work of the Ministry of Agriculture in the Gaza Strip and West Bank in consolidated programs to enable Gaza’s fishermen to benefit from the services provided by the Ministry.
• The construction and restoration of the Gaza International Port are essential for empowering and reviving the Palestinian fishing sector. Therefore, the paper recommends raising the issue of building and expanding the Gaza International Port, in accordance with international standards and in conformity with international agreements signed by the Palestinian Authority and Israel vis-à-vis Gaza’s maritime access points.

At the International Level:

• The maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip and restricting the movement of Palestinian fishermen are considered a flagrant violation of International Humanitarian Law. Consequently, relevant international bodies – including the United Nations – must take all necessary measures to condemn and stop these violations and compensate Palestinian fishermen for the material and moral losses emanating from Israel’s systematic violations.
• International support for the agricultural sector is still at its minimum. For example, the current support does not exceed 15 million U.S. Dollars per year, which is very modest compared to other sectors supported by donors (such as the local government sector, infrastructure, relief, etc.). Therefore, the paper calls upon donor countries to augment the funding of programs for capacity building and empowerment of Palestinian fishermen.

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Introduction

The fishing sector in the Gaza Strip is facing a number of serious challenges. This calls for concerted efforts to achieve economic stability for thousands of Palestinian families who are subsisted by fishing work and the sale of fishing-related supplies. The main challenge facing this sector is the Israeli procedures and practices that seek to undermine it. This is because the occupation applies a systematic policy that aims to destroy this vital sector and weaken the Palestinian economy and food system. These violations are witnessed on a daily basis and they include, inter alia, attacking Palestinian fishermen and fishing boats, preventing and disrupting the entrance of auxiliary tools for fishing, and prohibiting the manufacturing of these tools in the Gaza Strip. Israeli violations also include denying access to the fishing area stipulated in the Oslo Accords (which is 20 nautical miles) and the area mentioned in the truce agreement after the 2014 aggression (which was 9 nautical miles, curtailed to 6 nautical miles, then was reduced to only 3 nautical miles).

Israeli practices and measures pushed the fishing sector to the brink of collapse, prompting several local and international organizations to urgently support this sector to prevent its total deterioration. Most of the funding for this sector (whether at the local level through Palestinian NGOs or from regional and international organizations) is directed towards its revival and helping it overcome the hurdles and challenges amidst the ongoing depletion of resources. This assistance is usually relief-oriented and aims to prevent fishermen and their families from falling into abject poverty. Furthermore, developmental projects for enhancing the fishing sector are almost always controlled by Israeli policies, thus inhibiting any real or radical change in the Palestinian fishing sector (such as rehabilitating the Gaza International Port).

Policy Paper Objective

The aim of this policy paper is to analyze the procedures, policies and role of official, unofficial and international organizations vis-à-vis the fishing sector and fisheries in the Gaza Strip in light of the ongoing Israeli violations. Moreover, it seeks to present policy proposals to promote this sector in Palestine and confront and eliminate Israeli violations.

Policy Problem:

The paper tackles the following policy problem:

• What policies should be adopted to protect fishermen in the Gaza Strip?

Reality and Context of the Palestinian Fishing Sector:

Fishermen are among the most affected Palestinian segments by the unfair Israeli practices. This made fishing conditions extremely difficult because Israel restricts the entry of necessary materials for rehabilitating boats that were damaged by gunfire or sea accidents, thus preventing fishermen from fixing or reusing their boats. These restrictions greatly affected Palestinian fishermen’s work and prevented them from making feasible profits from this sector. For example, the number of fishermen in Gaza decreased from approximately 10,000 in the year 2000 to only about 3,600 at the beginning of 2020. Also, the Labor Force Survey Report issued by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) showed that 37.4% of Gaza’s fishermen are unemployed, 47.1% of them do not have food security, and 11.7% are exposed to food insecurity. A detailed study that examined fishermen’s needs showed that, among the different needs of fishermen, food is considered the highest priority and education is the lowest priority. The study also showed that 91.94% of fishermen’s families live below the poverty line, and that 55.67% of fishermen’s families live in extreme poverty in the Gaza Strip.

According to the Oslo Accords signed by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the permitted fishing area is limited to 20 nautical miles. These accords and their annexes divided the sea of Gaza into three zones of maritime activity represented by characters/letters, i.e., zones “K”, “M” and “L”, respectively. These zones were described as follows by these accords:

Zone “K” and Zone “M”: Zone “K” extends to 20 nautical miles in the sea from the coast in the northern part of the sea of Gaza and 1.5 nautical miles wide southwards. As for Zone “M”, it extends to 20 nautical miles in the sea from the coast in the southern part of the sea of Gaza and one (1) nautical mile wide from the Egyptian waters. Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, Zones “K” and “M” will be closed areas, in which navigation will be restricted to activity of the Israel Navy.

Zone “L”: Zone “L” is bounded to the south by Zone “M” and to the north by Zone “K”, and it extends to 20 nautical miles into the sea from the coast. Zone “L” will be open for fishing, recreation and economic activities, in accordance with the following provisions: First: Fishing boats will not exit Zone “L” into the open sea and may have engines of up to a limit of 25 Horsepower (HP) for outboard motors and up to a maximum speed of 15 knots for inboard motors. The boats will neither carry weapons nor ammunition, nor will they fish with the use of explosives. Second: Recreational boats will be permitted to sail up to a distance of 3 nautical miles from the coast unless, in special cases, otherwise agreed within the Maritime Coordination and Cooperation Center. Recreational boats may have engines up to a limit of 10 HP. Marine motor bikes and water jets will neither be introduced into Zone “L” nor be operated therein.

However, the Israeli occupation forces did not abide by the terms of this agreement, especially after the outbreak of Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000. Consequently, the occupation forces reduced the fishing area to 12 nautical miles as a collective punishment measure until 2006. Israel further reduced the fishing area after imposing its blockade on Gaza following the control of Hamas over the Gaza Strip, whereas the fishing area was curtailed to only 3 to 6 nautical miles. In 2019, Israel reduced the maximum area allowed for Palestinian fishermen’s boats in nine instances, and they imposed a complete prohibition on sailing in four cases. Additionally, Gaza’s fishermen received 19 notifications in 2019 regarding changes in permitted fishing areas and the allowed distances. According to human rights organizations, the second half of 2020 witnessed 171 shooting assaults by the Israeli Navy against Palestinian fishermen’s boats. As a result of these shootings, 6 fishermen were wounded and 3 were arrested, including a minor. Furthermore, the Israeli Navy caused extensive damages to seven boats, and numerous fishing equipment were severely damaged and one boat was confiscated.

Several forms of Israeli violations are being committed, whereas the occupation unhesitatingly uses brutal force and suppression in their attacks against this vital sector. These actions include the following:

• Non-compliance with the signed agreements with Palestinians and forcefully imposing unstable borders.
• Shooting, attacking and arresting Palestinian fishermen, as well as confiscating their boats and intentionally sinking them.
• Preventing the entry of spare parts for improving and rehabilitating fishing boats (such as important fishing tools and equipment). This is due to the Israeli blockade and the banned items list - which includes more than 72 types of items that are denied entry into Gaza, thus affecting the fishing sector’s activity and the livelihood of Palestinian fishermen.
• Israel prevents the marketing, transportation and exporting of fish products outside the Gaza Strip (especially to the West Bank).

Palestinian Legislations related to the Fishing Sector and Fisheries:

The “Law on Agriculture of 2003” is the applicable law in the Gaza Strip. Article (73) of this Law stipulates the following:-

“The Ministry shall develop a regulation on fisheries to be promulgated by the Council of Ministers, provided that it includes the following: 1. Regulate the fishing profession, as well as licences and fees necessary thereto. 2. Regulate the importing, exporting and marketing of fish and other aquatic beings and trading therein. 3. Define the specifications and conditions of pisciculture projects and fish farming. 4. Determine specifications of fishing nets, feeds, medicines, vaccines and hormones for the control of fish diseases. 5. Designate the seasons and times of sea fishing.” Moreover, Article (74) of this Law stated that “No solid or liquid waste or wastewater may be discharged into Palestinian fishing waters, nor may sand be taken or rocks removed from coasts or the nature of the seabed be changed”.

Additionally, Article (75) stipulates that “Beach bulldozers may not be used nor fishing nets be set up at a distance that is less than one hundred metres from the beach except by permission from the Minister”. And despite the Palestinian President’s issuance of Decree Law No. (14) of 2018 concerning the Amendment of Agricultural Law No. (2) of 2003, this decree is not applied in the Gaza Strip due to the Palestinian internal division.

The General Department of Fisheries is entrusted with implementing the aforementioned law. This Department is the competent body authorized to ensure the highest utilization of fish resources by developing this sector, promoting fish farming systems, introducing new types of fish for pisciculture and fish farming, and following up fishermen’s licensing and the movement of boats. The General Department of Fisheries also promotes the sustainability of fishing activities and ensures the adequate use of fisheries by determining the suitable fishing methods, times and tools, as well as contributing to the national food security process. However, the Ministry of Agriculture in the Gaza Strip has one of the lowest percentages of the Palestinian Authority budget and is given a low priority within the de-facto system in the Gaza Strip.

The dire situation of the Palestinian fishing sector and fisheries affected the implementation of relevant laws and legislations. For example, until now there is no insurance system for fishing boats and no abidance by the instructions related to the size and type of fishing nets. Hence, some people use illegal fishing nets and methods, not to mention the phenomenon of fishing without a license. Also, the absence of a port that conforms to international fishing standards led to the disorderly spread of fishing boats along the beach, whereas large numbers of boats are found in the limited area designated for fishing. This is because the coastal municipalities throw wastewater into the sea, thus leading to seawater pollution.

In light of what was mentioned above, this paper presents a number of policy options for relevant Palestinian and international bodies. This encompasses alternatives and suggestions to introduce policies that support Palestinian fishermen. The paper assumes that the presented propositions can be simultaneously implemented to lead to a stronger impact within a reasonable time-period.

First Alternative: Internationalize the Palestinian Fishermen’s Crisis and Resort to International Parties

Since the international law and agreements signed with Israel (especially the Oslo Accords) stipulate larger areas for Gaza’s fishermen, this alternative is considered internationally legitimate. Therefore, the Palestinian Authority must pressure the Israeli government, through the United Nations and its international agencies and bodies, to put an end to its violations against Palestinian fishermen and abide by international humanitarian law. The Palestinian Authority must also request from the Special Rapporteurs of agreements signed with Israel to pressure the latter to abide by the signed agreements. Israel should also be held accountable for its ongoing violation of international conventions, especially the two international covenants. Palestinian parties should also highlight Israel’s violations against Gaza’s fishermen and submit related reports to UN Special Rapporteurs and other United Nations mechanisms and bodies, including the UN Secretary-General, Human Rights Council, and Security Council.

Second Alternative: Empower Palestinian Farmers by Adopting Protective Policies and Measures

In accordance with the provisions of Decree Law No. (12) of 2013, the Palestinian Authority established a special independent fund for compensating for natural disasters and providing agricultural insurance. This fund is called the Palestinian Agricultural Disaster Risk Reduction and Insurance Fund (PADRRIF). However, the law is still unable to effectively deal with the Gaza Strip in general and fishing sector in particular due to the Palestinian political division. In order to empower Palestinian fishermen, the aforementioned fund (PADRRIF) must include the fishing sector, especially with regard to insurance and compensation for damages resulting from storms and weather fluctuations.

Third Alternative: Building and Rehabilitating the Gaza International Port

Despite the sizable efforts of the Palestinian Authority for establishing the Gaza International Port, the Gaza Strip still depends on the Israeli port of Ashdod for maritime transportation. In fact, the Palestinian Authority established the Port Authority in 2000 after negotiating with Israel in the Oslo Accords (1993) and Sharm El-Sheikh Agreement (1999), both of which stipulated the establishment of a Palestinian port, with a pledge from France and Netherlands to establish the port with a cost of 96 million U.S. Dollars. However, only a few phases of the port’s construction plan have been implemented on the ground. The failure to complete the Gaza International Port had negative implications for fishermen. Therefore, the completion of this port is necessary to empower the Palestinian fishing sector and enable fishermen to build larger fishing boats due to having special basins for this purpose.

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Executive Summary:

This paper highlights one of the occupation’s main projects for the Judaization and Israelization of East Jerusalem. This project is called the “City Center Plan”, which aims to forcibly transfer Jerusalemite Palestinians from their city. The project is linked to a number of other colonial projects aimed at Judaizing Jerusalem, displacing its Palestinian residents, and changing its geographic and demographic character. The “City Center” project also aims to cripple economic activities in the center of East Jerusalem (especially the area of the Old City and Salah Eddin Street), as well as attempting to transform the area into settler enterprises, which are planned to be created soon in the framework of the “City Center” and “Silicon Wadi” projects. For this purpose, Israel is planning to demolish the industrial area of Wadi al-Joz in Jerusalem and open Israeli Hi-Tech companies in its place, as well as completely changing the infrastructure and traffic in the area around the Old City.

Facts about the City Center Plan

The City Center Plan encompasses an area of approximately 689 dunums in the area of Bab al-Zahra and Wadi al-Joz, and it extends from Sultan Suleiman Street and the Old City Walls from the south to Uthman ibn Affan Street from the north, and from Wadi al-Joz Street from the east to the longitudinal road on the seam between East and West Jerusalem (known as “Road No. 1”). This area is among the most sensitive and economically vibrant ones in occupied East Jerusalem. It also represents the “heart” of the city and its main center, and it includes Salah Eddin, al-Zahra, Al-Rashid, and al-Masoudi streets.

The Plan aims to Judaize the landmarks of Jerusalem, thus affecting all spheres of residential, economic and social life in the city. Therefore, it does not meet the needs of the population in any field of development, contrary to what is claimed by the Jerusalem Municipality. Rather, it only serves the strategic Israeli policies of Judaizing Jerusalem and changing its landmarks, in order to seize more lands and maintain a Jewish settler majority alongside a weakened Palestinian minority. According to this Plan, all developmental projects in Jerusalem should be at a distance of 75 meters from the Old City walls, thus reducing the opportunities of development and construction and significantly reducing the percentage of Arabs in East Jerusalem’s City Center. The main concern of this Plan is to support Jewish settler presence and improve their neighborhoods. For example, it aims to expand illegal settlements at the expense of the lands and areas inhabited by indigenous Jerusalemites. The Plan gives Jerusalemite Palestinians an opportunity to build only 76 housing units in the next thirty years, which is greatly disproportionate with the natural population growth that requires more than 2,000 housing units annually in Jerusalem.

This Plan is one of the most dangerous schemes targeting Jerusalem. It is also closely linked to the “Jerusalem 2020 Master Plan” and the “Jerusalem 2050 Plan” that aim to support settlements. The Plan also comes in parallel with the “Silicon Wadi” Plan in Wadi al-Joz, whose goal is to eliminate the industrial area in Wadi al-Joz and replace it with an area designated for hotels, offices and Israeli Hi-Tech companies within a large settlement enterprise that targets the occupied city.

Objectives of this Dangerous Plan:

• Judaize Jerusalem and Israelize all components of its Palestinians residents, as well as erasing the city’s Arab character.
• Expand Israeli settlement plans in general, while aiming to encircle the city and isolate it from its Palestinian surroundings in the south, north and east.
• Fragment Jerusalemite Palestinian neighborhoods and separate them from each other with settlements and the Annexation and Expansion Wall. The Plan also seeks to practically destroy a whole neighborhood in order to build an economic settlement project on its ruins, as well as strengthening Israel’s economic stranglehold on indigenous Jerusalemites.

The Negative Effects of this Plan on Jerusalemite Palestinians:

• The City Center Plan does not correspond with the natural population growth. Therefore, it will force many Palestinian residents to look for housing outside Jerusalem.
• The Plan will expand the Jerusalem Municipality’s control and authority over the areas classified as “public facilities”, as well as changing the city’s landmarks.
• The Islamic Awqaf-owned schools are classified by the Municipality as “residential buildings”. Therefore, the Municipality can technically refrain from giving them licenses, which would mean the end of Palestinian education in Jerusalem after Israel’s closure of the [Palestinian] Directorate of Education in Jerusalem.
• Changing the names of Jerusalem’s streets in a way that weakens the connection of Jerusalemite Palestinians to their city. This also affects the cultural identity of Jerusalem, as seen in the stairs of Damascus Gate, which are now called “Hadar and Hadas” by the occupation authorities.
• Separate the Old City of Jerusalem from its cultural surrounding.
• Israel created a settler transportation line that is linked to the Israeli infrastructure and light rail, whereas this line extends all the way to the aerial cable cars.
• Israel restricts the development of East Jerusalem’s city center.
• The occupation has not organized the Jerusalem neighborhoods for more than 50 years (i.e. since the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967).
• Israel aims to weaken the commercial center of East Jerusalem in order to force Jerusalemites to consider West Jerusalem as the main commercial center.
• The occupation categorizes 146 buildings as historical ones, thus placing them under the “historic preservation” category.
• Israel conducted changes to the historical park in the Damascus Gate area.
• Changing the historical monuments in the Old City in general and Damascus Gate area in particular, and restricting the merchants of Musrara area by closing down parking lots in order to weaken the commercial activities therein.

The Main Israeli Violations against Jerusalemites Palestinians through this Plan:

It must be emphasized that East Jerusalem is an occupied city according to international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention. This Convention stipulates that the occupying power shall not conduct any changes in the occupied areas, except if that serves the occupied population. We will now list some of the Israeli violations against Jerusalemites through this Plan, which harms their interest and well-being:

• An occupying power must secure and protect education and health without trying to interfere in them.
• Israel aims to change the city’s landmarks without any benefit to the local inhabitants and without any consultation with them.
• Violation of the right to housing.
• Violation of the right to education after deeming some Awqaf and Palestinian Authority schools as “public facilities”.
• Israel makes it almost impossible to establish additional hotels in East Jerusalem.
• Constant attempts to weaken the economic movement in Salah Eddin Street and inside the Old City.
• Failure to take into account the needs and population growth of Jerusalemite Palestinians.
• Israel attempts to erase the heritage and culture of the Palestinian people, as well as changing the names of Jerusalemite streets and archaeological and historic sites.
• The occupation aims to control the largest possible land area, while minimizing the number of Palestinian residents therein.
• Crippling the Palestinian economic activities in the center of East Jerusalem and shifting the tourism sector towards Israeli settler enterprises.

Recommendations:

At the National Level:

• Raise the budget of the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs.
• Increase financial support/funding to maintain Palestinian education in Jerusalem.
• NGOs and political parties must raise societal awareness on settler-colonial plans and projects.
• Enhance support for Palestinian civil society organizations.
• Provide direct support to Jerusalemite merchants in and around the Old City of Jerusalem.
• Conduct more awareness campaigns by NGOs and legal organizations regarding the submission of objections/lawsuits against settlement plans.

At the International Level:

• Activate the role of the international community through lobbying and advocacy campaigns.
• Develop mechanisms to attract the support of international organizations.
• File lawsuits against the occupation in the international arena, especially the International Criminal Court (ICC), since the settler project aims to forcefully displace indigenous Jerusalemites.
• Call upon UNESCO to consider the Old City of Jerusalem as a world heritage center that must be protected from the dangers of the occupation.
• Resort to state parties in the Fourth Geneva Convention to ensure the enforcement of this Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem.

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This Policy Paper was prepared as part of the “Youth as Human Right Defenders” project funded by the European Union The content of this document does not reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Responsibility for the information and views expressed in the study lies entirely with MIFTAH.

Executive Summary:

This paper presents a review and discussion of the occupation’s Five-Year Plan to Israelize the various sectors of Jerusalem, especially the educational system. Israel allocated more than 2.1 billion Shekels for this purpose. The Plan includes imposing different Israeli tools, mechanisms and pressures on Jerusalemite schools to force them to remove the Palestinian curriculum and replace it with the Israeli one. It also encompasses modifying the contents of the Palestinian curriculum (especially in public schools) and opening new institutes to teach the Israeli “Bagrut” curriculum, while restricting the infrastructure of Palestinian schools. Israel also refuses to give licenses to new schools except if they agree to adopt the Israeli education system. Moreover, the occupation blackmails private schools by threatening to cut off their budgets. These hostile policies culminated with the closure of the Palestinian Ministry of Education Bureau in Jerusalem, in order to eliminate the Palestinian sovereignty and national identity in Jerusalem. This paper discusses these violations by stating different facts and figures, as well as proposing a set of recommendations to confront the aforementioned Plan.

Introduction:

Jerusalem is the cradle of Abrahamic religions and the center of the Palestinian cause. In order to control the city, Israel introduced carefully formulated plans that target all sectors and spheres of Jerusalemite life. Consequently, the city has seen an almost complete collapse in most of its vital sectors, especially the educational sector; which is considered an existential issue par excellence.

The Israeli occupation is following a clear and systematic Judaization policy at all levels in Jerusalem. This policy targets Palestinian Jerusalemites by aiming to erase their national culture and awareness, as well as subjugating and stifling them to crush all forms of Palestinian resistance. Israel also created a peculiar and artificial environment that excludes Palestinians and forces them – in one way or another – to depart from their city.

Numerous violations are being perpetrated against Jerusalemite Palestinians (especially in the educational sector), such as the Israeli checkpoints that prevent Palestinian students from reaching their educational institutions. Israel also attacks schools and throws gas and stun grenades at schools or in their vicinity. Therefore, a child’s way to school is often fraught with great fear and danger. Israel also caused serious problems to Jerusalemite Palestinian classrooms, whereas they do not allocate sufficient budgets to Arab schools in Jerusalem, thus increasing classroom congestion and forcing many students to move to other schools. Israel also puts many underage Palestinian students in home confinement (house arrest), as well as depriving them of the right to receive school education and see their classmates. This in turn prevents children from properly completing their educational journey and seriously affects their mental health. Israel’s unjust practices and human rights and international violations also include preventing Palestinians from receiving an education that represents them and their national culture, whereas Israel aims to replace local Palestinian curriculums with Israeli ones.

Facts and Figures:

The percentage of Jerusalemite Palestinian students in [Israeli] Ministry of Education and municipal schools that either teach a distorted Palestinian curriculum or the Israeli Bagrut, is about 50% of the total number of Jerusalemite Palestinian students. This means that the Israeli occupation has violated the right of approximately 50,000 Palestinian students by forcing them to receive an education that does not suit their national culture and social environment. This was implemented by using a number of methods. For example, in 2011, Israel started modifying the Palestinian curriculums taught in Ministry of Education and municipal schools. In this context, the Municipality reprinted Palestinian curriculums after making their desired amendments to them. This included deleting the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) logo from book covers, as well as removing the Palestinian flag and national anthem from all study materials. There was also the removal of everything related to the Palestinian national heritage and belonging, which were even criminalized because they raise the patriotic spirit among students. The occupation authorities also deleted many poems – such as the Intifada anthem –and Quranic verses that talk about the homeland, martyrs and resistance. Israel also abolished the teaching of the “National Education” subject in all Jerusalemite Palestinian schools. A number of facts were also distorted in these study materials, such as changing the map and names of Palestinian cities and streets and replacing them with Hebrew ones. For example, they replaced the city name “Safad” to “Tsfat”. The occupation also introduced materials that propagate their Zionist narrative and undermine the Palestinian national discourse.

Israelization of Educational Curricula in Jerusalem At the beginning of the 2017-2018 academic year, the Municipality of Jerusalem announced that the number of Palestinian students who were studying the Israeli curriculum reached 5,800, distributed among 12 schools. This represented an increase of 14% from the previous year. The number of these students was only about 1,400 in 2012, which means that a fourfold increase was witnessed in 6 years. This constitutes a violation of the occupied people’s right to use curriculums that suit their national culture and identity.

Statistical information regarding the number of schools that teach the Israeli curriculum fully or partially or which were established by Israel, showed the following:

2018-2019: 41 schools (7,300 students)
2019-2020: 50 schools (8,300 students).

This was accompanied with preventing the Palestinian Authority from operating in Jerusalem and closing the bureau of the Palestinian Ministry of Education in Jerusalem in November 2019. Moreover, the occupation allocated budgets with millions of Shekels in its Five-Year Plan to Judaize the educational sector in Jerusalem.

The table below shows the number of Israeli distortions and falsifications of the Palestinian curriculums in Jerusalem:

The Main Policies of the Occupation to Israelize the Educational System in Jerusalem

The major Israeli violations that obstruct the education of Palestinian students in Jerusalem are as follows: home confinement (house arrest), checkpoints and the Apartheid Wall, classroom congestion, and the policy of Israelizing Palestinian curriculums.

There are various bodies supervising the educational sector in Jerusalem. These include the Awqaf Islamic schools, which adopt the Palestinian curriculum, as well as private schools that belong to associations (churches, mosques and charitable institutions) and adopt the Palestinian curriculum, but are subjected to huge Israeli pressures because some of them receive monthly allocated payments from the Israeli Ministry of Education. There are also the Ministry of Education and municipal schools, as well as the “contracted schools” that apply the Israeli curriculum or the distorted Palestinian one. Finally, there are the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) schools, which apply the Palestinian curriculum.

The percentage of Ministry of Education and municipal schools that teach either a distorted Palestinian curriculum or the Israeli Bagrut one, is approximately 50% of all schools in East Jerusalem, and they include more than 40,000 male and female students. It should also be noted that the occupation established 12 new schools that apply the Bagrut system entirely, hence there is now a total of 50 schools in Palestinian East Jerusalem that apply the Bagrut system fully or partially.

Note: Currently, there are 12 newly established schools in East Jerusalem that completely apply the Israeli educational system, as stated in reports issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Education. However, a fact sheet published by the Jerusalem Education Forum mentioned that there are 50 schools in East Jerusalem that apply the Bagrut system fully or partially. Therefore, 12 of these schools use the Bagrut system fully, whereas the rest of them (38) use it partially.

The Israeli occupation applies different coercive methods to Israelize the Palestinian curriculums. This includes deleting everything related to the Palestinian national belonging, along with adding materials that propagate the Israeli plans, such as changing the names of Palestinian cities, undermining the Palestinian national discourse and heritage, and deleting poems and Quranic verses that talk about struggles and martyrs.

The second method used by the occupation was the allocation of more than 20 million Shekels to develop educational facilities and infrastructure in East Jerusalem. These funds require that the supported schools would introduce the Israeli curriculum. It is also worth noting that, in 2018, the Israeli government allocated 2 billion Shekels to Israelize East Jerusalem, of which they allocated 445 million Shekels to Israelize the educational sector in the next five years. The aim of this Five-Year Plan (which was introduced in 2018) is to raise the percentage of Israeli curriculum education among East Jerusalem students to 90% by 2022. It also includes threats to withdraw the licenses of private schools that refuse to implement Israeli curriculums, as well as providing incentives to Jerusalemite Palestinian students and facilitating their admission in Israeli universities if they choose to study the Israeli curriculum. This goes hand-in-hand with the closure of the Palestinian Directorate of Education in Jerusalem and restricting the infrastructure of Jerusalemite Palestinian schools, while at the same time opening new Israeli schools. The occupation also introduced a requirement which prescribes that a license would not be given to any new school except if it applies the Bagrut system, not to mention the targeting of private schools by blackmailing them with budgets to pressure them to adopt Israeli curriculum.

This paper proposes a set of solutions and recommendations to confront the ongoing Israeli attacks on the educational sector. This includes supporting vocational education and allocating a budget to enhance it, as well as providing full scholarships in Palestinian universities to Tawjihi (Palestinian matriculation) students from Jerusalem. These costs can be covered by the Palestinian Ministry of Education, in coordination with Al-Quds Fund and Endowment and the Palestinian Businessmen Association. It is also helpful to use Palestinian schools as national centers for supporting and educating the Palestinian youth within extracurricular activities (after school hours). Moreover, it is vital to allocate budgets for supporting private Palestinian schools in Jerusalem so that they would remain steadfast against the Israeli policies and would not succumb to its financial blackmail. The paper also suggests holding a national dialogue and examining the possibility of teaching Hebrew as part of the Palestinian curriculum in Jerusalem. This can help fill the gap used by the Municipality for promoting the Bagrut system, under the pretext that it is better for the labor market than the Palestinian Tawjihi. It can also be presented as a good alternative for the general public.

Budgets:

Israel allocated a budget of 2.1 billion Shekels in its Five-Year Plan of (2018-2022), to take over all sectors in Jerusalem. Its main priority is to completely Israelize the educational system in Jerusalem. In a study conducted by the Jerusalem Education Forum on the situation of education in Jerusalem, it was seen that enormous budgets were allocated by the occupation to control the educational sector in Jerusalem. According to some estimates, Jerusalemite Palestinian educational institutions – which include 85 schools and 125 kindergartens - receive a funding of over 400 million USD annually. Private schools in Jerusalem receive a funding of approximately 40 million USD, whereas this funding comes from the taxes paid by Jerusalemite Palestinians (which amount to 30% of the total taxes paid by both parts of Jerusalem) and is not a “favor” from the occupation. It is a well-known fact that 25% of the taxes collected from East Jerusalem are spent on education, health and infrastructure, and the rest of it is a profit for the occupying power. This is done despite that international law forbids the collection of taxes from occupied people and forces the occupying power to bear the expenses of these sectors.

Israel’s new plan includes the allocation of 120 million USD annually, meaning that an additional 600 million USD will be invested in the five-year period. The budget was divided as follows: 700 million Shekels directly to the education sector, with the allocation of an additional 87 million Shekels for educational facilities, supportive activities and special programs, and the hiring of 10 new inspectors and 30 social workers for Arab schools. Moreover, there was the allocation of 206 million Shekels for extracurricular education (after school hours), whereas schools will be transformed into “community centers” after school hours to conduct targeted activities in a familiar environment for pupils. Israel also allocated 30 million Shekels to work with distinctive Palestinian students and open special classes to attract and integrate them in Israeli higher education institutions. This plan also provides 2,000 university scholarships to Palestinian students in Israeli universities, as well as facilitating their admission in these universities, allocating budgets for teaching Hebrew, and operating vocational schools for female students. This was done to integrate Palestinian students in the Israeli society and convince them that obtaining an Israeli university degree will provide them with decent jobs in the future. Hence, these tools and budgets were used by the occupation to control Palestinian students and their families and impose their coercive power on educational institutions in Jerusalem.

Conclusion:

Since 1967, Israel has been relentlessly trying to impose its educational system on Jerusalemite schools. However, they have seen many failures due to Jerusalemite Palestinian solidarity and rejection of these colonization measures. But these measures are now witnessing a gradual and accelerated success in light of a strongly formulated strategy for Israelizing all sectors in East Jerusalem, especially the educational sector (which is among the most vital sectors). Therefore, the educational sector in Jerusalem is considered the “battlefield” for Palestinian sovereignty and identity and can be seen as a fortress for preserving the Palestinian national identity in Jerusalem. Israel’s war on Palestinian education in Jerusalem aims to eliminate the awareness of Jerusalemite Palestinians, after having undermined their physical existence and seized their lands and properties.

It should be emphasized that the crisis of education in Jerusalem is an existential threat, which requires that the State of Palestine and [Palestinian] Ministry of Education would be particularly concerned with protecting Jerusalem. This requires the designation of suitable budgets, programs and projects that support the steadfastness of Jerusalemite schools and have the Palestinian Authority issue payments to private schools instead of having the latter be reliant upon funds from the Jerusalem Municipality. Moreover, it is important to raise the salaries of Palestinian teachers in Jerusalem, in a way that corresponds with the adequate standard of living; for the purpose of retaining and developing the teaching staff. Popular mobilization must also be done to confront the imposition of the Israeli curriculum and Bagrut exams in Palestinian schools. It is also crucial to urge the Palestinian community, institutions and parents to organize protests and sit-ins in front of schools that agreed to adopt the Israeli curriculum, in order to pressure them to reverse their decisions. Furthermore, all parties must confront the Israeli practice of breaking into schools, searching students and summoning school principals for investigation. This has unfortunately become a common practice in the context of the occupation’s treatment of educational staff and institutions.

In order to confront the Israelization of the educational sector, the Palestinian media (especially in Jerusalem) must effectively reach out to citizens’ conscience and sense of nationalism to strengthen their collective awareness about the dangers of adopting the Israeli curriculum. It is also vital to establish new schools through private institutions (that have a license) to teach the Palestinian curriculum, as well as requesting Palestinian universities to facilitate the enrollment of Jerusalemite students therein. National references/personalities in Jerusalem should also play an active role to call upon private schools not to adopt the colonizer’s curriculum. Parents’ committees must also play an active role in enhancing the work of Jerusalemite schools. These committees can help in formulating an executive plan to develop the various educational aspects. We also suggest the activation of student councils in these schools, as well as unifying the efforts of civil society organizations (CSOs) that work to confront Israelization and Judaization policies. We also recommend unifying the local sources of funding and framing them within a national plan for supporting education. Legal defense should also be provided, through the assistance of a specialized legal body that defends the educational rights of Palestinian Jerusalemites.

It is also essential to introduce awareness-raising, lobbying and advocacy campaigns at the local and international levels, as well as boosting the partnership between official, private and international parties to preserve the Palestinian national curriculum in Jerusalem. The aforementioned issues must also be highlighted in the international arena, especially at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

It is worth noting that the majority of Palestinian schools in Jerusalem are still resilient in the face of Israeli policies (which include “the carrot and stick policy”). In fact, many private schools literally smuggled Palestinian curriculum materials to be able to teach them to their students in their original form without the material distortions introduced by the occupation. As long as there is a will, the Palestinian people will not lack the means for preserving their national curriculum in their occupied capital. It is also possible to form popular action committees to constantly defend Palestinian education in Jerusalem as done in the past. This can express the official and popular rejection of adopting Israeli curriculums in Palestinian schools.

Our Recommendations:

1. To work in longer shifts at the Awqaf schools (from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.) and transform Palestinian Jerusalemite schools into community centers after working hours. This can be an alternative to the “community centers” affiliated with the [Israeli] Municipality of Jerusalem.
2. Study the option of teaching Hebrew at the Awqaf schools in Jerusalem, in order to eliminate the loophole used by the Municipality to promote the Israeli Bagrut system. This can be done by holding a national dialogue (including the Palestinian Ministry of Education, parents’ committees, civil society organizations, etc.) and examining the possibility of teaching Hebrew as part of the Palestinian curriculum in Jerusalem. This can help fill the gap used by the Municipality for promoting the Bagrut system, under the pretext that it is better for the labor market than the Palestinian Tawjihi. It can also be presented as a good alternative for the general public.
3. Support vocational education and allocate a special budget for enhancing it based on the labor market needs. This can be a great alternative for students who do not want to receive academic education.
4. Provide full university scholarships to all Jerusalemite Palestinian Tawjihi students, in order to support the continuous adoption of the Palestinian national curriculum.
5. The State of Palestine must allocate sufficient budgets to support private schools in Jerusalem, in order to prevent their blackmail by Jerusalem Municipality budgets.
6. Enhance the role of the Palestinian media and organize lobbying and advocacy campaigns at the local and international levels.
7. Implement awareness-raising campaigns for parents and the local community. It is also recommended to form a committee comprised of the Palestinian Ministry of Education, parents’ committees, and representatives of private schools and NGOs, to coordinate joint efforts in the framework of a national action plan for protecting Palestinian education in Jerusalem.
8. The State of Palestine must implement its five-year sectoral development plan in Jerusalem (2017-2021), which aims to protect the Palestinian educational system. This requires designating substantial budgets to support this sector in Jerusalem.
9. The procurement of buildings to convert them into schools that apply the Palestinian curriculum in Jerusalem (under the umbrella of the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf), in order to increase the number of schools and pupils who learn the Palestinian curriculum in Jerusalem.

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This Policy Paper was prepared as part of the “Youth as Human Right Defenders” project funded by the European Union The content of this document does not reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Responsibility for the information and views expressed in the study lies entirely with MIFTAH.

Executive Summary:

This paper discusses the effects of Israeli violations on children’s right to education in the Old City of Hebron. This includes highlighting the illegal actions perpetrated against Palestinian schools, pupils and teachers. These actions created an unsafe environment for children’s right to education, and they constitute forced displacement, as they aim to reduce the number of Palestinian students in Hebron’s Old City. These policies led to a noticeable decline in the number of young students therein. The paper also recommends a set of practical policies to guarantee the safe continuation of education in the Old City of Hebron.

Introduction:

Students of schools located in Hebron’s Old City and its surroundings – which are classified as Areas “C” and “H2” in Hebron City – face a number of challenges that hinder their right to education. These challenges stem from the Israeli actions and procedures that target this area’s population all year long. In this context, Israel executes a systematic policy that aims to continuously harass the local residents to force them to leave their homes.

The right to education was guaranteed in international human rights law, including numerous human rights conventions, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. This right was also stipulated in several agreements signed by both Israel and Palestine, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966 (Articles 13 and 14 ); Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989 (Articles 28 and 29 ); and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Article 24 ). Moreover, there is the International Humanitarian Law (IHL), which obliges the occupying power to guarantee the right to education for the civilian population under its control, and prohibits the violation of this right since it is a basic human right. Nevertheless, the Israeli authorities constantly harass Palestinian students in several ways, such as the deployment of numerous military checkpoints, impeding the movement of local residents, preventing pupils from reaching their schools, hindering the arrival of materials for renovating classrooms, and raiding schools and throwing gas and stun grenades at them. Israeli authorities also arrest and detain pupils and sometimes beat them, leading to a number of wounded children while studying at school.

These illegal Israeli actions made the educational sector quite unsafe and unstable, both for teachers and pupils alike. This prompted many governmental and local institutions (including civilian initiatives) to intervene to protect the educational sector in the Old City of Hebron for fear of its total collapse. Consequently, the Palestinian Ministry of Education started paying additional amounts to teachers in these areas under the “Risk Allowance” financial item. Furthermore, the local organizations and civilian initiatives created “human bridges” to help pupils reach their schools and protect them from the violations of Jewish settlers and Israeli forces, as stated by local residents during the interviews conducted by the Youth Human Rights Defenders group in Hebron.

Policy Paper Objective:

This paper aims to highlight the procedures, policies and role of official, unofficial and international organizations to protect education in the Old City of Hebron in light of the ongoing Israeli violations. The paper also presents recommendations for ways to confront and halt these illegal actions.

Problem:

The paper presents the following policy problem:

• What policies should be adopted to provide a safe educational environment in the Old City of Hebron?

Situation of Education in the Old City of Hebron:

The paper sheds light on the violations perpetrated against 44 schools in the Old City of Hebron. These schools were divided into three categories, as follows:

1. Schools of Area “C”, 11 in total, which serve 4,277 pupils.
2. Schools of Hebron’s Old City, 9 in total, serving 1,800 pupils.
3. Schools of “H2” area, 24 in total, serving 11,084 pupils.

In 2019, the Palestinian Ministry of Education documented 218 violations against students and employees in the aforementioned schools, during which 5,960 pupils were subjected to physical harm and 18,391 pupils underwent psychological harm. As for 2020, the number of violations was 53, during which 263 pupils were subjected to physical harm and 3,623 pupils underwent psychological harm. It is worth noting that the decrease in the number of violations was due to the intermittent school attendance (for several months) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The blatant Israeli violations were categorized as follows:

It is worth noting that, in 2019, a total of 2,382 pupils (both male and female) were denied safe access to their schools in the Old City of Hebron and its surroundings. The schools of these areas are also subjected to other kinds of harassment, such as preventing restorations, denying the entry of renovation equipment, and prohibiting all changes to school structures.

The lack of safe access to education has serious implications for children, such as lowering the level of school attendance, increasing school dropout rates, displacement of families, separation of family members as they search for solutions that guarantee their children’s access to school in other locations, etc. Anecdotal evidence has shown that these actions lead to many school dropouts, especially among young girls and children with disabilities. In light of these barriers to education, thousands of Palestinian students lack the sense of safety at school and on their way to/from it. Moreover, parents are increasingly becoming worried about sending their children to school.

There are various types of Israeli violations documented by the Young Human Rights Defenders group in the Old City of Hebron, whereas the Israeli occupation forces are unreluctantly using different forms of repression and force on Old City residents, especially against students and educational workers in Hebron. These practices include the following:

• Israel does not abide by International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the bilateral agreements signed with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which prescribed the duty to respect the Palestinian people’s right to education without restrictions (as mentioned also by the Oslo Accords).
• Stopping and searching pupils and teachers at checkpoints. These violations occurred 66 times in 2019 and 19 times in 2020.
• Denying the entry of building materials and renovation equipment to improve schools’ infrastructure.
• Raiding schools and conducting arrests inside of them. For example, the year 2019 saw 13 such cases (where pupils and educational employees were arrested at school), and 6 such cases were witnessed in 2020.
• The throwing of teargas canisters and stun grenades in school yards, whereas this violation took place 96 times in 2019 and 5 times in 2020.
• Insulting students at checkpoints and detaining them.

In light of what was mentioned above, the paper presents the following alternatives and recommendations to relevant Palestinian and international parties, to enable them to formulate policies that help create a safer environment for young students in the Old City of Hebron. The paper assumes that these suggestions can be implemented simultaneously, in order to have a maximum impact within a reasonable period of time.

First Alternative: Formation of an international committee to protect school students:

After the occupation terminated the operations of TIPH (Temporary International Presence in Hebron), it became necessary to find an alternative body to protect young students, monitor Israeli violations, and facilitate the entry of essential equipment to schools. Such an international presence can monitor and deter the occupation and enhance international supervision over Israeli soldiers and policies. This body can also create a tool of international pressure to protect young students in Hebron. Therefore, international organizations must work diligently to restore their presence in the Old City of Hebron.

Second Alternative: Provide special programs for school students in the Old City of Hebron

Many young students showed several symptoms of distress, such as involuntary urination, insomnia (such as nightmares), violent behavior, malingering, laziness, and a constant feeling of unsafety. Therefore, it is necessary to provide them with psychological care programs and recreational/entertainment classes to enhance a positive spirit that links them to their schools. Also, teachers should be given special courses to deal more effectively with students who suffer from violations. These courses can be provided in coordination between the Palestinian Ministry of Education, international organizations, and NGOs that assist children and protect their rights, especially UNICEF and DCI.

General Recommendations:

To categorize students in Hebron’s Old City schools, by creating a database related to the numbers and types of violations suffered by them. It is also essential to document the violations committed by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinian students and teachers, in order to analyze the types of perpetrated violations and the best ways to confront them.

Based on the aforementioned activities, it is important to do interventions with schools to address their daily issues and introduce creative solutions to the challenges facing the educational sector. Furthermore, we recommend providing psychological support to families in these areas, as well as enhancing direct communication between Hebron Governorate, Directorate of Education, and active organizations and bodies, in order to coordinate their work and unify their efforts.

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This Policy Paper was prepared as part of the “Youth as Human Right Defenders” project funded by the European Union The content of this document does not reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Responsibility for the information and views expressed in the study lies entirely with MIFTAH.

Executive Summary:

This policy paper discusses the reality of trade and tourism in the Old City of Hebron in light of the Israeli violations, such as the deployment of nearly 100 military checkpoints, and settlers’ attacks on Palestinians and foreign supporters. The paper also highlights the Israeli military decisions to close down numerous shops and main streets in the Old City of Hebron, such as Al-Shuhada street. The paper also sheds light on the Israeli restrictions on religious freedom, especially in the Ibrahimi Mosque, as well as hindering access to it through barriers. This turned the Old City (which is supposed to be a prominent tourist attraction) into a closed military zone and prevented touristic and commercial activities therein. Israel also aims to get rid of all Palestinian residents and international supporters/activists in the Old City of Hebron, after having terminated the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH). This comes in light of including the Old City of Hebron and the Ibrahimi Mosque in UNESCO’s list of “World Heritage in Danger”.

Introduction:

The Israeli settlement regime in the heart of Hebron created difficult conditions that significantly affected the tourism and trade sectors. These can be summarized as follows:

The Old City of Hebron is subjected to an Apartheid regime. Many of its roads are exclusively designated for settlers and Palestinians are prohibited from using them. In other roads, it is allowed for a Palestinian to go on foot but not to drive, whereas other roads allow Palestinians to drive but not to walk. In the Old City, there are homes where residents are not allowed to enter from their house door, hence they turned their windows into doors or opened new doors for their homes. In other cases, local Palestinian residents are not able to access their homes except by walking on the roofs of adjacent houses. There are also neighbourhoods where a Palestinian cannot enter except if s/he is a resident of the neighbourhood, thus preventing them from receiving any visitors. In other neighbourhoods, it is not allowed for a Palestinian to enter except through security gates and physical inspection checkpoints. These procedures were introduced to facilitate the life of illegal settlers at the expense of local Palestinians. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, there are 22 Israeli settlements in the Hebron Governorate, as well as 15 settlement outposts and 4 industrial settlements, which include a total of approximately 19,000 Israeli settlers.

These Israeli practices and measures have put the trade and tourism sectors on the brink of collapse. What further aggravated the situation was Israel’s expulsion of 65 international observers from TIPH (Temporary International Presence in Hebron) on January 31, 2019. This is quite unfortunate because TIPH was the only international body that had a protective presence and was authorized to reach any part of the city on foot during the years 2015-2019. Moreover, they had direct communication channels with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to urgently deal with various matters.

This map explains the “H2” area in terms of the number of Palestinians, number of Israeli settlers, checkpoints, and areas where Palestinian entry is denied.

Policy Paper Objective:

The policy paper aims to present policy recommendations to advance the trade and tourism sectors in the Old City of Hebron and confront and halt the Israeli violations.

Policy Problem:

The paper seeks to address the following policy problem:

• What policies should be adopted to limit the Israeli measures that directly affect the trade and touristic life in the Old City of Hebron?

Reality of the Trade Sector in the Old City of Hebron:

An assessment by Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in 2019, concluded that the economic impact of Israeli measures is devastating. Moreover, a study on the impact of Israeli measures on the economic situation in the Old City of Hebron, indicated that the total direct and indirect losses resulting from the closure of shops due to Israeli military orders are estimated at 485 million U.S. Dollars in the past 25 years. This means that the Old City of Hebron incurred a monthly loss of about 1.6 million U.S. Dollars as a result of these measures.

It was also indicated that 62.4% of the closed shops were shut down during the Second Intifada, and the rest were closed due to Israeli military orders. For example, Al-Shuhada Street saw the closure of 304 shops, 218 of which were closed due to military orders. Additionally, the Israeli authorities issued 21 military orders that led to the forcible displacement of dozens of Palestinian families from the Old City, whose number totaled 6,000 persons.

According to Hebronite economist Raja’i Qaisi, the economic consequences of the prolonged closures in Hebron were disastrous. For example, at the first level of closures, 700 stores were entirely closed down either due to military orders or as a result of restrictions and limited access, thus leading to a loss of about 200,000 U.S. Dollars per store. Meanwhile, the second level of closures included the partial closure of 700 stores due to the aforementioned restrictions. This is because of the threefold increase in the distance, cost and required time for reaching these stores as a result of closing key roads (especially Al-Shuhada and Al-Shallala streets), which made it difficult for clients and suppliers to access them.

The remaining stores (about 1,000) also saw significant losses (estimated at 70 million U.S. Dollars). It is a well-known fact that the Old City of Hebron was historically considered an important commercial center, where about 5,000 persons were working in different fields. However, many of these persons are currently unemployed and became a burden on society. The closure of businesses deprived these workers of the only job opportunities available to them. This forced hundreds of Palestinian families who live in the areas of friction (most of whom are very poor) to leave their homes and apartments in search for other alternatives, thereby increasing their burdens due to unaffordable rental and building costs. Consequently, 75% of the remaining Old City residents are currently living below the poverty line. A survey conducted by the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy indicated that the poverty and unemployment rates have been steadily rising since 1997 (Badil Center, 2016). Also, the average income per household in the “H2” area of Hebron is approximately 160 U.S. Dollars per month, whereas the average income in the West Bank is 405 U.S. Dollars.

As mentioned by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in 2019: “At the present time, after 22 years from signing the protocol, the remaining work is assessed at 10%. It was also seen that eight out of every ten adults are unemployed, and that 75% of families live below the poverty time” (Land Research Center). According to a study conducted by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 2005, the average monthly income of Palestinian households in Hebron’s “H2” area is only 700 Shekels [which is equivalent to 150 U.S. Dollars per month].

Moreover, the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee (HRC) pointed out that, out of the 650 shops and warehouses located in the old market (“Al-Qasaba”), only 10% are currently operating, and at a much lower capacity (Al-Shabaka, 2009).

Reality of the Tourism Sector in the Old City of Hebron:

Israeli policies and measures are the main challenge facing the tourism sector in the Old City of Hebron. This sector is intentionally undermined by Israel all year long. For example, Israel provides a safe passage to foreign tourists from the back side of the Ibrahimi Mosque because it is under their control, thus weakening the touristic movement in the old Palestinian market. Moreover, Israeli tourist companies bring tourists in Israeli busses within their biased and targeted touristic itineraries. Israel also provokes Palestinian worshipers and searches them intensively at the electronic gates and military checkpoints leading to the Ibrahimi Mosque and Old City of Hebron, as well as preventing the Muslim call to prayer. This affects the movement inside the old market that leads to the Mosque. For example, the adhaan was prevented 634 times [in the Ibrahimi Mosque] in 2020.

Various forms of Israeli violations are committed against the tourism sector. These include the following:

• Deployment of nearly 100 military checkpoints inside the Old City of Hebron, which poses a threat to both tourists and local residents, thus crippling the tourism and trade activities therein. These checkpoints and their related measures violate people’s privacy and affect their freedom of movement and sense of security. The checkpoints are also frightening for many tourists and visitors from outside the Old City, hence they refrain from entering the city and wandering in it. This greatly affects tourism and trade activities inside the city despite including the Ibrahimi Mosque (which is an important historical-religious site) in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage in Danger. Also, the Old City of Hebron was considered to be “of exceptional universal value”. Therefore, the Ibrahimi Mosque and other historical sites in the Old City of Hebron are supposed to constitute major tourist destinations for visitors in Hebron. Despite the various attempts to revive and rebuild the Old City, most of the efforts were in vain. This is because of the unsafe situation of Old City residents, who are surrounded by radical Israeli settlers. These settlers are guarded by hundreds of armed Israeli soldiers and continuously attack Palestinian residents and their properties.
• Settlers constantly assault and harass international activists and Palestinian citizens, which created an unsafe environment for tourists and locals.
• Israeli poses a direct threat to archaeological and religious sites in the Old City of Hebron, whereas the Old City of Hebron and the Ibrahimi Mosque were included in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage in Danger.
• Israel provokes Palestinian worshipers and places heavy restrictions on them, as well as searching them intensively each time they enter the Ibrahimi Mosque. These practices constitute a violation of people’s right to worship, and they intentionally aim to weaken religious tourism in this landmark.
• Israel organizes tourism programs in the Old City of Hebron in a way that propagates the settler-colonial narrative against Palestine. At the same time, they support the Israeli tourism sector and aim to weaken Palestinian tourism. This is part of the Israeli economic settlement project in the occupied Palestinian territories.
• Israeli authorities prevent the transport and entry of goods into the area under their control in the Old City of Hebron.
• Israel violates a number of international human rights charters and conventions that guarantee the right of all persons to worship, move freely and enjoy economic rights.

In light of what was mentioned above, the paper presents the following alternatives and recommendations to relevant Palestinian and international parties, to enable them to formulate policies that help create a better trade and tourism sector in the Old City. The paper assumes that these suggestions can be implemented simultaneously, in order to have a maximum impact within a reasonable period of time.

First Alternative: Raise the level of awareness about tourism and trade in the Old City of Hebron, through:

Organizing awareness-raising programs and campaigns for school and university students, Old City residents, and merchants. This can be done by publishing brochures and booklets related to heritage sites in the Old City. It is also recommended to organize educational and touristic trips for interested school and university students from all Palestinian governorates, as well as implementing educational programs (including tourism education) for students from or outside the Old City. These programs can be conducted in cooperation between the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Ministry of Education, and national institutions in Hebron. Efforts should also be exerted to put an end to the destructive effects on the tourism and trade sectors, as well as changing the negative stereotypes about Palestinians internationally. It is also helpful to prepare informative materials about trade and tourism, such as issuing brochures about Hebron’s Old City, developing a touristic map, publishing the names of touristic areas and sites, and printing the addresses of Old City shops for easy access. It is also recommended to add guiding signs and develop interesting touristic routes, such as oil presses and maqams.

Second Alternative: Activate commercial marketing and tourism media, through the following activities:

Marketing and promotion of cultural, commercial and touristic sites, as well as encouraging residents and visitors to visit the Ibrahimi Mosque and the Old City of Hebron. Also, there is a need to encourage tourism offices to promote Palestinian heritage sites and goods in the Old City of Hebron, both within and outside the country. Academic institutions should also be encouraged to highlight the importance of Hebron’s Old City from the cultural and historical points of view, as well as encouraging people to visit this valuable location. It is also important to strengthen commercial and tourism security in the Old City, as well as licensing street vendors and oriental antiquity stores and putting an end to the phenomenon of beggars and pickpocketing. Furthermore, we recommend the provision of public health facilities, along with encouraging private companies to establish hotels and restaurants, provide special parking lots for cars and tourist buses, and increase investments in the Old City.

Third Alternative: The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism must formulate a robust national plan for the Old City of Hebron

This plan must focus on bringing international delegations to the Old City of Hebron to familiarize them about the location, enhance the Palestinian narrative, support the tourism sector, and promote Hebron internationally.

Fourth Alternative: Introduce twinning programs between the Hebron Municipality and different municipalities around the world, to support the economy of Hebron’s Old City and rejuvenate its tourism.

Fifth Alternative: Call upon the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to protect the Old City of Hebron, which was included in UNESCO’s list of “World Heritage in Danger”.

Sixth Alternative: Promote the Palestinian narrative vis-à-vis heritage sites in the Old City of Hebron

This can include preparing virtual tours to introduce tourists to the Old City’s valuable historical and archaeological sites.

Seventh Alternative: Reactivate the shops of Hebron through e-commerce, with the help of the Hebron Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Since there are many obstacles that prevent people from accessing Old City shops, e-commerce tools can be used to sell their products to potential clients outside the Old City. Such a plan must be formulated to reactivate the work of Old City merchants and enhance their survival.

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This Policy Paper was prepared as part of the “Youth as Human Right Defenders” project funded by the European Union The content of this document does not reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Responsibility for the information and views expressed in the study lies entirely with MIFTAH.

All of Palestine, including the 1948 occupied territories, the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, were under wide-scale Israeli military attacks in addition to the ongoing and grave human rights violations of Palestinian civilians everywhere. This wave began with Israeli occupation forces and settler attacks on Palestinian civilians in places of worship, including in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Aqsa Mosque, in addition to arrests and attempts to expel families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem. This was followed by the repression of peaceful marches in the West Bank and Palestinian cities inside the Green Line, culminating in an 11-day Israeli military bombardment of the Gaza Strip from May 10-21, which targeted Palestinian civilians, infrastructure, health facilities and centers and medical teams, in addition to the media, press offices, education facilities and farmland.

In regards to the crime of settlements via the expropriation of Palestinian land and the expulsion of the indigenous people to replace them with foreigners, there is no overlooking the systematic crimes committed by settler groups under the full protection of and coordination with Israeli occupation authorities. In Jerusalem, settlers opened fire on Palestinians in what looked like a military parade, in clear daylight, in the town of Shufat, injuring three youths. A similar scene played out in Hebron, where a settler shot and killed a Palestinian woman. Over and above the crime of settling on occupied land, settlers have killed and attacked Palestinians and their properties for years, committing war crimes for which Israel and its leaders are responsible.

Legal background

This newest wave of incidents included a large number of grave human rights violations, beginning with the threat of forced displacement of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah. This is also a war crime and crime against humanity in accordance with Articles 7 and 8 of the ICC Rome Statute, whereby an occupying authority displaces the legitimate civilian population from its occupied territories.

International law is adamant in that the city of Jerusalem is considered occupied territory, confirmed by the advisory decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the separation and annexation wall. Based on this, the description of this land in international law as occupied means the law in effect is the law of the state to which this land belongs. In this case, this means the state of Palestine, whereby Palestinian courts have the right to adjudicate in any legal case within its territorial jurisdiction, in accordance with Article 64 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Hence, there is no legitimacy to Israeli courts in political decisions, which are considered a part of a system that legitimizes and reinforces settlements and colonization in the occupied Palestinian territories. On the contrary, Israeli judges should be tried for legalizing international crimes such as forced displacement, settlements and collective punishment. In addition, the UN Security Council condemned all legal and de facto changes carried out by Israeli occupation authorities in East Jerusalem, of which Sheikh Jarrah is a neighborhood.

Position of international human rights law

In regards to international human rights treaties, Israel ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In light of this, the ICC deemed the ICCPR in force in terms of the actions taken by a country in exercising its legal jurisdictions outside of its territory. This means it is applicable to East Jerusalem, which is occupied territory over which Israel is the occupying power. The same applies to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The International Declaration of Human Rights protects the right of ownership, in Article 17/2 . Likewise, Article 5 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) stipulates the prohibition of racial discrimination due to race, nationality or ethnicity in the granting of rights, including those pertaining to the right of ownership. Moreover, the two international conventions both prohibited discrimination in Article 2 of each treaty respectively.

Position of International Humanitarian Law

Article 46 of The Hague 1907 Regulations states that the occupying power must respect the lives and private properties, which cannot be “confiscated”. The Hague Regulations are considered customary international law, which limits the powers of the occupying authority; hence, all countries have a legal obligation to respect these binding regulations, including Israel.

As for the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians in time of war, which Israel ratified on July 6, 1951, it is obligatory in the case of all the occupied Palestinian territories as a whole, including Sheikh Jarrah. This was confirmed by the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2004. Furthermore, in December, 2001, the high contracting parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention adopted a statement stipulating that “the ICRC has always affirmed the de jure applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the territories occupied since 1967 by the State of Israel, including East Jerusalem.”

Article 53 of the same convention states: “Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.” Hence, the occupying power should not carry out the full or partial “expulsion” of the civilian residents in occupied Sheikh Jarrah given there is no legal justification related to the security of the population or which is “absolutely necessary by military operations.” Rather, their expulsion is aimed at ethnic cleansing and illegal settlements, which comprise a war crime.

In addition are the violations against religious and holy sites and the hindrances to freedom of worship. Christian worshippers were prevented from safely reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulcher during Easter and were assaulted en masse by Israeli police. Similarly, worshippers in the Aqsa Mosque Compound were attacked and beaten by Israeli police.

Furthermore, the Hague Regulations of 1899 and 1907 are applicable to the Aqsa Mosque and all Muslim and Christian places of worship as are the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention Regulations and Protocols, given that these sites are part of East Jerusalem, which was occupied by Israel in 1967. Also, the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of 1954 is applicable. Moreover, Article 27 (4) of the fourth annex of the 1907 Hague Convention stipulates the necessity of military forces, if besieged, to use “all means so as not to harm buildings with the purpose of worship, arts, sciences, charitable activities, historical artifacts or the spiritual heritage of peoples.” Moreover, Article 56 of the 1954 Hague Convention stipulates the prohibiting of “seizure or sabotage of places of worship…and historical buildings.” Article 53 of the Additional Protocol I and Article 16 of Additional Protocol II of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention states “it is prohibited to commit any acts of hostility directed against historic monuments, works of art or places of worship which constitute the cultural or spiritual heritage of peoples.” Also, the 1954 Hague Convention obligates any occupying power to preserve cultural and religious properties and considers any attacks on them a war crime.

The Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip clearly targeted civilians and civilian targets. According to the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention and Additional Protocol I of 1977, Article 52 stipulates that all civilian objects must be protected; Article 147 of the agreement prohibits the illegitimate destruction of properties, considering this a grave violation. Furthermore, Article 25 of the 1907 Hague Protocol on the rules of land warfare stipulates that: “The attack or bombardment, by whatever means, of towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings which are undefended is prohibited”. Likewise, Article 8, Paragraph B of the ICC Rome Statute considers the targeting of civilians and civilian facilities during war as a war crime within the jurisdictions of the Court.

In addition to this is the extreme violence and crimes perpetrated against the Palestinians inside the 1948 areas, over and above the institutionalized system of discrimination against them for years. This includes discriminatory laws and legislation, which constitutes the crime of “racial discrimination” according to the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. These are also tantamount to the crimes of persecution and apartheid in accordance with the ICC Rome Statute.

To View the Full Factsheet as PDF

All of Palestine, including the 1948 occupied territories, the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, were under wide-scale Israeli military attacks in addition to the ongoing and grave human rights violations of Palestinian civilians everywhere. This wave began with Israeli occupation forces and settler attacks on Palestinian civilians in places of worship, including in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Aqsa Mosque, in addition to arrests and attempts to expel families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem. This was followed by the repression of peaceful marches in the West Bank and Palestinian cities inside the Green Line, culminating in an 11-day Israeli military bombardment of the Gaza Strip from May 10-21, which targeted Palestinian civilians, infrastructure, health facilities and centers and medical teams, in addition to the media, press offices, education facilities and farmland.

In regards to the crime of settlements via the expropriation of Palestinian land and the expulsion of the indigenous people to replace them with foreigners, there is no overlooking the systematic crimes committed by settler groups under the full protection of and coordination with Israeli occupation authorities. In Jerusalem, settlers opened fire on Palestinians in what looked like a military parade, in clear daylight, in the town of Shufat, injuring three youths. A similar scene played out in Hebron, where a settler shot and killed a Palestinian woman. Over and above the crime of settling on occupied land, settlers have killed and attacked Palestinians and their properties for years, committing war crimes for which Israel and its leaders are responsible.

Legal background

This newest wave of incidents included a large number of grave human rights violations, beginning with the threat of forced displacement of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah. This is also a war crime and crime against humanity in accordance with Articles 7 and 8 of the ICC Rome Statute, whereby an occupying authority displaces the legitimate civilian population from its occupied territories.

International law is adamant in that the city of Jerusalem is considered occupied territory, confirmed by the advisory decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the separation and annexation wall. Based on this, the description of this land in international law as occupied means the law in effect is the law of the state to which this land belongs. In this case, this means the state of Palestine, whereby Palestinian courts have the right to adjudicate in any legal case within its territorial jurisdiction, in accordance with Article 64 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Hence, there is no legitimacy to Israeli courts in political decisions, which are considered a part of a system that legitimizes and reinforces settlements and colonization in the occupied Palestinian territories. On the contrary, Israeli judges should be tried for legalizing international crimes such as forced displacement, settlements and collective punishment. In addition, the UN Security Council condemned all legal and de facto changes carried out by Israeli occupation authorities in East Jerusalem, of which Sheikh Jarrah is a neighborhood.

Position of international human rights law

In regards to international human rights treaties, Israel ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In light of this, the ICC deemed the ICCPR in force in terms of the actions taken by a country in exercising its legal jurisdictions outside of its territory. This means it is applicable to East Jerusalem, which is occupied territory over which Israel is the occupying power. The same applies to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The International Declaration of Human Rights protects the right of ownership, in Article 17/2 . Likewise, Article 5 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) stipulates the prohibition of racial discrimination due to race, nationality or ethnicity in the granting of rights, including those pertaining to the right of ownership. Moreover, the two international conventions both prohibited discrimination in Article 2 of each treaty respectively.

Position of International Humanitarian Law

Article 46 of The Hague 1907 Regulations states that the occupying power must respect the lives and private properties, which cannot be “confiscated”. The Hague Regulations are considered customary international law, which limits the powers of the occupying authority; hence, all countries have a legal obligation to respect these binding regulations, including Israel.

As for the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians in time of war, which Israel ratified on July 6, 1951, it is obligatory in the case of all the occupied Palestinian territories as a whole, including Sheikh Jarrah. This was confirmed by the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2004. Furthermore, in December, 2001, the high contracting parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention adopted a statement stipulating that “the ICRC has always affirmed the de jure applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the territories occupied since 1967 by the State of Israel, including East Jerusalem.”

Article 53 of the same convention states: “Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.” Hence, the occupying power should not carry out the full or partial “expulsion” of the civilian residents in occupied Sheikh Jarrah given there is no legal justification related to the security of the population or which is “absolutely necessary by military operations.” Rather, their expulsion is aimed at ethnic cleansing and illegal settlements, which comprise a war crime.

In addition are the violations against religious and holy sites and the hindrances to freedom of worship. Christian worshippers were prevented from safely reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulcher during Easter and were assaulted en masse by Israeli police. Similarly, worshippers in the Aqsa Mosque Compound were attacked and beaten by Israeli police.

Furthermore, the Hague Regulations of 1899 and 1907 are applicable to the Aqsa Mosque and all Muslim and Christian places of worship as are the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention Regulations and Protocols, given that these sites are part of East Jerusalem, which was occupied by Israel in 1967. Also, the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of 1954 is applicable. Moreover, Article 27 (4) of the fourth annex of the 1907 Hague Convention stipulates the necessity of military forces, if besieged, to use “all means so as not to harm buildings with the purpose of worship, arts, sciences, charitable activities, historical artifacts or the spiritual heritage of peoples.” Moreover, Article 56 of the 1954 Hague Convention stipulates the prohibiting of “seizure or sabotage of places of worship…and historical buildings.” Article 53 of the Additional Protocol I and Article 16 of Additional Protocol II of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention states “it is prohibited to commit any acts of hostility directed against historic monuments, works of art or places of worship which constitute the cultural or spiritual heritage of peoples.” Also, the 1954 Hague Convention obligates any occupying power to preserve cultural and religious properties and considers any attacks on them a war crime.

The Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip clearly targeted civilians and civilian targets. According to the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention and Additional Protocol I of 1977, Article 52 stipulates that all civilian objects must be protected; Article 147 of the agreement prohibits the illegitimate destruction of properties, considering this a grave violation. Furthermore, Article 25 of the 1907 Hague Protocol on the rules of land warfare stipulates that: “The attack or bombardment, by whatever means, of towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings which are undefended is prohibited”. Likewise, Article 8, Paragraph B of the ICC Rome Statute considers the targeting of civilians and civilian facilities during war as a war crime within the jurisdictions of the Court.

In addition to this is the extreme violence and crimes perpetrated against the Palestinians inside the 1948 areas, over and above the institutionalized system of discrimination against them for years. This includes discriminatory laws and legislation, which constitutes the crime of “racial discrimination” according to the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. These are also tantamount to the crimes of persecution and apartheid in accordance with the ICC Rome Statute.

To View the Full Factsheet as PDF