1. What is “Operation Defensive Shield”?
Operation Defensive Shield as it is called by Israel was actually a reinvasion of Palestinian cities and towns during from March 29th to April 21st, 2002. The reinvasion of all the major West Bank towns except for Hebron and Jericho left most of the population under prolonged curfews and the PA infrastructure in ruins.
The reinvasion, whose ferocity and scale were unprecedented, brought about particularly great devastation to the Palestinian cities of Ramallah, Nablus and Jenin.
The reinvasion also witnessed an exceptionally brutal raid on a Palestinian refugee camp in Jenin, killing over 52 Palestinians.
2. How many Palestinians were killed, injured or arrested during the reinvasion?
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent at least 216 Palestinians were killed, 416 wounded and over 4,258 detained by the Israeli military.
The Israeli offensive also left 29 Israeli soldiers dead, and 127 wounded.
3. What most characterized the reinvasion?
The reinvasion was characterized by prolonged blanket curfews, the curtailment of basic movement, denial of medical access, severe shortage of food, water and medical supplies. In addition to the widespread destruction of infra-structure, the looting and rampage of public and private property took place. The use of Palestinians as human shields by the Israeli military was also frequently registered.
a. Blanket curfews and movement curtailment:
Israel's already unbearable restrictions on freedom of movement were dramatically increased during its offensive and population centers were placed under prolonged curfews, confining residents to their homes for weeks on end, with the exception of three-to-four hour breaks once every two or three days.
b. Denial of medical care:
Israeli military blocked the movement of ambulances (including those of the International Red Crescent Society), making medical treatment and evacuation of the sick and wounded impossible, thereby grossly violating medical neutrality.
The consequences of the prevented or blocked access led to many avoidable deaths, most commonly caused by the lack of medical attention or medication.
Five medical personnel where killed by Israeli gunfire while attempting to tend to injured.
In the Jenin refugee camp access to the camp was denied to all ambulances and humanitarian organizations for twelve days.
c. Damage and looting of private & public property:
Offices of the Palestinian National Authority and of Palestinian civil society organizations such as human rights groups, as well as radio and television stations were broken into and often vandalized.
Office computers, networks and other equipment, including televisions and file cabinets full of records were simply destroyed or looted.
Dozens of Palestinians also reported money or jewelry missing from houses after soldiers conducted searches.
d. Israeli use of Palestinians as human shields:
Eyewitness accounts and press reports strongly indicate that Palestinian civilians were repeatedly forced to march in front of soldiers as "human shields." Palestinians “human shields” would be forced to perform dangerous tasks, such as entering houses to check if they were booby-trapped or removing suspicious objects from the road. The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem received testimonies from soldiers indicating that they had received clear instructions on this practice.
4. How much physical damage was caused by the Israeli reinvasions?
According to assessments carried out by the World Bank together with a team from donor countries, Operation Defensive Shield resulted in damages of over $360 million to Palestinian infrastructure and institutions.
The largest physical damage caused by the military offensice was in Nablus - approximately $115 million. The enormous damages sustained by Nablus, much of which was the result of aerial bombing, included the destruction of historic buildings in its Old City.
Damage to civilian housing in the cities of the West Bank was estimated at about $66 million. The destruction of around 800 homes in Jenin city’s refugee camp was assessed at about $43 million.
5. Was access afforded to Press, Human rights and Humanitarian organizations?
Most of the West Bank, including all the major Palestinian cities, was declared as a “military” area and journalists were barred from entering it.
Human rights organizations were also severely restricted in their access to the affected areas, limiting the possibility of obtaining accurate information.
Humanitarian aid organizations were only scarcely granted access to the afflicted populations, and often greatly delayed before being afforded passage.
6. What happened at the Jenin refugee camp?
On April 3, 2002 Israeli troops, tanks and helicopters surrounded the area of Jenin in the northern West Bank, and raided the city’s refugee camp. The raid which lasted for close to two weeks, made heavy use of tanks and armored bulldozers in an extremely dense urban area, with catastrophic effect.
Palestinian resistance to the Israeli raid which killed over 52 Palestinians also left another 22 Israeli soldiers dead.
During Israel’s military operations in Jenin thousands of people remained trapped in their homes under a stiff curfew while intensive aerial shelling was being conducted and massive home demolitions carried out.
Plenty of evidence suggests that the Israeli military committed gross violations of the human rights with respect to the trapped civilians.
According to estimates by the World Health Organization and the Palestinian Ministry of Health, around 600 houses were totally destroyed and 200 rendered uninhabitable in the Jenin refugee camp. The housing damage was assessed at about $43 million.
7. What was the U.S. reaction to the Israeli reinvasion?
For the first three days of Defensive Shield, the State Department confined itself to statements supporting Israel's "right to self-defense," however on April 4th, 2002, Bush began to demand that Israel withdraw. President Bush’s repeated requests had no actual impact on Israel, and were often made while casting the responsibility of much of these developments on the Palestinian leadership, specifically President Arafat.
8. How did the U.N. react?
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1402, which called for "the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian cities including Ramallah." This was followed by the Secretary-General’s call on April 12th, 2002, for a peacekeeping force to be sent to the occupied territories, and finally the passage of Resolution 1405 which "welcomed Annan's initiative" to form a fact-finding commission to investigate the alleged war crimes that occurred during the Israeli invasion of the Jenin refugee camp.
Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch charged Israel with violations of international law and war crimes.
9. What happened to the U.N. Fact finding team?
The UN fact finding mission called for by Security Council Resolution 1405 was formed but not dispatched to the occupied territories as a result of Israel’s objections to what it perceived as an inadequately composed and qualified team. Israel claimed that the lack of persons with military background in the team would render it unable to properly assess Israel’s military operation and take into account its military considerations, and thus unable to produce a fair and balanced assessment.
10. What happened to President Arafat’s headquarters?
A prolonged siege was laid on President Arafat’s compound effectively imposing a house arrest on him in full view of the international community.
The physical invasion of the President’s compound also demolished a number of the buildings and other structures.
Contents from offices, such as files and computer hard drives were also removed by Israeli troops.
The safety of the Palestinian President was ensured through a great deal of international pressure on Israel.
The operation on the President’s headquarters was understood by many as an Israeli attempt to destroy the Palestinian National Authority, and many of its socio-economic institutions.
In an unexpected event, a group of international solidarity activists managed to move past Israeli tanks and offer themselves as a voluntary protection force for the President and those trapped inside with him.
Healthcare Restricted: Female Cancer Patients in Gaza
Date posted: June 07, 2023
By MIFTAH
Background:
The Israeli-imposed siege and the frequent aggressions targeting medical facilities in Gaza have debilitated the health sector and its capacity to provide proper medical services. This is exacerbated in cases of chronic diseases, which gives rise to a need to leave the Gaza Strip to receive medical treatment in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, or elsewhere. However, Israel imposes a strict and discriminatory permit regime, which has a disproportionate impact on medical patients given their conditions, and it is not unusual for these permits to be significantly delayed or ultimately refused by Israel.
The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH) collected questionnaires from 102 women diagnosed with cancer in the Gaza Strip to assess the quality of the treatment, availability of equipment, accessibility, and referral process.
The full report is accessible here.
Conclusion and recommendations:
The 16-year-long Israeli-imposed blockade and closure on Gaza have had detrimental impacts on the health sector in the besieged Strip. Specifically, the siege has compromised the ability of the healthcare sector to deliver proper medical services due to the absence of crucial medication, equipment, and supplies under flimsy security pretexts. Ultimately, frequent aggressions and targeting of health facilities and the Israeli-imposed siege on Gaza compromise the availability, accessibility, and quality of healthcare services available to Palestinians in Gaza.
MIFTAH urges the international community to:
- Put an end to Israel’s impunity and hold it accountable for its persistent crimes, including the crime against humanity of apartheid, through the adoption of effective and concrete measures;
- Exert pressure to lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip and allow for the free movement of people and goods;
- Ensure the urgent implementation of UNSCR 1325 to provide immediate protection for Palestinian women and to put an end to Israel’s impunity;
- Support the UN Special Rapporteur in the oPt, the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion, the ICC investigation and the UN Commission of Inquiry.
The summary factsheet is accessible here.
Financial indicators for the Family Protection Bill
Date posted: May 17, 2023
By MIFTAH
The legislation of the family protection bill is aimed at the protection of the family itself as an institution, and to guarantee its preservation. Palestinian legislators are aware of the importance of this bill, which is why all ministries and official institutions committed to developing its relevant programs, policies and plans, each according to their field of expertise. Their goal is to contribute to the promotion of a culture that combats domestic violence and encourages the response of public policies to this objective, through education, health, legislation and the media. Another objective is to track the bill’s impact and periodically assess it in cooperation with other civil societies. This paper focuses on some of the financial indicators pertaining to this bill.
All family members in Palestine are subjected to violence, including children, minors, women and men. However, married women remain the sector most vulnerable to domestic violence according to a 2019 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics survey. It said 29.4% of married women had been subjected to at least one type of violence by their husbands as opposed to 13% of men who had been subjected to violence by their wives, by their own confession. A total of 44.7% of individuals who have never been married have been subjected toviolence;7.6% of the elderly and 44.2% of children(12-17yearsold) were the victims of violence at the hands of one of their parents. Although a high percentage of women have been victims of violence from their spouse, a considerable percentage of these women, around 60.3% preferred to stay silent about the assault. Only a small percentage of women asked for help through official avenues; 2.9% went to a defence lawyer to file a lawsuit against their husbands, 1.3% went to the police or a family protection unit and 1.4% went to the centres for mental, social and legal aid.
Financial indicators for the Family Protection Bill
| Article of Bill/Law by Decree | Relevant party | Estimated cost |
| Article(4) specialization of Ministry of Social Development: The Ministry, in cooperation with government and civil society organizations, provide the following services to victims of domestic violence: 1.Protection and fulfilment of needs of the victim; economically and socially empowering her and reintegrating her in society in order to preserve the family fabric, while ensuring not to equate the victim with the perpetrator. 2.Appointing protection counsellors in all directorates and qualifying them to deal with domestic violence cases 3.Providingsocial, psychological and legal experts to provide victim support 4.Ensuringthe provision of social, psychological, health and legal services to domestic violence victims in coordination with relevant parties. 5.Preparing rehabilitation programs for perpetrators of domestic violence crimes 6.Coordination and cooperation with government and civil society organizations to provide the necessary training for the enforcers of this law by decree. Preparing the necessary preventative plans and programs against domestic violence |
Ministry of Social Development | ILS12 million over 3 years on average of ILS4 million year, based on a study prepared by the Ministry of Social Development |
| Article 6: Family and Minors Protection Police: In accordance with the provisions of this bill/law by decree, a family and minor protection police will be established, with branches set up in all districts of the homeland. It’s specializations are the following: 1.Goingtothe place of the domestic violence incident when the informer states that the violence has occurred, is about to occur is ongoing; or in case of violation of a restraining order, even if the informer is not the victim 2.Providingfree 24-hourhotlinestohelp victims |
Palestinian police and Family and Minors Protection Department
Reform and Rehabilitation Centres Department |
ILS7.3 million/year (the study is based on the number of those working in the family and minors protection department and their mean salary)
ILS1.3 million/year (the study is based on the number of those working in reform and rehabilitation enters, which includes special sections for women boarders) |
| Article7: Family Protection Prosecution 1.In accordance with the provision of this bill/law by decree, a prosecution’s office will be established to follow up on domestic violence cases in all districts and will operate under the supervision of the Attorney General in accordance with penal measures in force. 2. This family protection prosecution office will promptly investigate domestic violence incidents while also preserving the privacy and dignity of the victim |
Family Protection Prosecution | ILS1.7 million, based on the number of relevant prosecution agents and their mean salaries |
| Article10: parties qualified to issue restraining orders 1.Restrainingorders will be issued by the following parties of their own accord: a. Family Protection Prosecution b. The presiding judge |
Presiding judges | ILS1.9 million, based on the number of judges and their mean salaries |
| Total expected estimated cost | ILS16.2 million |
The table above shows that the estimated and main additional cost of the Ministry of Social Development to be around ILS4 million a year, considering that the other parties (police, prosecution and courts) are currently carrying out their roles without fully allocating specialized departments for protection from violence. However, if these parties do allot specialized departments for protection from violence, overall costs will reach approximately ILS16.2 million. Nonetheless, even if this cost is incurred, it still only comprises a small part of public expenditures, approximately 0.1%. Overall public expenditures for 2022 amount to approximately ILS16.2 billion, which means the cost of passing this bill and implementing its provisions will not constitute financial burden on the general budget and will not be an obstacle to ratifying the law by decree.
Furthermore, it should be noted that while it is imperative to calculate some of the costs resulting from violence against women, the reaerate the high costs as well. The secret social costs, which impact society as a whole. Data from the Ministry of Social Development showed (see graph), that violence exercised against women has prompted around 60% of them to flee their homes. Also, 18% of them attempted suicide in addition to suffering from mental and physical illnesses, unwanted pregnancies or others. Calculating expenses incurred from violence is not an easy process and there are no national data or figures that can measure the impact violence has on the state’s general budget due to the prevalent mentality towards violence as an issue associated only with women. This is especially true when the conversation is about the indirect and intangible effects of violence, including:
Violations of human rights; negative social, economic and political impacts; working women who get sick and need to take sick leave; lack of focus and productivity; impact of violence on children and academic failure; the rise in the percentage of school dropouts among children; the rise in long-term unemployment rates; the percentage of homeless children who become a burden on society; government expenditures for medical treatment; safehouses; therapy; monitoring cases of violence against women; individual expenses for following up on legal cases and lawyer fees; loss of income because of repeated absence from work or inefficacy; social expenses resulting from the breakup of the family; expenses of training individuals on how to deal with cases of violence; expenses for issuing laws and legislation on the protection of women from violence.
Confirmation of the above is that the UN believes the economic, social and health costs of violence against women are, to a large extent, undocumented and unrecognized. However, these remain colossal, according to researchers, specialists and defenders of women’s rights.
To view the full factsheet as PDF
Israeli state-sanctioned settler terrorism: A gendered lens
Date posted: April 26, 2023
By MIFTAH
Background:
The illegal Israeli settlement project, including settler-only bypass roads, military checkpoints, and the annexation wall, continues to expand and steal more Palestinian land and resources. As of today, the number of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, is close to 300, with around 750,000 Jewish settlers residing in them.
Israeli state-sanctioned settler terrorism against Palestinian civilians and property is prevalent and has been on the rise in recent years. Violence takes the form of psychological, physical, and verbal violence, including beating, throwing stones or sharp tools, intimidation, shooting, verbal assaults, and assaults on agricultural lands, cars, and homes. Such attacks are committed in the presence of Israeli occupation forces who often join them.
The high frequency of these forms of violence and their persistence give rise to psychological, physical, and material harm. Palestinian survivors of settler terrorism seldom press charges and file complaints against Israeli settlers given the complicity of the Israeli law enforcement system.
The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH) and the Women’s Center for Legal and Counseling (WCLAC) collected questionnaires from 229 Palestinian women covering settler violence in the occupied West Bank governorates of Al-Khalil/Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem.
MIFTAH calls on the international community to:
Put an end to Israel’s impunity and hold it accountable for its persistent crimes, including the crime against humanity of apartheid, through the adoption of effective and concrete measures;
Stop all relations and trade with illegal Israeli settlements including international companies that profit from them;
Criminalize and blacklist Israeli settler groups that engage in terrorist activities and hold those with dual citizenship accountable in their respective states;
Ensure the urgent implementation of UNSCR 1325 to provide immediate protection for Palestinian women and to put an end to Israel’s impunity;
Support the UN Special Rapporteur in the oPt, the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion, the ICC investigation and the UN Commission of Inquiry.
