Your Excellency, President Didier Burkhalter,

Distinguished Members of the Swiss Federal Council,

As Palestinian human rights organizations concerned with respect for international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), the Palestinian Human Rights Organisations Council (PHROC) calls upon Your Excellency to convene a conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to discuss Israel’s continued non-compliance with the Fourth Geneva Convention. Between 6 July and 10 July 2014, Palestinian Human Rights organisations has documented the killing of 83 Palestinians, including at least 46 civilians, of whom 22 are children, following indiscriminate and disproportionate Israeli air-raids on the Gaza Strip targeting, inter alia, civilian homes that cannot be perceived as military objectives. In addition, at least 400 Palestinians, including 123 children, have been injured. Statements by Israeli officials indicate intent to expand their military attack on the Gaza Strip, code named ‘Operation Protective Edge’, which will likely result in more civilian deaths and destruction.

The population of the Gaza Strip has been living under an Israeli imposed closure for the past seven years, constituting a form of collective punishment. As a result, 70 per cent of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are dependent on humanitarian assistance and Palestinians have been hindered from recovering from damage and destruction caused during previous Israeli offensives, including ‘Operation Cast Lead’ and ‘Operation Pillar of Defense’. It must be emphasised that ‘Operation Protective Edge’ erupted in the context of an already ongoing armed conflict and belligerent occupation. As such, Israel cannot justify its attack based upon the right to self-defence according to Article 51 of the UN Charter and must therefore act in accordance with the laws regulating the conduct of hostilities. In fact, analysis of Israel’s recent offensive operation in the Gaza Strip indicates that it is politically driven.

PHROC reiterates that all parties engaged in hostilities during armed conflict must abide by international humanitarian law. The principle of distinction requires all parties to distinguish between civilians and combatants, as well as between civilian objects and military objectives.  Furthermore, the principle of proportionality dictates that launching an attack, which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated, is prohibited. Failure to abide by these principles of international humanitarian law may result in the commission of war crimes. Furthermore, Palestinian civilians in the OPT are protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention.  As an Occupying Power, Israel must ensure the welfare and safety of the occupied population and respect Palestinians’ right to life and dignity. As such, prior to launching a military attack Israel is obliged to provide “effective advance warning” of attacks that “may affect the civilian population” and take precautions in the choice of means and methods of attack with a view of avoiding and minimizing civilian casualties.

In April 2014, Palestinian accession to relevant international humanitarian and human rights gave rise to additional obligations on part of Palestinian actors in the conflict as well as opened up additional opportunities. As a High Contracting Party, the Palestinian leadership is now entitled to request the High Contracting Parties to address Israel’s prolonged occupation of the Palestinian territory and the international humanitarian law violations committed therein. On this note, PHROC further recalls UNGA resolution A/Res/64/10 of 2009, which called upon the Swiss Government to “undertake as soon as possible the steps necessary to reconvene a Conference of High Contracting […] to enforce the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and to ensure its respect in accordance with common article 1.”

Whereas the Swiss Federal Council convened conferences of the High Contracting Parties discussing Israel’s non-compliance with the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention in 1999 and 2001, both conferences failed to sufficiently lay out concrete measures to be undertaken by all the High Contracting Parties in order for them to ensure Israel’s compliance with the Geneva Conventions according to common Article 1. For example, in December 2001, the Conference of High Contracting Parties called upon Israel, “to fully and effectively respect the Fourth Geneva Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” Mere statements void of any concrete measures of action by the High Contracting Parties inevitably failed to induce Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law. PHROC therefore emphasizes that in order to bring to an end Israel’s repeated disregard of the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the High Contracting Parties must discuss, agree upon, and undertake concrete action to ensure that Israel’s pattern in conducting hostilities across the OPT, particularly in the Gaza Strip, is not tolerated. On this note, we recall that Israel does not acknowledge the de jure application of the Fourth Geneva Convention with respect to the occupation of the Palestinian Territory.

The failure of the High Contracting Parties to effectively engage their own clearly defined legal obligations to ensure respect for the Fourth Geneva Convention, as well as their obligation to hold perpetrators of grave breaches responsible under Article 146, amounts to tacit acquiescence to Israel’s calculated and systematic disregard for international humanitarian law. Further inaction at this time would not only betray any hope that the civilians of the Gaza Strip have left in the ability of international humanitarian law to provide protection and alleviate their suffering, but would leave broader question marks as to the basic commitment of the High Contracting Parties to invest in the future relevance of international humanitarian law.

We look forward to receiving your response and remain at your disposal for any questions, comments or requests for further information that you might have.

Sincerely,

Baroness Catherine Ashton

High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

The European Union

Dear EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,

On 12 June 2014, three Israeli settlers disappeared from the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Since their disappearance, Israel has engaged in large-scale searches, closures, and raids across the OPT, resulting in the killing of two Palestinians, Ahmad Sama’da, 20, and Mahmoud Dudeen, 15. Additionally, one Palestinian was shot in the head and is said to be in a state of clinical death. As of 21 June, Al-Haq has documented the detention of approximately 454 Palestinians across the West Bank.[1] Further, 51 of the detained Palestinians had been released in the Shalit prison exchange deal in 2011.In total, 12 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) have been arrested since 12 June, including the head of the PLC.[2] The large-scale wave of arrests is reportedly accompanied with permission being given to Israeli interrogators to resort to “moderate physical pressure”against the Palestinian detainees.[3]During late-night house raids, Israel has also been ransacking houses and destroying private possessions while intimidating and harassing the residents of the West Bank in reprisal for the missing settlers. The closure of checkpoints, particularly the Container checkpoint east of the City of Bethlehem, has led to further restrictions on the freedom of movement of approximately 100,000 Palestinians, many of whom are university students. Furthermore, many Palestinian residents in the West Bank have been forced to limit their movement as a result of a dramatic escalation in settler violence.

As the Occupying Power, Israel is obligated to carry out its search for the missing settlers in line with its obligations under international human rights law (IHRL) and international humanitarian law (IHL). IHRL obligates Israel to respect the right to life of Palestinians by ensuring that the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials is carried out in a manner that minimises damage and injury and respects and preserves human life. IHRL further prohibits arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy, family, home and correspondence and affords all persons the right to liberty and security of person. As such, Israel may not arrest and detain Palestinians in a sweeping fashion; there must be a legal basis for each and every individual arrest. Furthermore, all persons that are arrested must be treated with humanity and respect for their inherent dignity. Israel is absolutely prohibited from resorting to torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Unlike the ruling of the Israeli Supreme Court, Israel is not allowed to inflict so called ‘moderate physical pressure’ against Palestinians, regardless of the situation. Under IHRL, Israel is also prohibited from restricting the freedom of movement of the thousands of Palestinian civilians as a form of collective punishment. The grave infringement currently imposed on Palestinians in the OPT, in particular residents of Hebron, is not proportionate nor necessary to protect Israeli national security and is highly intrusive.

Israel is also bound by IHL in the OPT. Particularly, Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention defines the unequivocal duties of the Occupying Power, including the obligation to respect persons, their honour, freedom from physical or moral coercion and freedom from collective punishment. This entails a duty on Israeli occupying forces to protect civilians from all acts of violence or threats thereof, against humiliating punishment, and to ensure that homes do not become the object of arbitrary interference. While Article 27(4) of the Fourth Geneva Convention authorises the Occupying Power to take stringent measures of “control and security,” such as imposing restrictions on movement or depriving individuals of their liberty, these can be adopted only on necessary security grounds, and in a manner that is not discriminatory.

Significantly, the collective punishment of the civilian population is absolutely prohibited under Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which forbids the Occupying Power to use “[c]ollective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation […].”  Article 75(2)(d) of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, reflective of customary law, confirms that collective punishments are prohibited at any time. The Israeli army has previously claimed to use closures as preventative and deterrent measures, despite international law recognising their effect as being punitive and collective, in particular due to their indiscriminate nature.

The methods employed in Israel’s investigation into the disappearances of the settlers are indiscriminate in their nature and are undermining the fundamental rights of the Palestinian population. Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides that all persons are entitled to equal protection before the law without discrimination. Furthermore, the violations that are being carried out are based on mere speculation regarding the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the settlers, the possible identity of those responsible and their location. As such, these measures indicate Israel’s intention to impose punitive measures against large portions of the Palestinian population in violation of Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibiting reprisals against protected persons and their property, as well as collective punishment.

Furthermore, threats by the Israeli Government to expel Hamas officials from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip on the basis of allegations that the organisation is responsible for the settlers’ disappearances not only amounts to indiscriminate collective punishment but also violates Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits forcible transfers and deportations of protected persons in occupied territory. The violation of this provision amounts to a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions and as such may constitute a war crime under Article 8(2)(a)(vii) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The manner in which Israel is carrying out so called Operation Brothers’ Keeper, including threats issued regarding Hamas officials, the re-arrest of Palestinian prisoners that were released under the Shalit prisoner exchange deal, the increasing number of administrative detainees despite an ongoing hunger strike in protest of Israel’s illegitimate use of administrative detention, and the large scale closures and raids, raises grave concern regarding the actual purpose of Israel’s actions in the OPT – one that is not consistent with the alleged purpose of the investigation into the disappearance of the settlers.

The EU’s response to Israeli measures undertaken in the context of the disappearing settlers has dangerously ignored Israeli violations and failed to distinguish between lawful measures employed by Israel to locate the settlers and measures that infringe on the rights of Palestinians. The search for the settlers may not be used as a pretext to kill, arrest, torture, and infringe on the privacy of Palestinians. The EU statement of 17 June 2014, and subsequent statement under Item 4 during the 26^th session of the Human Rights Council illustrate an utter and worrying disregard for Israel’s unlawful acts following the disappearance of the three settlers. An accurate analysis of Israel’s response demands that the EU, including in international fora such as Item 7 of the 26^th Human Rights Council session:

• strongly condemn Israeli actions amounting to IHL and IHRL violations undertaken during so called Operation Brother’s Keeper;
• demand that Israel strictly adheres to its responsibilities as an Occupying Power and discontinue the investigation in its current form;
• demand that Israel releases Palestinians arbitrarily detained, including administrative detainees;
• demand that Israel promptly investigate, in accordance with international law standards, and hold to account the perpetrators involved in the killing of Palestinians, including Ahmad Sama’da and Mahmoud Jihad Muhammad Dudeen;
• demand that Israel calls on the Attorney General to clearly articulate to all security officials that torture is absolutely prohibited and to hold to account any Israeli official who resorts to it;

One must consider that Israel is obligated to protect the occupied Palestinian people – including during investigations surrounding Israelis. The EU must not give Israel a carte blanche for undertaking any measure – regardless of its implications on the Palestinians – they deem fit in their blindsided search for the three settlers. We recall that in 2011, Israel also engaged in collective punishment when carrying out a large-scale investigation in the village of ‘Awarta (Nablus governorate) and that the failure of the EU to properly address Israel’s so called investigation can only be seen as encouraging Israeli violations of Palestinians’ rights. To that end, we ask that the EU take strong action to ensure Israel’s violations of international law during this investigation is not encouraged but rather restrained. Finally, it must be recalled that each individual EU member state, as High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention are under an obligation to ensure respect for its provisions.

The recent wave of arrests, attacks, killings and total closure of large parts of the West Bank following the disappearance of three Israeli settlers is a clear form of collective punishment against the Palestinian people. Since the disappearance of the three settlers on Thursday 12 June, Israeli forces in Jalazoun refugee camp, north of Ramallah, have killed a Palestinian man, Ahmad Sabarin, 20, and have arrested approximately 200 Palestinians across the West Bank. In total, eight members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) have been arrested since 12 June, including the head of the PLC. One PLC member has since been released. On 15 June three people were injured, including an eight-year old boy, when the Israeli military blew up the entrance of a house in Hebron during an arrest operation. In addition, on 16 June six Palestinians were injured at Qalandiya checkpoint near Ramallah, including Yazan Yacoub, 17, who was, according to reports, shot in the chest and abdomen with a live bullet, critically wounding him.

As the Occupying Power, Israel is obligated to carry out its search for the missing settlers in line with its obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL). IHRL imposes an absolute obligation on Israel to respect the right to life of Palestinians by ensuring that the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials is carried out in a manner that minimises damage and injury and respects and preserves human life. IHRL further prohibits arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy, family, home and correspondence and affords all persons the right to liberty and security of person, which demands a legal basis for each and every individual arrest. Furthermore, all persons that are arrested must be treated with humanity and respect for their inherent dignity.

Although some of the measures carried out by the Israeli forces in large parts of the West Bank may have a link to the investigation into the disappearances, the methods employed are indiscriminate in their nature and are undermining the fundamental rights of the persons concerned. Furthermore, these restrictive measures are being carried out based on mere speculation regarding both the identity of those responsible for the disappearances and their location. As such, these measures indicate Israel’s intention to impose punitive measures against large portions of the Palestinian population in violation of Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibiting reprisals against protected persons and their property, as well as collective punishment.

Furthermore, Israeli government threats to expel Hamas personnel from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip based on allegations that the organisation is responsible for the settlers’ disappearances not only amounts to indiscriminate collective punishment but also violates Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits forcible transfers and deportations of protected persons in occupied territory. The violation of this provision amounts to a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions and as such may constitute a war crime under Article 8(2)(a)(vii) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The Palestinian Human Rights Organisations Council (PHROC) condemns Israel’s disregard for its obligations under international law and its use of reprisals against the Palestinian population in carrying out its investigations into the disappeared youths. PHROC calls upon High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions to uphold their obligation to ensure respect for the Conventions as established under Common Article 1, by taking concrete measures to pressure Israel to halt its violations of international law.

PHROC further condemns the Israeli government-initiated law proposal to permit force-feeding of hunger strikers. Currently, over 125 Palestinian detainees and prisoners are on hunger strike in protest against Israel’s illegal practice of Administrative Detention. Force feeding is defined as torture by the World Medical Association and has been condemned by the United Nations (UN), including by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. As such, PHROC calls upon the international community to condemn the law publicly and to urge the Israeli government to withdraw it. Moreover, PHROC calls on Israel to heed to the demands of the hunger strikers by bringing its illegal practice of administrative detention to an immediate end.

The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) offers its deepest condolences to the family of Nelson Mandela and the people of South Africa. The death of Mandela is a tremendous loss, not only for South Africa, but also for the entire world.

During his long walk to freedom, Madiba became the hope, heart, and voice of oppressed people around the world, including in Palestine. He will always remain an inspiration to millions of Palestinians who continue the struggle for freedom, justice, and dignity.

The success of the South African struggle against Apartheid, spearheaded by Nelson Mandela, provides us with faith that we, the Palestinian people, will also succeed in our struggle against the Israeli occupation and its practices of apartheid and colonialism.

Mandela has taught us the power of disciplined action against oppression. He showed the world that struggling for one’s principles and holding on to them in the darkest of times is not only possible, but is the only true path to freedom and human dignity.

Nelson Mandela continuously sought to support the Palestinian people’s struggle for self-determnation. During his address at The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in 1997 he stated, “we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

Members of PHROC and the Palestinian people will remain eternally grateful for Nelson Mandela’s unwavering solidarity with our cause. We are also thankful for Mandela’s resilience in the face of adversity and we shall ensure that none of us rests as long as inequality, poverty, and injustice persist in our world.

Like Mandela, we cherish the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live with equal opportunities and where justice reigns supreme. We pledge to carry on our struggle until the same principles and values that Mandela sacrificed for are observed on the ground in Palestine.

Dear High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Chair of the Council’s United Nations Working Party, and Chair of the Council’s Working Party on Human Rights,

The Palestinian Human Rights Organisations Council (PHROC) would like to express its deep regret at the European Union’s (EU) position on and non-participation in agenda item 7 of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (the Council). Item 7, relating to “the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories,” has been a standing item on the Council’s agenda since its creation in 2006 and similarly appeared on the agenda of the former Human Rights Commission. This agenda item has provided a vital platform for highlighting the persistent violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed in these territories over a 46-year period.

Nevertheless, during the 22^nd session of the Council in March 2013, the EU expressed its preference for addressing the human rights situation in Palestine under general agenda Item 4 on “Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention”. The EU also stated that it would “like to avoid a proliferation of reports and mechanisms under Item 7”.  In so doing, the EU effectively voiced its disapproval of a separate item addressing the Israeli occupation and gave its support for its removal. In the same vein, the EU decided not to participate in the General Debate under Item 7 during the 23^rdsession of the Council in June 2013. The EU’s position on Item 7 fails to consider the unique traits of the Israeli occupation, the UN’s particular responsibilities in securing  peace between the relevant parties given its integral role in Israel’s establishment, and the international community’s inaction in bringing Israel’s violations of international law to an end.

The reasons warranting Item 7

Contrary to claims that Item 7 is the Council’s only country-specific agenda item and is therefore providing for unparalleled attention to violations committed by Israel, Item 7 was established to address the human rights situation in territories, Palestinian and Syrian, occupied by Israel in 1967. It is the unique nature of the occupation itself, the ensuing implications for international peace and security, and the inability of Palestinians to enjoy their inalianble rights that demand international scrutiny. Whereas occupation of a foreign territory was envisioned to be of a temporary nature, thus vesting sovereignty over the territory with the occupied population instead of with the Occupying Power, Israel has repeatedly demonstrated its intention to exercise sovereign rights over the territories it has occupied. In the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) Israel has illegally annexed East Jerusalem and exercises full control over Area C, including through the construction and expansion of settlements,  while isolating the Gaza Strip from the rest of the OPT.  In so doing, Israel is violating the indisputable prohibition against annexation by the use of force and the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, amounting to a serious breach of peremptory norms of international law and a violation of the prohibition on colonialism.

Article 41 of the International Law Commission (ILC) Draft Articles, which reflects customary international law, affirms that all States are under an obligation to actively cooperate to bring any serious breach of peremptory norms of international law, such as the violation of the right to self-determination, to an end through lawful means. According to the same Draft Articles, this cooperation could be organised either in the framework of a competent international organisation or through means of non-institutionalised cooperation.  Although Article 41 does not indicate what measures States should take in order to bring serious breaches to an end, Item 7 provides exactly such a forum of cooperation.

The inviolable right to self-determination is thus of special concern to the UN and its Member States, and deserves special attention by means of highlighting the matter through its bodies for as long as the violation is perpetrated. Indeed, the very purpose of the UN is “to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples.” Despite the unquestionable value of reports, findings and recommendations by independent experts and committees addressing violations committed within the occupied territory, a forum such as Item 7, in which Member States cooperate to monitor the human rights situation within occupied Arab territories, could fulfil State responsibilities arising from such serious breaches of peremptory norms of international law.

The prolonged nature of Israel’s military occupation of the OPT has allowed for the institutionalisation of its discriminatory treatment of the Palestinian people as a matter of policy while access to effective legal remedy is systematically denied to the occupied population. The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Israeli Settlements in the OPT reaffirmed that the Israeli High Court of Justice has rendered the issue of settlements – recognised as illegal and an obstacle to international peace and security – non-justiciable. Recourse to international accountability mechanisms is therefore essential if justice is to be obtained.

Despite the EU’s claim of the proliferation of reports and mechanisms under Item 7, the conflict has been marked by and indeed continues due to inaction. Notwithstanding the Council’s contribution to the documentation of violations committed in the occupied territories and their impact on the occupied people, the UN and the international community have failed to take action to put them to an end.  By promoting the removal of Item 7, the EU is guaranteeing that Israel’s violations will be unheard, unseen and unaddressed – dangerously contributing to the current nature of impunity for international law violations.

UN General Assembly Resolution ES-1012 expressed its conviction that “the repeated violation by Israel, the Occupying Power, of international law and its failure to comply with relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions and the agreements reached between the parties undermine the Middle East peace process and constitute a threat to international peace and security.” Such a threat clearly demands consistent and dedicated monitoring by the international community until the situation is brought to a conclusion that guarantees the enjoyment of the rights of all people in the territories.

In the context of persistent, systematic and gross violations of international law committed in an entrenched and prolonged occupation, the need for a body that is continuously and consistently mandated to oversee the situation is crucial. As the organ responsible for promoting universal respect for the protection of human rights, the Council is one of the appropriate fora to ensure such attention.

The EU’s position and its disengagement from Item 7 are particularly alarming considering the impact of this position on Israel. Throughout the occupation, Israel has shown little regard to the United Nations human rights system, defying UN resolutions, failing to implement recommendations by treaty bodies and denying access and assistance to UN missions and special procedures. Israel’s latest attempt to undermine the UN human rights system culminated in its recent disengagement from the Council, including its subsequent mechanism, and Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights. The EU’s position gives fruit to and emboldens Israel’s efforts to cripple Palestinians’ peaceful resort to justice through the UN human rights system.

The European Union’s participation in Item 7

In 2012, the EU’s Strategic Framework and Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy promised an EU “committed to a strong multilateral human rights system which can monitor impartially implementation of human rights and call all States to account” and underlined the “leading role of the UN Human Rights Council in addressing urgent cases of human rights violations and [contributing] vigorously to the effective functioning of the Council”. In the following 2013 Council Conclusions on the EU priorities in the UN human rights fora, the EU stated that it would “actively participate in the Human Rights Council and General Assembly sessions in 2013 through statements and interventions as well as by introducing thematic and country-specific initiatives targeting key human rights concerns and promoting accountability for human rights violations.” However, in blatant contradiction with these commitments the EU decided not to participate in the discussions under Item 7 of the Council’s 23^rdsession. The non-participation of the EU cannot be disconnected from its position on Item 7 or the fact that Israel had disengaged from the Council at that time.

As a party deeply and historically invested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, devoted to Palestinian state-building, and in a special relationship with Israel, the EU’s participation in Item 7 is highly important. Agenda Item 7 is one of the primary multilateral platforms offered to the EU in which it can pursue its goals in the Middle East region. And more importantly, the EU’s active and conducive participation in Item 7 would ensure that it cohesively and comprehensively ensures that its Israeli partner abides by international law.

In addition, as the organ responsible for promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights, the Council has in an unprecedented manner ensured that it is accessible to and inclusive towards civil society organisations (CSOs). In many ways, the Council has welcomed CSOs to bring a human rights issue of grave concern to the attention of the United Nations and its organs, including the General Assembly.  The removal of Item 7 would diminish the supportive role played by CSOs in ensuring that all states abide by their legal obligations as well as mustering political responses and will when there is a state of non-compliance.

Finally, as Palestinian human rights organisations, we stress that it is not the removal of Item 7 that would appropriately address the EU’s stated concerns regarding the proliferation of resolutions and reports.  Rather these concerns are appropriately addressed by ensuring the rigorous and efficient utilisation of a forum aimed at protecting these occupied populations by holding Israel to account. As such, we ask the EU to actively and conductively participate in all agenda items of the Council, including Item 7.

Yours Sincerely,

The Palestinian Human Rights Organisations Council (PHROC)

The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC), a coalition of 12 Palestinian human rights organizations operating in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, believes in the importance of settling international conflicts peacefully and believes that negotiations are a legitimate means to achieve this end, provided that they adhere to international legal standards. These standards include:

• Guaranteeing that international law, as prescribed by the United Nations (UN) Charter, UN resolutions, customary international humanitarian and human rights law, and decisions and opinions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is a guiding reference for the rights and obligations of the negotiating parties;
• Ensuring that the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and all other inalienable rights, including their right to establish an independent state on their land, as recognized in UN resolutions, are the basis of the negotiations process;
• Reaffirming the Palestinian refugees’ right of return to their homes and property as an essential and fundamental step to realizing the Palestinian right to self-determination;
• Affirming the right of Palestinians to permanent sovereignty over their resources and wealth, as they constitute the basic elements of their legitimate right to economic self-determination;
• Resorting to the rules and provisions of customary international law and international humanitarian law (IHL) as the basis for maintaining the rights of the Palestinian people;
• Affirming the right of the Palestinian people to hold the Occupying Power accountable for all acts and practices that violate international law, and respecting the right of the Palestinian people to pursue criminal and civil accountability for all damage caused to them by the Occupying Power, their territory and their wealth, and all harm caused by the Occupying Power’s decision to withhold tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority without a legitimate or legal basis;
• Confirming the right of Palestinians to retrieve the cultural and historical monuments and resources that have been stolen or confiscated by the Occupying Power;
• Refusing to recognize and formalize any benefits, revenues or privileges gained by the Occupying Power in violation of international law.

Since the early stages of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations during the Madrid Peace Conference of 1991, and the signing of the Palestinian-Israeli Declaration of Principles and the Oslo Accords in 1993, Palestinian human rights organizations have cautioned the relevant parties of the dangers involved in ignoring principles of international law and human rights standards in the negotiations process. Palestinian human rights organizations have also continuously brought to the attention of the international community the risk involved in failing to legally characterize Israel as an Occupying Power that must administer the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) within the rules and provisions of IHL.

The absence of international law as a basis in Palestinian-Israeli agreements, and the complete disregard for the international dimension of the Palestinian cause, evidenced by the decision to limit the peace process to bilateral negotiations, have led to continued and increasing violations of Palestinian rights. Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank has increased from approximately 120,000 to about 500,000. The Palestinian people have effectively lost Jerusalem, which has become completely isolated from its Palestinian surroundings. In addition, the Gaza Strip has been completely cut off from the West Bank and both the Ibrahimi Mosque and Hebron itself have been divided. At least 12% of the total area of the West Bank has been seized for the purpose of the construction of the annexation wall. Moreover, the Palestinian people have lost the water resource provided by the western aquifer. The Occupying Power also takes a share of the Palestinian Authority’s tax revenues without fulfilling its obligations towards the protected Palestinian population. The West Bank has been fragmented into three zones that are separated and isolated by military checkpoints and settlement bypass roads.

It has become evident to the Palestinian leadership that negotiations are useless as long as the Occupying Power continues to violate human rights and perpetuate its policies aimed at creating a Jewish majority in Jerusalem, expanding settlements and denying the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. Consequently, the Palestinian leadership adopted a policy of refraining from participating in peace negotiations as long as Israel continues to expand settlements and Palestinian prisoners continue to be detained in Israeli jails.

While it stresses its commitment and adherence to peaceful means to resolve and settle international conflicts, PHROC is surprised by the Palestinian leadership’s decision to return to bilateral negotiations without actual and explicit guarantees to halt settlement activities, and no clear guarantee with regards to the Occupying Power’s obligation to dismantle existing settlements. Furthermore, there is no emphasis in the current peace effort on the importance of ensuring that Israel respects and adheres to international law and human rights standards as a reference and basis for negotiations. PHROC calls upon the Palestinian leadership to learn from the failures of previous negotiation processes with Israel and to avoid repetition of mistakes that have facilitated the current situation in the OPT. Accordingly, PHROC believes that the Palestinian leadership must respect and adhere to the following principles:

• Israel must not be allowed to utilize the fact that negotiations have re-commenced as a fig leaf for its continued violations of international law. To this end, Israel must not be allowed to use the negotiations to create new facts on the ground through settlement expansion, which constitutes a war crime under international law;
• The Palestinian leadership should insist on the dismantlement of all settlements and must refuse land swaps, because the existence of settlements undermines the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and statehood. Additionally, the acceptance of land swaps and the potential acceptance of the continuing existence of settlements will undermine basic principles of international law and impair past successes achieved by Palestinian and international civil society organizations at this level;
• The legitimacy of the Palestinian leadership must be re-established, since most of the leading institutions of the State of Palestine and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) have exceeded their legal terms and are no longer elected representatives of the Palestinian people, and thus their representative legitimacy is questionable and must be renewed. This should be achieved through a democratic electoral process that focuses on the renewal of the PLO’s representation, in which all of the Palestinian people participate, including those living in refugee camps and the Diaspora. It will be necessary to identify creative solutions to overcome any obstacles in this regard;
• The Palestinian reconciliation process must be re-initiated in order to achieve unity. PHROC believes in the need for open dialogue that is held on Palestinian land, thereby allowing Palestinians to hold the party that is found responsible for obstructing reconciliation accountable;
• Any agreement reached in this negotiation process must be put to public referendum in order to ensure that all Palestinians are involved in the decision-making process that will affect their right to self-determination and their other inalienable rights;
• PHROC rejects the suspension of the process of accession to international conventions, institutions and agencies. These entities constitute an internationally legitimate source of power for Palestinians in their legal battle with the Israeli occupation. The refusal or postponement of the process of accession to international conventions and treaties deprives Palestinians of tools that allow them to reinforce their position against Israeli practices and violations of international law. Linking the “absolute” Palestinian right to accede to international organizations, agencies and instruments with the process of political bargaining is a dangerous precedent that should be avoided.

On 16 July 2013, the European Union (EU) announced its adoption of a Commission Notice providing guidelines “on the eligibility of Israeli entities and their activities in the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 for grants, prizes, and financial instruments funded by the EU from 2014 onwards” (guidelines).

As members of the Palestinian Human Rights Organisations Council (PHROC), we welcome these guidelines, which enforce the longstanding position of the international community, including that of the EU, that Israeli settlements located in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) are illegal under international law. Moreover, the guidelines ensure that EU member states comply with their legal obligation not to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the occupied territory and to ensure respect for the Geneva Conventions. In addition, the guidelines implement the 10 December 2012 position agreed upon by all Foreign Ministers of the EU that “all agreements between the State of Israel and the EU must unequivocally and explicitly indicate their inapplicability to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967”^[1].

PHROC commends moves by EU member states to adhere to their legal obligations and to positions adopted by the EU itself and hopes that these guidelines will be fully implemented. If fully implemented, the guidelines will demonstrate the EU’s ability to move from words to action and to comply with its own commitment to put international law at the forefront of its foreign relations.

In light of the above, PHROC looks forward to the official publication of the guidelines, and more importantly, welcomes their full and transparent implementation.

Today, 18 March, Al-Haq presented two oral statements, including one on behalf of the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC)*, to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council for its 22^nd session during the General Debate on “Item 7: The Human Rights Situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories,” where the report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) was presented today.

The joint oral statement highlights the significance of the report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Israeli Settlements, which reiterates Third-Party States responsibilities stemming from Israel’s breaches of peremptory norms of international law, such as the violation of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.

Al-Haq’s oral statement calls on the Human Rights Council to address Israel’s ill-treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails by outlining a course of action that aims to ensure that Israel is no longer permitted to ignore its legal obligations with regard to Palestinian political prisoners.

On 11 February, Al-Haq also submitted two written statements; one on behalf of the PHROC on “The Facilitation of Israel’s Steady Retreat from International Accountability,” and another one on the issue of Israel’s Illegal Settlement Enterprise Breaches Peremptory Norms of International Law.

Once again, Al-Haq and PHROC urge the Human Rights Council and individual States to uphold their legal obligations with regard to Israel’s violations of peremptory norms of international law, which entail the responsibility of Third-Party States not to recognise Israel’s conduct as lawful; not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the illegal situation and to cooperate to bring it to an end.

H.E. President Mahmoud Abbas

President of the State of Palestine

President of the Executive Committee of the PLO

RE: Inviting President Barack Obama to Meet with your Excellency in Jerusalem

Your Excellency,

As Palestinian human rights organisations dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), we, the undersigned, welcome your efforts to bring the legitimate demands of the Palestinian people to the international stage, including the demands for dignity, territorial sovereignty and self-determination. This was most recently highlighted by action at the United Nations General Assembly resulting in Palestine being accorded “non-member observer State status”. This upgrade succeeded despite the objections of some States, and their attempts to coerce the Palestinian leadership to abandon this action.

Your Excellency,

The Palestinian Human Rights Organisations Council (PHROC) is deeply concerned by the prospect, due to President Obama’s scheduled visit in late March, of Palestinian backtracking from efforts aimed at acceding to international legal mechanisms and conventions. In this context, the council reaffirms its position that international law should not just inform and facilitate the process of negotiations, but must constitute the foundation upon which all negotiations are based. The time has come for the Palestinian leadership to implement a comprehensive legal strategy founded upon the principles of international law. The representatives of the Palestinian people must stand firm in the face of the political pressure imposed by States aiming to compel them to disregard international law in their efforts to secure Palestinian rights.

The previous failure to position international law as the fundamental framework for any political solution to the conflict has permitted various State actors, and the United Nations, to snub international human rights and humanitarian law in their relations with Israel. The prioritisation of political negotiations over international law for the last twenty years has led States to ignore their international legal obligation to hold the perpetrators of international crimes accountable for their actions. Instead, most State actors continue to hold justice hostage to the political will of the Israeli government and to obstruct recourse to justice for Palestinian victims.

Throughout the 46 years of occupation, and especially during the last 20 years of failed negotiations, Israel has used its effective control over the OPT to implant some 200 settlements, currently home to over 500,000 settlers. These settlements control over 40 per cent of the West Bank, including essential natural resources such as water. The aim of these settlements is to permanently deny the Palestinian population the exercise of their right to self-determination by fragmenting the territory of the OPT and by preventing the Palestinian people from exercising sovereignty over their natural resources. A most blatant example of these efforts is Israel’s plan to expand settlement blocs into the area known as E1, completely separating East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.

Israel’s denial of Palestinian self-determination, colonial practices, and implementation of a system of apartheid in the OPT, constitute serious violations of peremptory norms of international law. As such, all States are under an obligation, as set forth in Article 41 of the International Law Commission’s Draft Articles on State Responsibility, not to recognise the situation as lawful, not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the unlawful situation, and to cooperate to bring the illegal conduct to an end. Despite these obligations, and even though the international community and multiple UN bodies, including the International Court of Justice, clearly reject Israel’s unilateral annexation of occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, concrete measures have yet to be taken to reverse Israel’s policies.

The report by the independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Israeli Settlements, to be presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council only a few days before President Obama’s visit, is the most recent example of a UN document concluding that Israel’s settlement policies in the OPT violate peremptory norms of international law. PHROC fully endorses the report and urges the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), as the representative of the Palestinian people, to strive to ensure the full implementation of its recommendations, especially those pertaining to the obligations and responsibilities of Third States, by promoting a strong resolution at the UN Human Rights Council. The Palestinian leadership must avoid the mistakes made with the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, which was sidelined for reasons of political expediency.

Your Excellency,

We urge you to demand that your meeting with President Barack Obama be relocated to the PLO’s headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem – the Orient House. This would be a continuation of your efforts on the international stage to refute Israel’s attempts to create “facts on the ground” through its settlement policy. It will challenge Israel’s attempts to change East Jerusalem’s de jure status as occupied territory, and the international community’s indirect recognition of this illegal situation. Such a bold move will highlight to the international community, and to the United States in particular, that the Palestinian people will never abandon their rights. They will not permit the disregard of international law, or of the obligations placed on the Occupying Power and the international community as a whole.

Respectfully Yours,

The Palestinian Human Rights Organisations Council.

The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC)* is pleased to announce its participation in the World Social Forum-Free Palestine (WSF), which takes place from 28 November to 1 December 2012, in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. This global event is a public space to share ideas and strategise ways to maximise the potential for solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The four-day WSF will consist of five main panels with speakers from across the globe, including a panel on the right to return and right to self-determination, a panel on international law and human rights and a panel on the illegality of the annexation wall. There will also be a panel on popular resistance and another on strategies to mobalise and create solidarity movements, which will also discuss the case of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS).

The WSF provides an excellent opportunity for organisations and solidarity movements to network and share their work and experiences through self-organised activities spread across the four days of the forum.

For further information on the WSF, how to register and to organise side-events, the PHROC invites you to visit the WSF website www.wsfpalestine.net.

Information, contacts and links:

• Choose your mode of registration: wsfpalestine.net
• Promote distance activities: prensa@wsfpalestine.net
• Contact GT communication: prensa@wsfpalestine.net
• Palestinian Organizing Committee: samahd@pngo.net
• Brazilian Organizing Committee: fspl@gmail.com
• International Committee: feroz@alternative-international.net
• Website: net

Today, 24 September, Al-Haq presented a joint oral statement on behalf of the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council* to the UN Human Rights Council for its 21^st session during the General Debate on Item 7: The Human Rights Situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories. The statement  highlights the climate of impunity that prevails in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which allows the perpetrators of international crimes to go unpunished, and repeatedly denies Palestinian victims any semblance of justice.

The statement calls on the Human Rights Council to indicate concrete measures for the implementation of the recommendations of the Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza conflict without delay and to no longer tolerate Israeli international crimes.

On 24 August, Al-Haq submitted its joint written statement to the 21^st session of the Human Rights Council.

The written submission, “Escalation in Forcible Transfer and Demolitions in Area C” examines the escalation of Israel’s policies, including house demolitions, violent intimidation and severe restrictions of freedom of movement and access to land, that aim to forcibly transfer the protected Palestinian population, particularly those living in Area C, which constitutes 60 per cent of the West Bank.

In the submission Al-Haq urges the Human Rights Council:

• Investigate the widespread and systematic nature of Israel’s policies and practices that lead to the forcible transfer of the protected Palestinian population;
• Urge the Occupying Power to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law, in particular by immediately discontinuing all illegal policies leading to the forcible transfer of the Palestinian population;
• Call for the reconvening of the Conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions, as suggested in the Report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, with a view to finding clear mechanisms to enforce the Occupying Power’s obligations under the Conventions;
• Urge the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons to conduct a visit to the OPT without delay and to report on his findings to the Council;
• Warn the international community that any acceptance of Israel’s plans to relocate Palestinians affected by demolitions and evictions could amount to recognition of an unlawful situation in violation of Article 41 of the International Law Commission’s Draft Articles on State Responsibility;
• Recommend practical steps to ensure that all Member States respect their erga omnes obligations and refrain from providing support to Israeli policies denying the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.