OPT: The humanitarian impact of the West Bank Barrier on Palestinian communities June 2007 update no. 7

Introduction

This report examines the humanitarian, social and economic consequences of the Barrier on East Jerusalem. The construction of the Barrier, in conjunction with other restrictions, has meant that Palestinians living in the West Bank can no longer travel freely into East Jerusalem, the city that has been the religious, social and economic centre of their lives for centuries.

A 168 km long, concrete and wire section of the Barrier separates East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. The Government of Israel (GOI) states that the purpose of this barrier is to protect Israeli citizens from terrorist attacks, mostly in the form of suicide bombings.

In 1967, the GOI annexed East Jerusalem and 64 square kilometres of surrounding West Bank land, unilaterally defining this area as the expanded Jerusalem municipality. Almost immediately, the GOI began building settlements in this area, despite these actions being illegal under international law(1).

While the Barrier provides physical security for Israel, it also encircles these settlements, connecting them to Israel, and ensuring that Israeli settlers have free, unimpeded access to Jerusalem. At the same time, the Barrier weaves around and between East Jerusalem and West Bank towns and villages. In some cases it cuts through Palestinian communities, dividing neighbourhoods from each other. In other cases, villages that were once closely connected to Jerusalem now lie on the West Bank side of the Barrier, physically separated from the city.

The report's findings demonstrate how the Barrier has significantly affected Palestinian life:

- Palestinians from the West Bank require permits to visit the six specialist hospitals inside Jerusalem. The time and difficulty this entails has resulted in an up to 50% drop in the number of patients visiting these hospitals.

- Entire families have been divided by the Barrier. Husbands and wives are separated from each other, their children and other relatives.

- Palestinian Muslims and Christians can no longer freely visit religious sites in Jerusalem. Permits are needed and are increasingly difficult to obtain.

- School and university students struggle each day through checkpoints to reach institutions that are located on the other side of the Barrier.

- Entire communities, such as the 15,000 people in the villages of the Bir Nabala enclave, are totally surrounded by the Barrier. Movement in and out is through a tunnel to Ramallah which passes under a motorway restricted for Israeli vehicles only

Background on the Barrier

The GOI has stated that the Barrier was conceived by the Israeli Defense Establishment to reduce the number of terrorist attacks. It maintains that "the sole purpose of the Security Fence, as stated in the Israeli Government decision of July 23rd 2001, is ... security ... [and] Israel's response to suicide bombers who enter into Israel".(2) The GOI has further stated that "the Security Fence is a manifestation of Israel's basic commitment to defend its citizens, and once completed, it will improve the ability of the IDF to prevent the infiltration of terrorists and criminal elements into Israel for the purpose of carrying out terrorist attacks or the smuggling of arms and explosives".(3)

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) has stated that the Barrier's construction and its associated regime within the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) violates international humanitarian law because it is not justified by military necessity and violates the principle of proportionality. The PLO maintains that the Barrier causes destruction of Palestinian property and infringes Palestinian human rights(4). The PLO also contends that the "construction of the Barrier is an attempt to annex the territory contrary to international law [and] the de facto annexation of land interferes with the territorial sovereignty and consequently with the right of the Palestinians to selfdetermination(5)."

The UN Secretary-General has reported to the General Assembly that "Israel has repeatedly stated that the Barrier is a temporary measure. However, the scope of construction and the amount of occupied West Bank land that is either being requisitioned for its route or that will end up between the Barrier and the Green Line are of serious concern and have implications for the future. In the midst of the Road Map process...the Barrier's construction in the West Bank cannot, in this regard, be seen as anything but a deeply counterproductive act. I acknowledge and recognize Israel's right and duty to protect its people against terrorist attacks. However, that duty should not be carried out in a way that is in contradiction to international law(6)."

In its advisory opinion of 9 July 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that the Barrier constructed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is illegal under international humanitarian and human rights law. The Court found that "[Israel] has the right, and indeed the duty, to respond in order to protect the life of its citizens. The measures taken are bound nonetheless to remain in conformity with applicable international law(7)".

The ICJ concluded that "Israel also has an obligation to put an end to the violation of its international obligations flowing from the construction of the wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory ... Israel accordingly has the obligation to cease forthwith the works of construction of the wall being built by it in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem ... [and] dismantling forthwith those parts of that structure situated within the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem(8)".

The Court also concluded that Israel has an obligation to make reparation for the damage caused to all persons and that Israel is under a responsibility to return the land, orchards, olive groves and other immovable property seized for purposes of construction of the Barrier in the oPt(9). UNROD, the UN Register of Damage, was established by a General Assembly resolution in December 2006., to process damage claims for Palestinians affected by the Barrier.

Endnotes

(1) East Jerusalem is defined as the part of the city that is east of the 1949 Armistice line (green line). There is no clear delineation of how far east the city extends as the municipal boundary line established by Israel after the 1967 war is not recognized by the international community (UNSC Resolution 242 and 267), nor was the formal annexation of the city by Israel in the 1980's (UNSC Resolution 476 and 478). For practical purposes however, within this report, East Jerusalem refers to the part of the city between the green line and the Israeli declared municipal boundaries.

(2) Israel Seam Zone Authority (http://www.seamzone.mod.gov.il).

(3) Ibid.

(4) Annex II - Summary of the legal position of the Palestine Liberation Organization, report of the Secretary-General prepared pursuant to General Assembly resolution ES-10/13, A/ES-10/248, 24 November 2003.

(5) Ibid.

(6) Report of the Secretary-General prepared pursuant to General Assembly resolution ES-10/13, A/ES-10/248, 24 November 2003 at para 29-30.

(7) Advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 9 July 2004, para 141.

(8) Ibid, para. 150-51.

(9) Ibid, para. 152-53.