Memorandum submitted by the Women's International
League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
The UK Section of the Women's International
League for Peace and Freedom, (WILPF), has consulted with its
Section in The Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), which has
provided us with material to help us to make this submission to
the International Development Committee's Inquiry. We are attaching
several papers from which some of the information in the body
of this submission has been drawn. [253]
WILPF is an international NGO with consultative
status with several UN bodies. WILPF has Sections in 36 countries,
and has been working since 1915 for peace, economic and social
justice and human rights.
The summary of our main points is as follows:
The suspension of financial aid by Canada, USA,
the EU and Japan to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA),
following the Palestinian legislative council elections this January
that resulted in the formation of the Hamas government, has brought
chaos to an already desperate economic situation in the Palestinian
territories occupied by Israel since 1967. Those countries' decision
to provide humanitarian assistance through UN institutions and
NGOs in compensation does not nearly make up the loss of non-payment
of the assistance funds. The sanctions against the Palestinian
people because of their democratic choice of government have not
only halted any kind of development in the OPT, they have destroyed
whatever development there might have been.
The use of the system of listing or proscribing
to tackle terrorism, and thus listing Hamas as a terrorist organization,
has taken away the power of governments to explore diplomatic
moves towards tackling long-standing sensitive political issues
to reach a peaceful solution.
Development assistance cannot be isolated from
a situation where the UK and other international players are standing
by while international law is being violated by Israel. The outcomes
of the violations of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
Advisory Opinion on the Wall, International Humanitarian Law,
and International Human Rights Law for Palestinians in the OPT
are outlined below.
The decision to halt financial aid to the PNA
is a punishment of Palestinian civilians in the OPT while Israeli
Occupation Forces escalate their crimes and violations against
these civilians, including closure, denial of basic humanitarian
needs, destruction of property and bombardment. Regrettably, these
crimes are perpetrated under the eye of the international community,
without serious international action to force Israel to respect
its legal obligations and respect International Humanitarian Law
regarding the protection of civilians at times of war. This failure
has effectively encouraged the State of Israel (a belligerent
occupation force) to act as a state above the law enjoying special
political and legal impunity, and to persist in and escalate the
perpetration of crimes and violations against Palestinian civilians
in an unprecedented manner.
Below are factual submissions relating to your
headings
What are the implications of the Hamas election
victory?
Over the last three months increased Israeli
military action in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 200 Palestinians
mostly civilians. These operations have damaged or destroyed three
government ministries, two educational institutions, the main
bridges between North and South Gaza, two power plants, infrastructure
like water, electricity and telephone lines, homes and agricultural
land.
It is almost impossible for Palestinians to
obtain redress through the Israeli legal system. Israel has engaged
in direct attacks on Palestinian democratic institutions. The
Israeli army has arrested eight Palestinian cabinet ministers
and 26 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and other
Hamas political leaders. East Jerusalem residency permits of Palestinian
officials have been revoked and PNA buildings have been attacked
from the air. NGOs fear civil war may be imminent.
The governments of the same countries that decided
to halt aid, also confirmed that the democratic election of Hamas
was a vote against corruption and for economic stability.
What has been the impact on poverty/the humanitarian
situation?
(see 1. below)
How best can development be achieved in this context?
Prior to the "freezing" of aid, the
EU provided 500 million Euros a year, and resources were put into
human capital and state building. One outcome of this was the
democratic elections which brought Hamas to power.
The EU has to find a way of circumventing its
own "listing" of Hamas (see below) to assist development
in the OPT. Immediately before the Palestine elections Norway
chose to withdraw from accepting the terrorist list. This could
give Norway the freedom, exercised also by Russia to act diplomatically.
How effectively have the UK, World Bank and EC
responded to the new reality?
The use of the system of listing or proscribing
to tackle terrorism, thus listing Hamas as a terrorist organisation,
has proved a hopelessly blunt instrument. It has taken away the
political power of governments to explore diplomatic moves towards
tackling long-standing sensitive political issues and to seeking
a settlement. This move from the political to the legal sphere
is explored in some detail by Elin Hellquist in Outlawing Hamas
2006. He/she also indicates the differential approach by the EU
to Israel's disregard of international rulings. Hamas is not listed
by the UN as a terrorist organization.
The World Bank has estimated that if the current
situation continues unemployment will rise to 40% by the end of
2006 (c.f. 20% in 2000, but see 1. below)
Development assistance cannot be isolated from
a situation where the UK and other international players are standing
by while international law is being violated by Israel with regard
to the ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Wall, International Humanitarian
Law, and International Human Rights Law with regard to Palestinian
citizens in the OPT the outcomes of which are outlined below.
In particular it will address the following
issues:
1. The impact of the suspension of aid to
the Palestinian Authority and the impact of the temporary international
mechanism for Palestinian basic needs, agreed by the Quartet and
the European Council
More than 150,000 Palestinian civil servants
have not received full salaries since March 2006. Approximately
25% of the population of the OPT depends on their income. Previously
the international community provided two thirds of the Palestinian
Authority's budget.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs estimates that 70% of households in the Gaza strip live
in poverty. This affects food security and essential drugs in
hospitals as well as shortage of drinking water in Gaza.
Unemployment is 34% in the OPT and 44% in Gaza
Palestinian people are being punished for their
democratic election choice, while the crimes of the state of Israel
(see 2. below) are not challenged.
Mr. John Dugard, the UN Special Rapporteur on
the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinians Territories
occupied since 1967, reported to the second session of the Council
(September/October 2006), that in the OPT on the whole, "Four
out of 10 Palestinians live under the official poverty line of
less than $2, a day. Unemployment is difficult to determine. The
International Labour Organization has estimated the jobless rate
to be over 40% of the Palestinian labour force. This, however,
does not take account of the fact that the public sector, which
accounts for 23% of total employment in the OPT, is employed but
unpaid.
2. The impact on Palestinian development
of Association Agreements between the EU and Israel/Palestine
The EU-Israel Association Agreement states that
its provisions "shall be based on respect for human rights
and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international
policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement".
Yet there has been no effort by the EU to stop the state of Israel
perpetrating the following crimes: excessive use of force, willful
killing and extra-judicial executions, confiscating land, destruction
of olive and fruit trees, house demolitions, expanding settlements,
building the separation wall on Palestinian land, imposing closures
and restricting movement, non-investigation of thousands of crimes
and thus a denial of justice and compensation. And Israel holds
over 10,000 Palestinian prisoners of conscience, including women
and children.
Requests have been made to the High Contracting
Parties of the convention and the EU to activate Article 2 of
the Association Agreement and suspend privileges given to Israel
until it fulfills its obligations.
3. The challenges faced by the UN in addressing
humanitarian affairs in the Palestinian territories and in service
provision, and its effectiveness in meeting those challenges
The UN is trying to provide people with some
foodstuffs like flour, oil, sugar etc but it is certainly not
enough.
(see 4. below)
4. The impact on development in the Palestinian
Territories of Israel's disengagement from Gaza and the possibility
of further disengagement from parts of the West Bank
In the Gaza Strip Israel still controls the
air space, territorial sea and land borders, frequently closing
down the crossings to the outside world. Fishermen are not allowed
to sail more than 1km out to sea and often shot at by the Israelis.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs report 7 August 2006 on the situation in the Gaza Strip
stated that the UNDP's initial estimates total $5.5 million in
damages to Gaza's infrastructure from Israeli Defence Force (IDF)
incursions, artillery shellings and air strikes. This excludes
the damage caused to the Gaza power plant, or the initial assessment
by UNDP engineers of damage caused to Palestinian infrastructure
by IDF incursions ($15.5 million); including bridges, public and
private buildings, roads, water supply as well as sewage and electricity.
These reports need to be taken into account in reviewing and evaluating
policies to help the Palestinians in the OPT.
More than 1,300,000 are living in one metre
of space per person in Gaza. The population is increasing, so
the poverty is increasing. Electricity is available to most of
Gaza's 1.3 million inhabitants for a few hours a day, and running
water for a similar period. The sewerage system has all but collapsed,
with the resulting risk of the spread of dangerous infectious
disease.
Gazans can no longer rely on their fridges,
threatening outbreaks of food poisoning. The elderly and infirm
living in apartments can no longer leave their homes because elevators
don't work, or are unpredictable. Hospitals and doctors' clinics
struggle to offer essential medical services. Small businesses,
most of which rely on the power and water supplies, from food
shops and laundry services to factories and workshops, are being
forced to close.
Gaza is the largest human prison in the world.
For the past three years Israel has been destroying Gaza and its
few natural resources, for example the fishing and flowers industries.
The crossing/exit points are closed almost on a permanent basis,
depriving residents of freedom of movement and the ability to
seek work.
5. The impact on Palestinian trade, employment,
and economic development of customs duties and taxes levied by
Israel or those collected by Israel on behalf of the PA at Israeli
ports and airports and points of entry to the West Bank and Gaza
Since February 2006 Israel has withheld $50-60
million a month in taxes owed to the PNA in spite of a legal obligation
to pay.
6. The impact of the separation barrier and
other controls on the movement of goods and people on employment,
poverty, economic development and on the delivery of humanitarian
assistance
It is difficult to overstate the humanitarian
impact of the Barrier. The route inside the West Bank severs communities,
people's access to services, livelihoods and religious and cultural
amenities. In addition, plans for the Barrier's exact route and
crossing points through it are often not fully revealed until
days before construction commences. This has led to considerable
anxiety amongst Palestinians about how their future lives will
be impacted.
Once completed, the total length of the new
Barrier route will be 670 km long compared to 622 km of the previous
route. This includes the sections around the Ma'ale Adumim settlement
and Ari'el/Emmanuel settlement "fingers" which are marked
on the Ministry's map as, "subject to completion of further
inter-ministerial examination." Together these two areas
total 108 km or 16% of the route. Approximately 57,056 square
hectares or about 10.1% of West Bank and East Jerusalem land will
lie between the Barrier and the Green Line, some of the most fertile
land in Palestine. On 20 February 2005, the Israeli cabinet approved
a revised route of the West Bank Barrier and published a map on
the Ministry of Defense's website, (www.seamzone.mod.gov.il).
Approximately 230,000 Palestinians hold East
Jerusalem residency permits. About one-quarter of these people
are located on the West Bank side of the Barrier and need to cross
the Barrier to access services to which they are entitled inside
Jerusalem. The Barrier affects those people living east of it
who need to cross it to get to their farms, jobs and services.
More than 500,000 Palestinians, live within a one kilometre strip
of the Barrier. Palestinians need special permits to enter areas
between the Wall and the Green Line or Jordan Valley. Permits
are frequently denied Palestinians though settlers can move freely
throughout the OPT on separate roads. Since early 2006 a new Israeli
policy makes access to the West Bank much more difficult for Palestinian
expatriates or foreigners.
Settler attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian
property go unpunished.
International Court of Justice's advisory opinion
is that the separation wall is illegal under international law
and that it has the purpose of annexing Palestinian land.
"Flying" (mobile) checkpoints, roadblocks,
dirt mounds, road gates total 552 physical restrictions in the
West Bank according to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) 5/9/06 curtailing Palestinians' ability to access
work, education healthcare, agricultural property and family.
Mr. Dugard's report to the Human Rights Council's
second session (A/HRC/2/5) gives facts about the implication of
the Wall on the economy of Palestine and the cost to the individual
families. It covers the many aspects of the situation in the OPT
and what has led to the appalling situation there, which will
grow still worse unless negotiations for a peaceful, just settlement
of the conflict get under way quickly.
7. The control that the network of settlements
in the occupied territories have over the basic conditions for
the development of the Palestinian economy: agricultural land,
water, movement of persons and goods, environmental impacts
Israel's PM Ehud Olmet said 3/5/06: "|the
settlement movement in main concentrations will forever be an
integral part of the sovereign state of Israel|" More than
3,500 housing units are currently being built in West Bank settlements,
compared to 4,144 units that were being built at the same time
last year. In addition, the construction of two roads—the
Tekoa-Jerusalem road and the Ma'aleh Adumim-Jericho road (in the
section east of Kfar Adumim)—has recently been resumed.
The expanding illegal Israeli settlements on previously undeveloped
Palestinian land overlook overcrowded Palestinian villages, commandeering
the scarce water resources.
This is preventing Palestinian people from exercising
their right to land recognized as Palestinian under international
law.
8. The role of civil society, including NGOs,
in ensuring a broad popular participation in the development of
Palestinian society
Civil society institutions and NGOs have increased
their calls for international intervention to protect Palestinian
civilians in the face of serious violations of International Humanitarian
Law (Article 146 4th Geneva Convention 1949, the Protection of
Civilians in Time of War).
NGOs state that the decision to halt aid is
causing discontent in civil society institutions and human rights
organizations. Democracy is undermined and the international community
is seen as having double standards when it rejects the result
of free elections and punishes Palestinian civilians by withholding
aid.
9. The role of development assistance in
supporting political solutions to the conflict
James Wolfensohn the special envoy of the Quartet
has left because of "the restrictions on his role" following
the Quartet's new hard line which is "starving Palestinians"
The EU has in the past invested both resources
and political capital in the OPT. The current policy has undermined
both political and economic development projects.
Suggestions that EU developmental assistance
might be channeled through the president rather than the elected
Hamas government, undermines the democratic process in the OPT.
10. Future development needs of a Palestinian
state and the potential for its economic cooperation with Israel
A Palestinian state would need and wish to have
economic cooperation with Israel, but this would depend on an
end to the occupation, dismantling the separation wall, and Israeli
settlements on Palestinian land, among other things. Working constructively
and with understanding towards a long-term political solution
is the way in which the UK can best help the Palestinian people.
Our recommendations
The UK and the EU must find a way to get round
the terrible consequences of listing Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Below is an extract from a resolution on the Middle East passed
by WILPF's International Executive Meeting in London in early
September 2006
WILPF recognizes that there is no armed solution
for the conflict.
WILPF supports actions to facilitate the road
to peace. This includes the immediate and unconditional release
of all prisoners, including:
— More than 12,000 Palestinian and
Arab political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention camps,
among them numerous children and 117 women, 18 of whom have given
birth while in prison.
— The elected Palestinian political
leaders, ministers and parliamentarians.
— The Lebanese prisoners held in prison
in Israel, the three captured before the latest war who have been
held in prison for more than 20 years as well as all those captured
during the last invasion.
— The three Israeli soldiers.
WILPF calls upon Israel to comply with the UN
resolutions, international conventions and International Law.
WILPF calls for peace conferences to initiate
a process which can lead to a solution of the conflict under the
auspices and the mediation of the United Nations, preventing Israel
from taking unilateral actions.
WILPF affirms that peace conferences should
include the active participation of 50% women in line with UN
Security Council Resolution 1325. Peace conferences should also
include civil society.
WILPF is profoundly concerned and alarmed by
the escalation of racist policies in Israel, as manifested in
racist legislation such as the law on citizenship, [as well as
incitement against Palestinian citizens of Israel]. We call for
full and equal citizenship according to the Israeli Declaration
of Independence and International Law.
We demand the international community respect
democratic processes within Middle Eastern countries.
We deplore the lack of imagination in all western
countries sending mainly military troops to the area. We demand
an immediate halt to sending of arms and a suspension of all arms
contracts. We demand a shift of assistance from military engagement
to peace building, including political, diplomatic and democratic
cooperation, information and networking, with the active participation
of 50% women.
Western security policies, including the new
EU security and defence strategy, ESTP, must be focused on civilian,
not military, security.
We call upon European governments, to reconsider
the special preferences given to Israel as referred to in the
European Association Treaty and as stipulated in the human rights
article of this treaty.
Attached documents: 254
A/HRC/2/5, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the
S of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since
1967, September, 2006
AL-HAQ, Intervention to Member States of the United
nations on the sixth anniversary of the second Intifada, 29.3006E,
September, 2006
HELLQUIST, Elin, Outlawing Hamas: An Illustration
of the High Stakes of Legalisation, Lund University, Spring 2006
LANE, Christine for the Women's International League
for Peace and Freedom (Palestine Section) Report for the Committee,
October, 2006.
October 2006
253 Not printed. Back
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