Israel/Palestine : the black book / edited by Reporters Without Borders.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Reporters sans frontières (Association)

Standardized Title:

Israel/Palestine.

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

Arab-Israeli conflict--1993-.

Arab-Israeli conflict.

Human rights--Israel.

Human rights.

Palestinian Arabs--Crimes against.

Palestinian Arabs.

Jews--Crimes against.

Jews.

Israel.

Jews--Crimes against--Israel.

Palestinian Arabs--Crimes against--West Bank.

Palestinian Arabs--Crimes against--Gaza Strip.

Gaza Strip.

West Bank.

Physical Description:

xii, 212 pages ; 23 cm

Edition:

First English-language edition.

Place of Publication:

London ; Sterling, Va. : Pluto Press ; [Paris] : In association with Reporters Without Borders, 2003.

Language Note:

Translated from the French.

Summary:

In times of war, human rights violations often go unreported. In Israel and the Occupied Territories, where ongoing conflict has killed many thousands, abuses of human rights are commonplace, but these stories seldom reach the outside world. This book redresses that imbalance: taken from documents produced by international human rights groups -- and assembled by the international journalists' organisation Reporters sans Frontieres -- it provides an authoritative account of human rights violations that have taken place on both sides of the conflict since the start of the second Intifada in September 2000. Unlike conventional reportage, these accounts are careful not to overdramatise the story. Instead, they offer as objective an account as possible of the degradations that both Israelis and Palestinians have suffered. The reports are taken from groups including Amnesty International, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group, Human Rights Watch, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, B'Tselem and Reporters sans Frontieres. Bringing these abuses to public attention for the first time, this book is both an important historical document, and a sobering account of what is going on in Israel and Palestine, that will be of interest to politicians, NGOs, students and activists everywhere.

Contents:

Preface: Reporters Without Borders xi

Introduction: Jocelyn Grange 1

Creation of a Jewish state in Palestine 1

Settlement of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip 2

Annexation of East Jerusalem 3

The Geneva Conventions 3

The first Intifada 4

The Madrid Conference and the Oslo Accords 5

The spirit of Oslo betrayed 6

Authoritarianism in the Palestinian self-governing areas 6

The Camp David failure and the second Intifada 7

Part I Israel 9

1 Killings committed by Israelis: Amnesty International 11

The killing of Muhammad Jamal al-Dura 12

Demonstrations 13

The children 14

Gun carriers and demonstrations 16

Checkpoints 17

'No go' areas 17

Attacks on residential areas 19

Extrajudicial executions 21

Killings committed by settlers 22

Collective punishment 23

Closures 23

The Gaza Strip 25

The West Bank 26

2 Excessive force by Israeli Defence Force: B'Tselem 28

Chronology of events and eyewitness accounts 28

Criticism 34

The principle of proportionality 34

Prohibition of indiscriminate attacks 35

Immunity of medical teams and ambulances 38

Attacks from within a civilian population 38

Ban on involving children in fighting 39

3 House demolitions and destruction of agricultural land: B'Tselem 40

The policy 41

The facts 43

Rafah

Egyptian border 44

Netzarim 45

Morag 45

Kfar Darom 45

Implementation 45

Criticism 51

4 Israeli violations of freedom of the press: Reporters Without Borders 52

Eight journalists wounded in shooting 53

Six journalists arrested 54

Fourteen journalists physically attacked 55

Pressure and obstruction 55

5 The heavy price of Israeli incursions: Amnesty International 58

Violations of the right to life 61

Healthcare workers targeted 63

Demolition and destruction 65

Arbitrary arrests and inhuman treatment 67

6 Operation Defensive Shield: International Federation of Human Rights Leagues 70

Chronology of events 71

Obstruction of emergency aid workers 75

Ill-treatment of the wounded and injured 77

Endangering life and personal safety 78

Deliberate incidents of endangering life and personal safety 78

Consequences of indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force 80

Humiliating and degrading treatment 81

Use of human shields 82

Conditions of detention and treatment of prisoners 82

Destruction of property and housing 86

'Grave breaches' of international humanitarian law as defined by article 147 87

Other breaches of international law 88

Invocation of the international responsibility of the State of Israel and obligation to make reparation 91

Other aspects of the responsibility of the State of Israel: obligation to prevent and punish breaches 91

Responsibility of third-party states 93

Individual criminal liability 93

7 Operation Defensive Shield, Jenin: Human Rights Watch 96

The battle inside Jenin refugee camp 96

Civilian deaths and illegal executions 98

Shooting of Hani Abu Rumaila, 3 April 100

Shooting of Ahmad Hamduni, 3 April 101

Bombing death of 'Afaf Disuqi, 5 April 102

The bulldozing death of Jamal Fayid, 6 April 103

Use of Palestinian civilians as human shields 104

8 The Israeli army turns on the media, 29 March-15 June 2002: Reporters Without Borders 108

Closed military zones: 'Keep moving, there's nothing to see' 108

Wounded and injured journalists: where are the investigations? 109

Accreditation not renewed, or else withdrawn or refused 110

Six Palestinian journalists imprisoned 111

Palestinian media offices attacked 111

Foreign media also under Palestinian pressure 112

9 Torture in Israel: Public Committee Against Torture in Israel 113

The High Court decision: positive and negative aspects 114

Positive aspects 114

Negative aspects 115

Refraining from directly defining the Landau Commission's 'permissions' as torture 116

'The ticking bomb' and 'defence of necessity'

an opening for 'legal' torture 116

Lacunae that beckon: sleep deprivation and prolonged tying 119

Torture and ill-treatment during interrogations by the GSS 121

The shroud of isolation and disconnection which facilitates torture and ill-treatment 121

Incommunicado detention of interrogees as a means of ill-treatment 122

Description of routine techniques 124

Sleep deprivation 124

Shackling to a chair in painful positions 125

Beating, slapping and kicking 126

Threats, curses and insults 127

From the testimony of 'Abir Abu Khdeir (a woman) 127

From the testimony of Walid Abu Khdeir 128

Examples of special techniques 128

From the affidavit of Muhammad Abu Daher 128

From Attorney Leah Tsemel's letter of complaint to the State Attorney (signed by Jihad Shuman) 129

10 The status of the Palestinian minority in Israel: International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) 134

History of the Arab population in Israel 134

The events of October 2000 135

Access to the political system 136

Cultural, religious and linguistic rights of the Arab minority 136

Indirect discrimination 137

The lack of funding for Arab local authorities 137

Access to employment within the civil service 140

Access to employment within the private sector 141

The land issue 143

Discrimination stemming from the advantages linked to completion of military service 147

Part II Palestine 149

11 Killings committed by Palestinians: Amnesty International 151

Hamas and Islamic Jihad 153

Fatah and Tanzim 153

Killings committed by individuals 155

The death penalty 155

Extrajudicial executions 157

12 Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians: Amnesty International 159

Historical background 160

The current situation 161

An overview of attacks on civilians 165

The victims 166

The weapons 166

The places 167

The perpetrators 167

Palestinian armed groups 168

Fatah

Tanzim

al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade 168

Hamas

Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades 170

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (Harakat al-Jihad al-Islami al-Filastini) 172

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)

Abu 'Ali Mustafa Brigades 173

13 Shortcomings of the Palestinian justice system: Human Rights Watch 175

Unjustified arrests and detention 177

Persistence of torture 178

Grossly unfair trials 178

Murders of suspected collaborators 180

14 The right to free expression in Palestine: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 181

Attacks on freedom of expression 181

Palestinian Authority measures against press freedom 181

Interrogation, detention and arrests of journalists 182

Physical attacks on journalists 184

Closure of licensed media 184

Measures of the PA against the right to free expression of political beliefs 185

Assaults, detentions or arrests of citizens on the grounds of factional affiliation 185

Assaults, detentions or arrests of citizens on non-factional political grounds 186

Measures against the right to free peaceful assembly 191

Prohibitions or restrictions on peaceful demonstrations, marches, public meetings and conferences 191

Law (12) of 1998 on Public Meetings 191

The police order issued by the chief of police to prohibit public meetings without prior permission 193

The decision of the High Court of Justice 194

Measures pertaining to the arrest or shooting of people on the grounds of exercising the right to peaceful assembly 198

15 The death penalty in Palestine: Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group 199

Civil law 199

Military law 200

The death penalty, 1995-7 200

16 Press freedom violations by the Palestinian Authority: Reporters Without Borders 203

A journalist imprisoned 204

Seven journalists arrested 204

Two journalists physically attacked 204

Pressure and obstruction 205.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0745321429

0745321410

OCLC:

51898847