Newsgroup: it.arti.cinema
Titolo: Amnesty International on Palestinians

AI Index: MDE 15/081/2003 (Public) News Service No: 204
7 September 2003
Embargo Date: 7 September 2003 00:00 GMT
Israel/Occupied Territories: Israel must end its policy of closures
and restriction of movement "Israel must put an end to the imposition
of disproportionate and discriminatory restrictions on Palestinians'
movement in the Occupied Territories which have crippled the
Palestinian economy and caused widespread poverty, unemployment and
increasing health problems," Amnesty International said in a report
published today.
Closures, blockades, checkpoints, curfews and a barrage of other
restrictions imposed by the Israeli army on Palestinians have made
even short journeys between towns and villages difficult, dangerous
and often impossible - effectively confining some three and a half
million Palestinians to a form of town arrest.
The report Surviving under siege - The impact of movement restrictions
on the right to work examines the impact of these restrictions. The
restrictions have often prevented Palestinians from reaching their
workplaces or distributing their products and factories and farms have
been driven out of business by losses incurred, dramatically increased
transport costs and loss of export markets. Unemployment has soared to
over 50 percent, more than half the population is now living below the
poverty line and malnutrition and other illnesses have increased.
Most Palestinians in the Occupied Territories are forced to rely, to
some degree at least, on charity for food and other basic needs.
"The existence of charity and humanitarian assistance do not absolve
Israel from its obligation to ensure the Palestinians' right to work,
so that they can feed themselves and their families with dignity,"
said Amnesty International.
Israel has the right to take reasonable, necessary and proportionate
measures to protect the security of its citizens and its borders from
attacks by Palestinian armed groups, including by restricting access
to its territory. However it does not have the right to impose
arbitrary, discriminatory or collective measures and punishment on the
Palestinian population.
As an occupying power, Israel has an obligation under international
law to ensure freedom of movement, an adequate standard of living, and
as normal a life as possible to the population in the occupied
territories. The sweeping restrictions imposed by Israel violate these
obligations. Such restrictions also in many cases constitute
collective punishment - prohibited by international law.
"Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians cannot be made to pay for the
crimes of a handful of individuals," Amnesty International stressed.
"Any restrictions on the movement of people and goods should be
imposed only in relation to a specific security threat and if they are
non-discriminatory, necessary and proportionate in scope and
duration."
The construction in recent months of a wall/fence inside the West Bank
has resulted in further restrictions on the movement of Palestinians,
cutting tens of thousands of people from the rest of the West Bank
and/or from their farming land and irrigation water.
"Israel must refrain from constructing walls/fences or other permanent
structures inside the Occupied Territories which constitute or result
in permanent restrictions on the free movement of Palestinians within
the Occupied Territory or in the arbitrary destruction or seizure of
their property," said Amnesty International.
Israel contends that the wall/fence is being built to prevent
Palestinians from entering Israel to carry out attacks. Yet, the
wall/fence runs mostly deep inside the West Bank, and not on the
pre-1967 border between Israel and the West Bank. This, in order to
isolate the local Palestinian communities from nearby Israeli
settlements, which have been established in violation of international
law.
Amnesty International also urged Israel to put an immediate end to the
construction or expansion of Israeli settlements and related
infrastructure and to take measures to evacuate Israeli settlers from
the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
"Israel should have never transferred its civilian population into the
Occupied Territories. This is a violation of international
humanitarian law. Now Israel must remedy this violation by taking
concrete measures to evacuate the settlers," said the organization.
"Not only are the settlements illegal, they are constructed and
maintained in a discriminatory manner and are the proximate cause of
so many of the arbitrary restrictions on movement and other human
rights abuses."
Amnesty International also reiterated its call on Palestinian armed
groups to put an immediate end to their policy of killing and
targeting Israeli civilians, including settlers, whether inside Israel
or in the Occupied Territories.
"Similarly, the Palestinian Authority should take urgent measures to
prevent such attacks by Palestinian armed groups and carry out
thorough investigations in all cases," the organization said. "The
Palestinian Authority must also ensure that those responsible for such
attacks are brought to justice in proceedings that meet international
standards for fair trial."
Amnesty International reiterated its call on the Israeli authorities
to put an immediate end to the practice of extrajudicial executions
and other killings of civilians.
For a full copy of the report or the summary, please see:
Israel and the Occupied Territories, Surviving under siege: The impact
of movement restrictions on the right to work
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE150012003
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE150642003
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Brian
Dooley on + 972 6752 9605 or + 44 790 040 5705
Public Document ****************************************
For more information please call Amnesty International's press office
in London, UK, on 
+44 20 7413 5566
 Amnesty International, 1 Easton
St., London WC1X 0DW. web: 
http://www.amnesty.org
For latest human rights news view 
http://news.amnesty.org

 7 September 2003
Sei OT.
Ciao,
mAx

Traduci stronzo.

 Traduci stronzo.
Asshole, jerk.