KeADILan Youth calls for Investigation to Israel and the Occupied Territories

10 July 2006
Media Statement

KeADILan Youth calls for Investigation to Israel and the Occupied Territories

The Youth Wing of People’s Justice Party (KeADILan) condemns the brutal acts of collective punishment by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) against the civilian Palestinians in Gaza.
We urge the UN Human Rights Council to deploy a team of authoritative international experts to Israel and the Occupied Territories, with a mandate to carry out an independent and thorough investigation into the deteriorating human rights situation in the Gaza Strip.
It is known that there is growing number of killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces and the deliberate and disproportionate attacks by Israeli forces against civilian property and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, as well as the launching of 'qassam' rockets by Palestinian armed groups from the Gaza Strip into nearby areas in Israel.
Both parties; Israeli and Palestinian, in another hand should agree to cooperate fully and grant the experts unimpeded access to people, places and documents.
The situation has deteriorated in recent months where Israeli forces have killed some 150 Palestinians including Cabinet Ministers, many of them unarmed, including more than 25 children.
Disappointedly, none of these cases have been adequately investigated.
In recent months the Israeli army has launched thousands of artillery shells and scores of air strikes against densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip, killing dozens of Palestinians, including several women and children, and injuring many others.
In the same period Palestinian armed groups have launched indiscriminately hundreds of 'qassam' rockets at Israel, injuring several civilians.
Palestinian armed groups were being kept as hostage. Israeli forces have also launched repeated and deliberate air strikes against electricity and water supply systems, roads and other civilian infrastructure, educational and other public institutions and private property in the Gaza Strip that has affected 1.3 million people.
We believe the destruction is having serious humanitarian consequences for the Palestinian population, whose situation had already worsened due to the impact of the sanctions imposed after Hamas won a majority in January's Palestinian elections.
As the tension between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and armed groups continues to mount, there is growing concern for the safety of the civilian population.
KeADILan Youth urges the Council to investigate and come up with concrete proposals to ensure effective protection of the human rights of all.
Under General Assembly resolution 60/251, the Human Rights Council has a clear and unambiguous mandate to address individual human rights situations, including gross and systematic violations, and to respond promptly to human rights emergencies. The situation now before the Council clearly fits these criteria.
According to Article 33 of 1949 IV Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians in Time of War, there is a clear and strict prohibition of reprisals against protected persons and their property.


Released by:

Faisal Mustaffa
Head of International Bureau
Youth Wing People’s Justice Party

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