In the course of the armed conflict that erupted in the Middle East in June 1967, the Israeli military occupied the remainder of Mandated Palestine: the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which was under Jordanian control, and the Gaza Strip, which was under Egyptian administration. The lines of these areas were defined as such by the 1949 Armistice Agreements that were concluded between Israel and Jordan and Egypt respectively. The Israeli military also occupied the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula and the Syrian Golan Heights. Israel, thus, became a belligerent occupant of those territories.
Following the war, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967, which emphasized the international law principle of "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war" and which affirmed that peace in the Middle East should be based on the "withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict" and the "termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force."
This resolution, along with the principle of returning the land in exchange for peace (land for peace) which was embodied in it, became the basis for the Middle East peace process.
Based on the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations, international law and relevant UN resolutions, the entire international community considers the Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, along with the other Arab territories occupied by Israel in 1967, to be "occupied territories" subject to the 4th Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War. The United Nations, in a multitude of resolutions, has affirmed the applicability of the 4th Geneva Convention to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967, including East Jerusalem and has called for an end to the occupation. The UN has also repeatedly affirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and the need for the realization of those rights.
At the start of the occupation, Israel, the occupying Power, immediately began imposing scores of repressive measures against the Palestinian civilian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. These measures, entailing grave violations of human rights, have inflicted enormous suffering and harm on the Palestinian civilian population. At the same time, the occupying Power attempted to change the status of the occupied territory or parts of it and to change the demographic composition of the territory through the illegal transfer of Israeli civilians. The occupying Power attempted to justify many of these measures by citing its security considerations or military needs. In reality, however, the occupying Power has been driven by an expansionist vision or ideology and, in the course of implementing such a vision, has used its enormous military capabilities and a complex system of economic, legal and administrative policies and practices. Another fundamental aim of the occupying Power has been to prevent the realization of Palestinian national rights. The result of these measures has been a gradual change in the situation in the Palestinian territory from that under foreign occupation to that under active colonization.
Israel, the occupying Power, has continued with its policies and practices of occupation for almost 32 years. These policies and practices represent grave breeches of international humanitarian law and serious violations of all the principles and laws of human rights. Israel has also carried out these policies in total disregard for the position of the international community and in total violation of the Charter of the U.N. and of relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, as well as resolutions of other U.N. organs.
The following is an outline of the policies and practices of Israel, the occupying Power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem.
� Violence Against and Ill-Treatment of the Civilian Population
Numerous forms of physical violence and ill treatment have been routinely and systematically used against the civilian population. These include summary executions by special undercover units and indiscriminate shootings with live ammunition or rubber-coated bullets by the Israeli army and by the armed Jewish settlers, which has resulted in scores of injuries and death. There have been numerous cases whereby the shootings by soldiers and settlers have resulted in massacres of Palestinian civilians, such as the massacre at Al-Haram Al-Sharif on 8 October 1990 and the massacre of 29 Palestinians in the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron on 25 February 1994 by a settler.
Another notable form of Israeli violence against the civilian population is the use of torture in prisons for both repressive and interrogative purposes. Israel is the only nation in the world that has codified and legalized the use of torture in interrogation.
The violence perpetrated against the Palestinian population also includes random and/or excessive beatings, physical harassment and the use of tear gas in confined places. Arbitrary arrests, humiliation, delays and even the obstruction and outright denial of access to medical treatment have been daily occurrences at the checkpoints.
� Collective Punishment
Forms of collective punishment against all or parts of the population have included, inter alia, the imposition of curfews and sieges on entire villages or urban centers, often for prolonged periods of time, raids, home demolitions, blanket closures of schools and universities, and the destruction of property, including agricultural and private land and the uprooting of trees and crops.
Another form of collective punishment is the severe restriction on the freedom of movement of
persons and goods within the Occupied Palestinian Territory, between the West Bank and Gaza and between the occupied territory and the outside world. Generally, all Palestinians are required to carry Israeli-issued identity cards and to obtain permits to enter Jerusalem and to travel abroad. For the past several years, East Jerusalem has been placed off limits to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, despite the city�s economic, social and religious importance to the Palestinian population.
