United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia General Assembly New York, November...

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

General AssemblyNew York, November 2014

NOTE OF THE SECRETARY GENERAL ON THE

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL REPERCUSSIONS OF THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION

ON THE LIVING CONDITIONS OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE IN THE OCCUPIED

PALESTINIAN TERRITORY, INCLUDING EAST JERUSALEM, AND THE ARAB POPULATION

IN THE OCCUPIED SYRIAN GOLAN

Prepared by: The Economic and Social Commission for Western AsiaPresented by: Rima Khalaf, Under-Secretary-General, Executive Secretary

Legislative Mandate

ECOSOC Resolution 2013/8: Concern over Israeli practices that violate international humanitarian law

Movement restrictions [including the Gaza blockade]Violence against civiliansIncarceration of Palestinians, including children under harsh conditionsDestruction of homes and property, agricultural lands and orchards Expansion of Israeli settlementsConstruction of the wall Exploitation of natural resources

GA Resolution 68/235: Reaffirms inalienable rights of peoples under Israeli occupation over natural resources

Demanding a halt to the exploitation, damage, or endangerment of natural resources Stressing the illegality of the wall and the Israeli settlementsCalling upon Israel to desist from altering the character and status of the occupied territory, including East JerusalemCalling for the cessation of all actions harming the environmentCalling for the cessation of the destruction of Palestinian vital infrastructure

Inputs and contributions by:UNCTAD, UNRWA, OCHA, ILO, FAO, WHO, UNSCO, UNEP, OHCHR, DPA, UN-Women, UNICEF, UN-Habitat, UNDP

The occupied Palestinian Territory

Israeli Policies

CERD censured IsraelUrging it to prohibit & eradicate policies/ practices of

racial segregation and apartheid


Israeli Policies

Israeli policies amounting to "de facto segregation": • Inequality and separation in the use of roads and infrastructure • Unequal access to basic services and water resources.• Movement restrictions only affecting Palestinians• Discriminatory legal system (settler violence)

Restrictive and discriminatory regime on Palestinian construction:• "Virtually impossible" for Palestinians to meet housing needs• Palestinian construction: 0.5% of Area C vs. 8.5% for Israelis• 94% of Palestinian construction permit applications in Area C

rejected by Israeli authorities (2000-2012)

The occupied Palestinian territory

Israeli PoliciesEast Jerusalem: Altering the Demography

Israeli “Demographic Balance" policy: calls for a 60/40 demographic balance in favour of Jewish residents

• 35% of Palestinian land confiscated for settlement use• 33% of Palestinian homes vulnerable to demolitions: over 93,000

Palestinians at risk of displacement• Display of Palestinian symbols punishable• Palestinian gatherings prohibited• Discrimination against Palestinian neighbourhoods in services• Discriminatory rules and laws governing residency status

– 15,000 Palestinians de facto expelled – 10,000 unregistered Palestinian children


Excessive Use of Force and Detentions

April 2013-March 2014: • 40 Palestinian civilians killed; another 3,654 injured • 5 Palestinian children killed; another 1,001 injured.Amnesty International investigated killings of 25 Palestinians by Israeli Soldiers (West Bank, 2013):• All were unlawful killings • Wilful killings: amount to war crimes•Patterns of excessive use of force with

impunity• 94% of Israeli criminal investigations against Israeli soldiers closed

without any indictments.



• At least 1,486 Palestinian civilians killed (500 children)

• 1500 children orphaned

• Over 11,100 Palestinians, including 3,374 children injured

• 1100 injured with long-term or permanent impairments

Update: July-August Offensive on the Gaza Strip



• 4881 Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli prisons (Jan 2014) – 800,000 Palestinians detained since 1967– Denial of due process rights– Ill-treatment that may amount to torture– Subject to Israeli military courts: 99% conviction rate

• 183 Palestinian child prisoners: institutionalized ill-treatment– Including solitary confinement, sometimes for months– 107 cases of ill-treatment documented in 2013 (11 under the age of 14) – Confessions obtained under duress and used as the main evidence– Detained with adults in overcrowded cells in poor conditions

• 175 Palestinian administrative detainees (Jan 2014)

The Public Committee against Torture in Israel: no criminal investigation, prosecution or conviction for more than 776

complaints of torture since 1999.


Home Demolitions, Property Confiscation and Population Displacement

663 Palestinian structures and homes demolished in 2013 • 98 in East Jerusalem 1,103 people

displaced• “Demolition fees” imposed on

Palestinians• Palestinians forced to destroy their own

homes to avoid fees

Over 1 billion sq. m. of Palestinian land seized and allocated to Israeli

settlements: 40% of the West Bank

Gaza Strip

Before the July-August Offensive:

• Shortfall of over 70,000 housing units

• 12,500 people remained displaced from previous offensives

After July-August Offensive:

• 108,000 homeless

• 13% of the housing stockdestroyed or damaged

• Up to 20,000 homes totally destroyed or rendered uninhabitable


Home Demolitions, Property Confiscation and Population Displacement


Israeli Settlements and Settler ViolenceIsraeli settlements = illegal annexation; • Undermine viable Palestinian State,

and right to self-determination• Israeli Governments directly promoted

settlements, and their expansion• 100 settlements on the list of areas

receiving the maximum benefits• 563,546 settlers living in 250 Israeli

settlements in the OPT (2012)• 123.7% increase in 2013 in housing unit

construction in settlements

Transfer of Israeli citizens into occupied territory, prohibited under international humanitarian

and criminal law


Israeli Settlements and Settler ViolenceIncrease in racist violence and acts of vandalism on the part of Israeli settlers in 2013:• 146 Palestinians injured,

including 49 children• 306 attacks on private property• 13,097 trees uprooted• 30 acts of arson/vandalism on mosques & churches since 2008

Impunity continues: • Attacks during daylight hours• Video and photographic footage • Identities of perpetrators known• 84% of investigations into settler violence closed without

indictments compared to 90-95% of cases of Palestinian violence that go to court

The Wall

Map Courtesy of OCHA-OPT

•Blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip since June 2007:• collective punishment in direct violation of

article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention

• 1.8 million people ‘locked in’

•Most fundamental parameters of Israel’s blockade remain in place• Movement of Palestinians in and out difficult

and largely banned• Limited access of humanitarian assistance• Importation of basic construction materials

heavily restricted

•Buffer zone within the Strip • Denying Palestinians access to 35% of the Strip’s

agricultural land

•Sea areas beyond 6 nautical miles barred for Palestinians• Profitable fishing areas start at 8 nautical miles• Fishermen regularly fired upon• Confiscation and damaging of fishing

boats and equipment Map Courtesy of OCHA-OPT


Mobility Restrictions: Gaza Blockade


Mobility Restrictions and Closure Policies


Mobility in the West Bank:Discrimination

Restrictions

40% (settlements)+18% (firing zones)+10% (wall)

68% of West Bank off limits to Palestinians

• 65.12 km of roads classified for the sole use of Israelis

• 6.72 km of internal roads in Hebron for Israeli motor traffic only

• Access to East Jerusalem: restricted for Palestinians, not for Israelis


Impact on Natural Resources and the Environment

An Israeli settler receives 6 times more water than a Palestinian

Israel controls West Bank water resources:– Most Palestinians receive 60 l/capita/day (WHO

standard = 100 /capita/day)– Israel withdraws 90% of water resources – 56 water springs taken over or at risk of takeover

by Israeli settlers– 313,000 Palestinians not connected to water

network– 300,000 Palestinians at risk of acute water scarcity

Denial of water used to trigger displacement, particularly in

areas allocated for settlement expansion

Gaza blockade and military strikes increase pressure on water resources:

–90% of the water from the aquifer is not safe for drinking –Households in Gaza spend up to 1/3 of their income on drinking water –Bacteriological contamination putting 1,1 million people at risk




Impact of the Blockade and military operations on sanitation infrastructure in the Gaza Strip:• Infrastructure cannot cope with

existing demand• 90 million litres of sewage released

daily into the Mediterranean Sea• Pollution, health hazards and

problems for the fishing industry

Restrictive permit regime and settlements in the West Bank: • 68% of the West Bank population not connected to wastewater network• No sewer networks in rural areas: hazardous septic tanks or cesspits• 5.5 billion litres of settlement wastewater released into the West Bank

annually




Social and Economic Indicators


Economy: negative trend continued• Unemployment: 25.2 % (Q4 2013), 39% among youth 15-19• Large-scale deskilling of workers; discouraging investment • 26% below poverty line (2011) – 30% in Gaza: direct consequence of the occupation• Palestinian fiscal crisis : Israel repeatedly withholds taxes and customs revenues• Easing current restrictions in Area C would be expected to:

• Increase Palestinian GDP by 35%• Increase employment by 35%

Israeli restrictions on economic activity in Area C limit the development potential of the economy




Dramatic rise in food insecurity (2012):• 1,570,000 Palestinians (34%) food insecure• 57% of Gaza households food insecure• 800,000 refugees depend on food assistance• “Marginally secure“/"vulnerable" groups expanding:

widening precariousness

53% of Palestinian households are food insecure or

vulnerable to food insecurity

Major public health problems: • Low quality and quantity of water• Inadequate wastewater treatmentPublic health system fragile:• Dependent on aid /borders • 15,000 patients had to leave Gaza

for medical treatment

The blockade has a severe impact on the Gaza Strip health sector:




West Bank students /teachers vulnerable to harassment/violence at hands of Israeli settlers and soldiers (2013):• 36 boys and 9 girls were injured • 164 attacks or threats on schoolchildren• 4 settler attacks on schools• 5,000 students face daily delays at

checkpoints

Israeli restrictions lead to poor quality education infrastructure (Area C):• 10,000 Palestinian students attend classes in tents, caravans or tin shacks• Area C schools have poor sanitation contributing to school dropout rates

Impact of the Gaza Blockade on education:• Inability to build new schools: 67% of Gaza government schools and 85% of UNRWA

schools run double shifts • 250 new schools needed in 2012, another 190 needed by 2020• Education staff cannot receive training abroad

The Occupied Syrian Golan

The Occupied Syrian Golan


• 20,000 Israeli settlers in 33 settlements • Israeli incentives to encourage settlement growth• Discrimination in water allocation, access to land,

housing and basic services• Syrian agricultural sector unable to compete:

• Receives 30% of the water allocated to Israeli settlements• Discriminatory pricing system• Unequal access to markets

• Exploitation of Golan natural resources: petroleum exploration contracts granted

• Israel neglects to protect Syrians in the Golan from landmines

Conclusion


The Israeli occupation institutionalizes discriminatory measures:• Illegal under international law • Obstacle to peace • Violation of Palestinian and Syrian rights

Conclusion

Comprehensive peace can only be achieved by:• Ending the occupation• Attaining Palestinian and Syrian rights • Implementing United Nations resolutions • Adhering to international law and norms

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