[News] Stop Collective Punishment in Gaza

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Stop Collective Punishment in Gaza
Report, PCHR-I, 3 July 2006
http://www.phr.org.il/phr/

[]

Palestinians inspect the damage to their house 
after an Israeli incursion into the southern Gaza 
Strip city of Khan Younis, July 2, 2006. 
(<http://www.maanimages.com>MaanImages/Hatem Omar)

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel decries the 
collective punishment that Israel is inflicting 
on the civilian punishment in the Gaza Strip – 
this kind of punishment is forbidden by 
International Law and by all reasonable moral standards.

Over the past week, since the solider Gilad 
Shalit was captured by Palestinian organizations, 
Israel has been attacking the civilian population 
of the Gaza Strip, using means that are in direct 
violation of international conventions that call 
to avoid indiscriminate harm to civilians. 
Moreover, Israel is committed under international 
law to actively protecting residents of the Gaza 
Strip from implications of the war while clearly 
separating civilians and those involved in the fighting.

In the Gaza Strip there is an intermittent food 
shortage which is used to exert forbidden 
pressure on the Palestinian civilian population. 
The Geneva Conventions clearly state that “
in no 
event shall actions against these objects be 
taken which may be expected to leave the civilian 
population with such inadequate food or water as 
to cause its starvation or force its movement.”(art.54(3)(b)).

Additionally, the power stations in Gaza were 
harmed by Israeli attacks resulting in an acute 
shortage in electricity. One of the consequences 
of this action is that the water pumps, which use 
electricity, are only partially operational, 
creating a shortage of drinkable water.

Israel continues to carry out fly-bys with 
resulting super-sonic booms over the Gaza Strip. 
These actions lead to psychological torture which 
causes damage in children whose lives have turned 
into a continual nightmare consisting of panic 
attacks, sleep disturbances, bedwetting and other detrimental effects.

Today, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel is 
filing an appeal with the Israeli High Court for 
a temporary order to stop the fly-bys over the 
strip due to the fact that they are in violation 
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, of 
which Israel is a signatory. The Conventions 
states “In accordance with their obligations 
under international humanitarian law to protect 
the civilian population in armed conflicts, 
States Parties shall take all feasible measures 
to ensure protection and care of children who are 
affected by an armed conflict" (article 38).

The attacks on the Gaza Strip are redolent of 
revenge and an instillment of fear in the 
civilian population, both of which are clearly forbidden.

Section 50 of the Hague Convention forbids 
collective punishment of a civilian population in 
response to actions perpetrated by individual members of that population.

"Civilian objects shall not be the object of 
attack or of reprisals" (Geneva Conventions, Protocol 1, art.52(1)).

Physicians for Human Rights calls on Israel to 
stop these actions immediately and allowed he 
return of normal life for the civilian population of the Gaza Strip.

For more information:

Maskit Bendel, Director: Occupied Territories Project, +972-54-7700477
Shabtai Gold, Public Outreach, +972-54-4860630


<http://www.phr.org.il>Physicians For Human 
Rights-Israel was founded in 1988 with the goal 
of struggling for human rights, in particular the 
right to health, in Israel and the Occupied 
Territories. Human dignity, wellness of mind and 
body and the right to health are at the core of 
the world view of the organization and direct and 
instruct our activities and efforts on both the 
individual and general level. Our activities 
integrate advocacy and action toward changing 
harmful policies and direct action providing 
healthcare. Today Physicians For Human 
Rights-Israel has more than 1150 members, over 
half of whom are healthcare providers.


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