-Caveat Lector- From: "Lawsociety" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Israeli forces invade Ramallah, obstruct medical treatment 10 June 2002 This morning at 2.30 am Israeli forces invaded Ramallah and El-Bireh from different directions. A total of one hundred military vehicles, including tanks, armored personnel carriers, and military jeeps, backed by two Apache attack helicopters, firing heavy machine gunfire, occupied the entire area and raided the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority for the second time in five days. During the invasion the helicopters shelled Um as-Sharayet neighborhood and 'Amari refugee camp. At 3.00 am Israeli forces occupied the entire area of Ramallah and El-Bireh. During the raid Israeli forces wounded a number of Palestinians and killed 26 years old Yasser Sawalha, who was a member of the Palestinian security forces. Israeli forces surrounded Ramallah Hospital, the Sheikh Zeid Hospital, and the headquarters of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and prevented ambulances from gaining access to the wounded. According to Dr. Wa'el Qadaan only two ambulances are operating, which happened to be outside the surrounded area. Israeli forces occupied the building of the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC) which hosts several press agencies, such as Reuters, al-Watan TV, ABC News, Link, and Abu Dhabi TV and evacuated the journalists. The building is one of the largest buildings in Ramallah and strategically overlooks 'Amari refugee camp. During the previous Israeli invasion of Ramallah on March 29, which lasted more than a month, Israeli forces also surrounded the same hospitals and occupied the building of the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees. Six staff members of the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee are currently held hostage in the yard of the building. Also, Palestinian journalist Ali al-Jayousi is also held by Israeli forces. Israeli forces imposed a curfew on a number of neighborhoods, including Um as-Sharayet and 'Amari refugee camp and arrested a number of residents. Last night Israeli forces also raided Tulkarem, Qalqiliya and several areas in Hebron. LAW has repeatedly condemned Israel's obstruction of attempts by medical personnel and others to aid the injured. Pursuant to Article 16 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Israeli military has an obligation to accord to the wounded and sick 'particular protection and respect.' Violations of these well-established norms of international humanitarian law have occurred on a significant scale in the Occupied Territories. Violations of the right of medical personnel and health facilities to be free from attack, commonly known as the right of medical neutrality, have been pervasis during the course of the past twenty months. Medical personnel 'of all categories' must be allowed to carry on their on their duties and should be 'respected and protected' at all times. Violations of the medical human rights by the Israeli military in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are international offenses for which the international community has legal standing to intervene. Such action is required to protect the fundamental rights of the wounded civilians and medical personnel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. LAW, therefore, urgently calls on the international community to take effective measures in order to protect the rights and lives of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and specifically to immediately send an independent, effective protection force to the area. LAW calls on the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to comply with their obligations to ensure respect for the Convention, by taking urgent action to prosecute Israel's grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention (war crimes). LAW also calls upon the European Union, a vital trading partner for Israel, to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel and renew its arms embargo against Israel as a means to pressure Israel into compliance with basic norms of human rights and international humanitarian law. _____________________________ LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy. LAW is affiliate to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and the World Organisation Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment, PO Box 20873, Jerusalem, tel. +972-2-5833530, fax. +972-2- 5833317, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED], web: www.lawsociety.org <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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