-Caveat Lector- Annan Accuses Israel of Violating International Law
5 September 2002 Palestine Media Center - PMC U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan accused Israel on Wednesday of violating international law by expelling two Palestinians from the West Bank to Gaza and deplored Palestinian deaths in recent Israeli military actions and reminded Israel of its duty under international law to protect civilians. "The secretary-general is ... gravely concerned about the Israel Supreme Court's decisions authorizing the transfer of two relatives of a Palestinian accused of organizing attacks against Israel," U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said in a statement. Annan's statement was issued shortly after the brother and sister of Ali Adjuri, who was a leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and slain by the Israeli occupation forces, deported to Gaza City aboard an Israeli army tank on Wednesday. "Such transfers are strictly prohibited by international humanitarian law and could have very serious political and security implications," he said. "While the secretary-general has consistently condemned suicide bombings and upheld Israel's right to defend itself, he wishes to stress that self-defense cannot justify measures that amount to collective punishments," Eckhard said. Annan also reminded Israel of its duty under international law to protect civilians. Noting that the victims included several children, Eckhard said Annan "wishes to remind the government of Israel of its obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians." "The secretary general strongly deplores the acts of violence in the occupied Palestinian territory," Eckhard said. "It is particularly distressing that these incidents have occurred during a period of relative calm and while efforts are made to implement a security agreement and to strengthen international assistance to a peaceful settlement." The statement noted that Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer had ordered an inquiry into the deaths and said Annan "hopes that those responsible for these acts will be held accountable." http://www.palestine-pmc.com/news/2002/sep/new-5a-9-02.html UN Urges Israel to Relieve Palestinian Humanitarian Crisis 5 September 2002 Palestine Media Center - PMC UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's personal humanitarian envoy, Catherine Bertini, urged Israel on Wednesday to live up to its commitments to minimize the impact of the security measures its occupation forces are imposing on Palestinian civilians. In a report to members of the Security Council, Bertini said, "a serious and mounting humanitarian crisis is occurring in the West Bank and Gaza," AFP reported Wednesday. The humanitarian crisis in the West Bank and Gaza Strip will quickly "spiral out of control" unless Israel significantly eases the closure of Palestinian-controlled areas, Bertini said. "Conversely, every step that can be taken to allow the free flow of people, goods and services will have a multiplying impact on the well-being of the Palestinian people, and will help the humanitarian crisis to dissipate rapidly," said Catherine Bertini in her report. "The closures and curfews have severely inhibited the movement of people, goods and services within the West Bank and Gaza, and between the West Bank and Gaza and Israel, Egypt and Jordan," she said. "As a result, the Palestinian economy has by and large collapsed." "The cumulative effects of decreased access to income and basic goods and services over the past 23 months have transformed an economic crisis into a humanitarian crisis," she said. Bertini added that during an eight-day visit to the region last month, she obtained "several commitments from Israeli authorities to address some of the most immediate constraints." These included a commitment not to hold ambulances at checkpoints for more than 30 minutes, and "to ensure the regular and uninterrupted delivery of water to cities and villages." Israel had previously committed itself to improving the overall situation at checkpoints, to deploy more experienced army personnel and to implement a 12-mile fishing zone off the Gaza coast, she said. "Implementation of these five measures will save lives, provide a measure of relief and represent a glimmer of hope on an otherwise bleak horizon," she said. "Their timely implementation was critical," she added. Evidence for the crisis lay in "rising levels of malnutrition among children, high levels of poverty and unemployment, deteriorating health conditions" and the increasing inability of Palestinians to make survival strategies work, Bertini said. The report was based on a visit she made to Israel and the Palestinian territories between August 12 and 19 and on interviews she had with top officials from both sides. Israel should lift restrictions on the movement of goods and people so as to allow farming and trade to resume, she said. In particular, she said it should take immediate steps to allow farmers to harvest olives and market olive oil. The report noted that the olive harvest was a major source of income for the rural population and said it was at risk of being lost if conditions did not change before October. She said more than 100,000 jobs had been lost as the result of tighter border controls, a sharp cut in work permits for Palestinians in Israel, and "the almost complete cessation of productive activities in the West Bank and Gaza." Many Palestinian families had seen their incomes dry up, but prices had not gone down, Bertini said. A growing number of families had cut down their food consumption, and 22.5 percent of children now suffered from chronic or acute malnutrition, she said. Anaemia had been found in 19.7 percent of children. An estimated 1.5 million Palestinians out of a total population of 3.3 million now receive direct food aid, more than five times as many as two years ago, she said. Half the population had had to borrow money to buy food, and about 17 percent had had to sell assets to do so, she went on. The report also called on Israel to "ensure access by all people in need of medical services and the free flow of all aid workers, supplies and services, including medical supplies." Bertini, a former head of the United Nations World Food Program, was appointed as Annan's envoy on August 7. The crisis was "inextricably linked" to measures taken by Israel in response to suicide attacks on military and civilian targets, Bertini said. In her report, Bertini said she fully acknowledged Israel's need to protect its own civilians from further attacks by Palestinian groups. She called on the Palestinian Authority (PA) to "prosecute and effectively bring to justice any personnel and other individuals suspected of being involved in criminal activities, including attacks on Israeli civilian targets." The PA should "ensure with all the means at its disposal" that ambulances and other humanitarian services were not used for unlawful activities or contraband, she said. http://www.palestine-pmc.com/news/2002/sep/new-5b-9-02.html <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! 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