Occupied Palestinian Territories - Humanitarian Update, July 2009

Summary of monthly Humanitarian Monitor report produced by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

JULY OVERVIEW

Barriers continue to afflict Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), impeding efforts to improve the humanitarian situation. The 9th of July marked the fifth anniversary of the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the West Bank Wall. In this first legal opinion on the oPt issued by the Court, the route of the wall running inside the West Bank was declared illegal and contrary to international humanitarian and human rights law. While the Court recognized Israel's obligation to protect its citizens from attacks, including from the suicide bombings which had prompted Israel to build the Wall, the Court stated that Israeli steps must be in compliance with international law. It advised that Israel should freeze construction in the West Bank and dismantle or re-route the Wall to the Green Line. The Court also called for reparations to Palestinians harmed by the construction. The Advisory Opinion was overwhelmingly reaffirmed by the UN General Assembly.

Five years later, construction of the planned 705 km long route continues, with approximately 200 km built since the issuance of the Advisory Opinion in 2004. Fifty-eight (58) percent of the route has been constructed thus far. When completed, approximately 85 percent of the route will run inside the West Bank, separating Palestinian urban and rural communities from each other and from Palestinian land. OCHA has issued a new report highlighting the dramatic humanitarian impact of the Barrier. The report finds that 125,000 Palestinians will be surrounded by the Wall on three sides when the route is completed. Already, access to East Jerusalem, the major health, economic, religious and education centre has been cut off by the Barrier, as well as access to agricultural land in the rural areas.

The Barrier is but one element of Israel's West Bank closure regime, which is made up of multiple barriers to Palestinian movement and access, such as earth mounds, road gates and checkpoints, among others. While there were no significant improvements in Palestinian movement and access in July, the IMF announced that macroeconomic conditions in the West Bank had improved, in part, as a result of recent relaxation measures taken by the Israeli authorities. If such measures continue during the year, the West Bank economy could see its biggest growth in 2009 in years - up to seven percent. If not, the real GDP per capita would further decline.

The Barrier around the Gaza Strip, built in 1995, facilitates the ongoing Israeli blockade, which is collectively afflicting the lives of a million and a half Gazan residents. This month experienced the lowest amount of imports of basic supplies allowed into the Gaza Strip since the beginning of 2009. A new Paltrade report indicates that the blockade has lead to the closure of 95 percent of private sector enterprises and the unemployment of 120,000 workers. According to the IMF, unless the blockade is substantially relaxed, real GDP per capita in Gaza will continue its downward trend, with further increases in poverty and unemployment.

The blockade has led to the proliferation of a large tunnel economy with disturbing reports about the use of child labour to build and operate these very dangerous tunnels. Over 250 schools and kindergartens destroyed or damaged by the Israeli military during operation "Cast Lead", have yet to be rebuilt or repaired for the upcoming school year. In addition, according to the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, 105 new schools need to be built to accommodate the growing student body. Construction materials needed for repairing "Cast Lead" damage alone include 25,000 tons of iron and 40,000 tons of cement. The right to learn and be educated is a fundamental child right that is central to every child's ability to realize his or her potential - and by extension, that of their communities. In the context of protracted conflict and occupation, safe schools also offer an unparalleled means of restoring a sense of normality and hope for children and their families.

As Barrier construction continues in the West Bank, so too does displacement of Palestinian civilians from their homes. Of particular concern are recent events in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem: on 2 August 2009, Israeli forces forcibly evicted nine families from their homes in two buildings, displacing 53 Palestinians, including 20 children. The buildings were immediately handed over to an Israeli settler organization, while the families' belongings were loaded on a truck and dumped in the street near UNRWA's headquarters in East Jerusalem. These events come in the context of settler attempts to construct hundreds of housing units in the heart of this Palestinian neighbourhood, placing hundreds of other Palestinians at-risk of future displacement.

ISSUES IN FOCUS

Israel announced the seizure of land along the Dead Sea coast

In late June 2009, the Israeli Civil Administration (ICA) placed twelve notices in the Palestinian daily 'Al Quds', announcing its intention to register as "state land" approximately 139,000 dunums of land, located along the West Bank section of the Dead Sea coast. The land in question constitutes around two percent of the total area of the West Bank. The advertisements gave any person claiming property rights over any part of this area 45 days to submit an objection.

According to the Israeli media, the Israeli authorities have claimed that this land previously formed part of the sea floor of the Dead Sea, but was exposed due to the evaporation of water. The land's registration as "state land", according to these reports, is intended to prevent it from being illegally taken over by private parties. However, based on the general coordinates provided in the Al Quds advertisements, the Israeli organization Peace Now, asserted the likelihood that the area to be registered exceeds the area of land actually exposed by water evaporation.

At the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967, about 13 percent of the West Bank land was considered "state land" and registered in the name of the Jordanian government. According to the Israeli State Comptroller, between 1979 and 1992, the ICA registered as "state land" 900,000 dunums of land - an additional 16 percent of the West Bank. To do so, the Israeli authorities relied on a specific interpretation of the Ottoman Land Law of 1858, according to which, unregistered land, not cultivated for three consecutive years, automatically becomes state land.

While under international humanitarian law, the occupying power is obliged to administer the public property of the occupied territory for the benefit of the local (indigenous) population, almost all "state land" (Jordanian and that declared by Israel) was subsequently included within the boundaries of Israeli settlements' local and regional councils and allocated for settlements' construction and expansion, as well as for military use.

Based on the Israeli authorities past practice, there is concern that the registration of the Dead Sea coast as "state land" will effectively block any possible development of this area by Palestinians, particularly for tourism or industry. Most of the relevant area lies within the boundaries of the Bethlehem governorate, which has been affected by a variety of other Israeli measures that severely restrict the space available for its development. The Bethlehem Governor's office is reportedly in the process of compiling documentation of land ownership towards the filing of an objection with the ICA to the announced registration.

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

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