Occupied Palestinian Territories - Humanitarian Update, February 2010

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

FEBRUARY OVERVIEW

February developments highlighted once again the vulnerability of children in various areas of the occupied Palestinian territory, due to their exposure to violence and the dire conditions in which they live.

In Gaza, three girls aged between 5 and 12 were injured while in their house by a tank shell fired by Israeli troops towards a populated civilian area. The shelling occurred after an unidentified armed Palestinian group opened fire at Israeli forces stationed next to the border, earlier that morning. Civilians living or working in the vicinity of Gaza's border with Israel are frequently exposed to shooting by Israeli forces, in the context of the enforcement of access restrictions or in response to Palestinian fire.

Also in the Gaza Strip, three children were killed this month and five others were injured in an accident caused by a faulty electricity generator. The fatalities occurred in the context of Gaza's deteriorating electricity supply and growing reliance on back-up generators, many of which are imported through the tunnels and are of poor quality. This reliance has been exacerbated recently by a further decline in the import of industrial fuel needed to operate Gaza's power plant, due to an ongoing funding crisis; for half of February, the majority of the population experienced rolling power cuts of up to 12 hours per day. Electricity cuts are also having a direct impact on the quality of education afforded to Gaza's children, disrupting the functioning of schools and undermining the ability of children to study at home.

The import and export restrictions imposed by Israel in the context of the blockade over Gaza continued to undermine livelihoods and affect the living conditions of children. While the number of truckloads that entered Gaza this month slightly increased compared with January, it was well below the monthly average of imports in 2009. Despite the import restrictions, most goods are available in the market via the tunnel's system, however, their quality is generally poor and much of them are not accessible to the population due to the reduced purchasing power. Of note this month, the Israeli authorities approved the entry of a second shipment of 100 truckloads of glass, which has been identified as a key priority to address the shelter needs of thousands of families living in houses with shattered windows, as a result of the "Cast Lead" offensive. The ability to meet shelter needs is likely to be slightly enhanced also by the growing number of small-scale enterprises producing construction (breeze) blocks using rubble left behind after the offensive. This development, however, has prompted concerns due to the lack of quality control over these new materials, which may eventually result in the collapse of buildings.

Children also paid a high price in the context of violent incidents in the West Bank. In February, 11 Palestinian children were injured in a variety of circumstances by the Israeli military (6) and Israeli settlers (5). Also, in a particularly large operation carried out in the Al Jalazun refugee camp in the Ramallah governorate, the Israeli military arrested 17 children, bringing the total number of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons and detention centres by the end of the month to 343 (up from 318 in January), of which 41 were 12-15 years old. Testimonies collected by the Palestinian child rights NGO, Defence for the Children International, suggest that excessive force was used in the course of the arrests and that some of the children were also subject to various forms of abuse during the interrogations, all of which were carried out in the absence of a lawyer.

Poor living conditions are also a serious concern for the population of small herder communities scattered across Area C of the West Bank, children in particular. The findings of a new UN survey show alarmingly high levels of acute malnutrition (5.9 percent), underweight (15.3 percent) and stunting (28.5 percent) among children under five living in these communities; the overall level of food insecurity is 79 percent, compared to 25 percent among the wider Palestinian population in the West Bank. Food insecurity among Area C herder communities is closely related to the severe restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities on access to grazing land and natural water resources, compounded by frequent droughts, which have led to an unsustainable reliance on purchased fodder and tankered water.

Also in Area C, this month, the Israeli authorities demolished 11 structures, including four residential structures, due to lack of building permit, displacing 12 Palestinians, including eight children; no demolitions took place in East Jerusalem.

Lifting the blockade on the Gaza Strip and opening up Area C for Palestinian development are among key requirements to improving the humanitarian situation of the population living in the occupied Palestinian territory. In addition, there is an urgent need to ensure that children are adequately protected from the worst effects of conflict-related violence.

ISSUES IN FOCUS

Wave of arrests of children
The month of February was marked by the arrest of at least 17 children between 14 and 17 from the Al Jalazun refugee camp (Ramallah) by the Israeli military during an operation carried out on 11 February; as of the end of February, 15 of the children were still in detention awaiting determination of their cases by a military court. Testimonies collected by Defence for the Children International (DCI-Palestine) from five of the children and their families allege that the Israeli soldiers used excessive force in the course of the arrests. According to these testimonies, some of the children were also subject to various forms of abuse during the interrogations, which were carried out in all cases in the absence of a lawyer. In addition there were four children, aged between 12 and 15, arrested during the month in Silwan, East Jerusalem, by the Israeli authorities.

Each year, approximately 700 Palestinian children (under age 18) from the West Bank are prosecuted in Israeli military courts after being arrested, interrogated and detained by the Israeli military. At the end of February 2010, there were 343 Palestinian children detained in Israeli prisons and temporary detention centres, representing an eight percent increase compared to the previous month. Of these children, there were 41 young children aged 12-15 detained. There were no Palestinian girls in Israeli detention facilities, as well as no Palestinian children under administrative detention (detention without charges or trial). In 2009, the monthly average of Palestinian children held in Israeli detention was 355, an 11 percent increase compared to the parallel figure in 2008; moreover, the number of young children (12-15 year olds) in detention over the same periods of time increased by 37 percent (32 vs. 44 on a monthly average). The most common offence these children are charged with is for stone throwing.

According to testimonies of detained children given to DCI-Palestine, the use of coercive methods of interrogation, involving physical and psychological abuse, is widespread in the interrogation of children, resulting in confessions later used in their trials before Israeli military courts. The majority of Palestinian children are held in prisons inside Israel, contrary to the requirement of the Fourth Geneva Convention (art. 76), also making family visits difficult. In addition, only two of the 12 Israeli prisons and detention centres holding children ensure provision of education, and even then a limited number of subjects are offered.

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

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