The international human rights organization Amnesty International (http://www.amnesty.org) released a new report today titled "Enduring Occupation: Palestinians Under Siege in the West Bank" calling on the Israeli government to stop its land-grabbing, blockades, and other violations of international law carried out under its occupation of Palestine. The report asserts that Israel's administration of its occupation has resulted in systematic human rights abuses of Palestinians while failing to bring security to the Israeli and Palestinian populations. The report documents how Israel's unlawful settlements on occupied lands deprive Palestinians of essential resources while a host of other measures including a 700km fence and wall, more than 500 checkpoints, and a complicated system of permits restrict movement by Palestinians. According to Amnesty International, many of these practices are "blatant violations of international law."
Amnesty International is calling on the Israeli authorities to:
- Lift the regime of blockades and restrictions on Palestinians in the OPT, which constitute collective punishment, and ensure that restrictions imposed in response to specific security threats only target the individuals concerned -- not entire communities.
- Halt the construction of the fence/wall inside the West Bank, and remove the sections already built there;
- Cease the construction or expansion of Israeli settlements and related infrastructure in the OPT as a first step towards removing Israeli settlements and "outposts";
- Cancel all demolition orders on homes in the OPT, and provide reparation to Palestinians whose homes and properties have already been destroyed.
The report was released on the eve of the fortieth anniversary of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian Territories.
Read More: "Enduring Occupation: Palestinians under Siege in the West Bank."
