Corporate report

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) - in-year update July 2015

Published 15 July 2015

0.1 West Bank, including East Jerusalem

The UK was deeply concerned by continued settlement advancements between January and June 2015. On 30 January, Israel published new tenders for 450 settlement units in the West Bank, which included 102 units in Kiryat Arba in Hebron; 114 units in Adam (Geva Binyamin); 156 units in Elkana, south of Qalqilia; and 78 units in Alfei Menashe, east of Qalqilia. Further tenders in Ma’ale Adumim and Immanuel were also issued, and separately a plan for the construction of 93 housing units in the East Jerusalem settlement of Southern Gilo was deposited. The Jerusalem Municipality issued construction permits for 143 units in Har Homa on 30 March. On 6 May, the Jerusalem Planning Committee approved the construction of 900 homes in Ramat Shlomo neighbourhood in East Jerusalem. We remain deeply concerned about the long-term consequences of such actions on a contiguous Palestinian state.

Israeli demolitions of Palestinian structures continued during the reporting period, with 281 structures demolished in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, resulting in the displacement of 282 Palestinians. This included a number of EU-funded structures. On 5 May, the Israeli High Court rejected a petition to stay the demolition of the village of Susiya in the South Hebron Hills. We have been supporting NGOs working closely with the community, and have raised the case with the Israeli government. On 15 April, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled for the first time that the Israeli “Absentee Property Law” should apply in East Jerusalem. This means that Palestinian landowners without Israeli residency status can be treated as “absentees” and lose their rights to their property.

We continued to have strong concerns about the development of Israeli plans to relocate Bedouin communities living in the E1 area in Area C of the West Bank to “townships” near Jericho and Abu Dis. The UN Secretary General has said the potential relocation of Bedouin would amount to a “mass forcible transfer”, prohibited under international humanitarian law and human rights law. We support a number of NGOs who works closely with the Bedouin communities, and have raised the issue with a range of officials in the Israeli government.

Fifteen Palestinians were killed by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) this year, in a range of incidents including clashes between IDF and protestors, IDF raids and attempted attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians. Israeli forces regularly mount raids in the West Bank in search of suspected Palestinian militants, often resulting in clashes with local residents. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported a further 955 were injured, including during arrest raids, demonstrations, and in search and arrest operations. We have registered our concern with the IDF over the need for swift and thorough investigations and the use of live fire. We also remain concerned about the level of incidents of settler violence against Palestinians. According to the UN, there were 105 incidents of settler violence in the first six months of 2015.

Arbitrary detentions on political grounds are carried out against political and social media activists. In April 2015, the Palestinian Authority Security Forces detained 25 West Bank students, allegedly for affiliation to Hamas or for political criticism, following Hamas’s victory in Birzeit University’s student council elections. In June, a Palestinian blogger, Ayman Mahareeq, faced charges of insulting officials based on comments that he had posted on Facebook.

During the reporting period, Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and security figures in the OPTs led to three deaths and 60 injuries. FCO Minister for the Middle East, Tobias Ellwood, made a statement following an attack near the Jerusalem Light Rail Shimon Ha’Tzadik station on 6 March. Israeli security authorities have publicly noted their concern at the increase in violent attacks.

We are concerned by violence directed against religious sites. On 25 February, the Al-Huda mosque in the village of al-Jabaa near Bethlehem was torched and sprayed with anti-Arab graffiti by settlers. On 26 February, attackers set fire to a Greek Seminary in West Jerusalem and vandalised the site. Jewish graves were damaged on the Mount of Olives on 6 March and 23 June.

According to NGO B’Tselem, 396 Palestinians were being held in Israeli administrative detention at the end of March. Some were held without charge. They also reported that 164 Palestinian children were being held in Israeli military detention at the end of April. Throughout the reporting period, the Embassy extensively lobbied senior government officials on issues relating to administrative detainees and minors in detention.

Since 1 January, the Palestinian Authority has signed the Rome Statute to the International Criminal Court and the Convention on the Political Rights of Women.

0.2 Gaza

In May and June, there were a number of rocket attacks from militants in Gaza into southern Israel, with retaliatory airstrikes by Israeli forces. Sirens were sounded in towns in southern Israel, and residents evacuated to shelters. No casualties were reported in any of the incidents. We were also deeply concerned that Hamas and other militants were re-arming, re-building tunnels, and conducting training camps.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains bleak following the conflict last summer. The Israeli authorities have made some positive policy changes, including permitting an increase in Gaza’s agricultural exports, including to Israel for the first time since 2007, and doubling the water supply to Gaza. Over the past six months, an average of 48 truckloads of goods has exited Gaza per month, although this is just 4.5% of the exports on the eve of the closure in 2007. Despite new efforts on the part of the Israeli authorities to address economic concerns in Gaza, restrictions are still extensive and continue to impede any meaningful recovery.

The findings of the UN Commission of Inquiry report on the 2014 conflict in Gaza highlights substantial information pointing to serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by both parties. The allegations in the COI report must be fully investigated by Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and the authorities in Gaza. We therefore welcome the fact that Israel is conducting its own internal investigations into specific incidents. Where there is evidence of wrongdoing, those responsible must be held accountable.

The UK-supported Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM), agreed by Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the UN, has enabled more than 100,000 people to purchase construction material in order to start re-building their homes to date. Part of the UK’s £20 million pledge at the Gaza Reconstruction Conference has been used for this purpose. Whilst we welcome these positive steps and Israel’s cooperation, we remain concerned that larger-scale reconstruction has not been possible. Almost one year after last summer’s conflict, not a single totally destroyed home has been re-built in Gaza. We are pushing for full dispersal of construction material allocations, delivery of donor aid pledges, and progress on reconciliation so the Palestinian Authority can return to Gaza and restore effective and accountable governance.

According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Gazan police used force to disperse a demonstration against power cuts in Khuza’ah Town on 23 March. The police beat the protesters, injuring three. On 29 April, at a rally in Shujaiyya, Gazan police beat and arrested young people protesting against political division between Gaza and the West Bank.

During the reporting period, courts in Gaza issued two death sentences for criminal acts. The UK continues to oppose use of the death penalty in all circumstances.

Over the past six months, Gaza witnessed an increase in security incidents, including bombings targeting the houses of members of the Fatah movement, and a series of bombings at the French Cultural Centre and the Bank of Palestine.

The continued Egyptian closure since October of the Rafah crossing to Egypt is severely restricting the movement of people to and from Gaza. Whilst intermittent opening has eased some of the pressure, restrictions continue to have severe consequences for the civilian population of Gaza. We have continued to press Egypt to show the utmost flexibility to ease these restrictions.

0.3 Israel

On 3 January, the Israeli government froze the transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority. We made clear that withholding these revenues was deeply damaging. The announcement by the Israeli government on 27 March, that tax revenues would be unfrozen and transferred to the Palestinian Authority, was welcome.

On 15 April, 19 gravestones and crosses in the Christian-Maronite cemetery of Biram in northern Israel were vandalised. On 18 June, an arson attack took place at an important Christian site, Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha, on the Sea of Galilee. Two people suffered minor smoke inhalation, and major damage was caused to the site. Offensive graffiti has been found at the church on several occasions. The British Ambassador in Tel Aviv condemned this act of disrespect at one of Christianity’s holiest sites.

On 21 January, there was a terrorist attack on a bus in Tel Aviv. A Palestinian man attacked travellers with a knife leaving 12 people with injuries. Israeli police arrested the attacker at the scene. The Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, strongly condemned the attack and issued a statement.

We congratulated the people of Israel on their general election. The high turnout was a sign of a vibrant democracy. We were concerned by the damaging rhetoric used during the Israeli election campaign about Arab Israeli minorities. However, we were pleased by the wide-spectrum of Israeli leaders who condemned the remarks.