Human rights situation in Palestine and other OATs/Palestinian Situation – HRC 14th session – NGO statement (Organization for Defending Victims of Violence)

Written statement* submitted by the Organization for Defending Victims of Violence (ODVV), a non-governmental organization in special consultative status

The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31.

[16 May 2010]

The Palestinian Situation

The predominant atmosphere of the fate of the Palestinians is full of complexities that the one-sided decisions of each side of the issue, not only will not solve the entwined problems but these complexities have further increased, and makes it impossible to access a fair and tranquil atmosphere for peace.

The continuation of the age old institutionalised and administrative discriminations among Palestinians and Israelis (particularly in territories under the control of Israel) which has stirred the emotions of all Palestinians and increased their tendencies towards resistance on one hand, and the issuing of the new military directive 1650 of the IDF to the Israeli government with regards to the necessity for the deportation of Palestinians born in Gaza from the West Bank and also the deportation of Palestinians married to foreigners both of which are deemed as illegal immigrants (totalling approximately 10,000) on the other hand, are examples of Israel’s unilateral decisions alongside other measures such as the continuation of construction of settlements and the security barrier and the continued blockade of Gaza. All these measures have not only increased the protests of all Palestinians inside and outside the territories, but also they have caused outrage among the majority of civil society institutions across the world.

Furthermore, the failure of different Palestinian factions (i.e. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority) in reaching an agreement to resolve their disputes, and their failure in making joint decisions in their policies regarding direct or indirect talks with Israel, as well as not having benefits for the Palestinians they also cause a delay in the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli disputes, and therefore failure in reaching a fair peace agreement. The unilateral measures of Israel with the added disputes and disagreements among Palestinian groups, has resulted in the efforts of human rights activists in different parts of the world to be futile and fruitless. One of these efforts that can be mentioned is the attempts of 2 European delegations trying to put an end to the Gaza blockade and also the investigations for the Goldstone report which have been delayed.

As a nongovernmental human rights advocate organization, the Organization for Defending Victims of Violence (ODVV) calls upon both Palestinian-Israeli sides to while observing the human rights of all Palestinians – those under blockade in Gaza – to avoid unilateral and tension creating decisions, and pave the way to put an end to the conflicts and disputes and move towards a just sustainable peace.

^* This written statement is issued, unedited, in the language(s) received from the submitting nongovernmental organization(s).