Situation in the OPT – Letter from Jordan

Letter dated 4 November 1988 from the Permanent Representative of

Jordan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I am sending you a report containing the most recent information on the measures taken by the Israeli occupation authorities during the months of July and August 1988 in the Palestinian territories occupied by them since 1967. These, measures comprise Israeli settlement operations, the confiscation of land and acts of aggression against citizens and their property in those territories.

The period reviewed in the report was marked by the extension of the scope of the collective punishments imposed by the Israeli occupation forces within the framework of the repressive and inhumane policy of the Israeli occupation authorities in the face of the massive popular uprising which has been taking place in the occupied Palestinian territories since 8 December 1987.

By setting forth in the annex the details of these acts of aggression and practices, the Government of my country would like to emphasize to you, and through you to the international community, the danger which the continuation of such a policy and such practices represent for international peace and security and for peace efforts and prospects in the region.

I should be grateful if you would have this letter and its annex circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 77, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Abdullah SALAH

Ambassador

Permanent Representative

ANNEX

Monthly report on Israeli settlement and acts of aggression

against Arab citizens and their property during the months

of July and August 1988

The massive popular uprising in all parts of the occupied Palestinian territories entered its ninth month during the period under review in this report as the occupation authorities continued their policy of repression, burning, maltreatment, the killing of detainees inside Israeli prisons and attacks with lead and rubber bullets, gas and truncheons against the elderly, women and children. They severed telephone communications with camps in the Gaza Strip and prevented the delivery of food and medical supplies to the besieged areas under curfew, which led to a marked shortage of such supplies. The Arab population also suffered as a result of arbitrary campaigns of arrest, raids on quarters and houses, and the abduction of young men – with their eyes blindfolded and their hands bound – to centres of detention.

As a result of the Israeli military authorities' decision to treat the popular committees as illegal, to arrest their members and to prosecute any person who maintains his membership or continues to support such committees, of the illegal expulsions which took place during the two months, of the incident at the Negev prison (Ansar 3) – in which two detainees were killed and dozens of others were injured – and of the burning of three Arab workers from Gaza while they were sleeping at Or Yehud, the occupied territories were the scene of a fresh wave of disturbances and massive demonstrations, particularly in the Gaza Strip. Dozens of citizens were killed during these events and hundreds of others were wounded as they protested against the Israeli authorities' mounting policies of repression, the object of which is to step up the level of killing, subjugation and maltreatment, with a view to ending the uprising.

In an attempt by the Israeli military authorities to inflict the maximum possible number of injuries among the Arab population during demonstrations, the Israeli army has equipped those of its soldiers who operate in the occupied territories with a new type of plastic bullet which is especially designed to disperse demonstrators. This bullet causes serious injuries, which may even be lethal.

The newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported that one of the new inventions to emerge from the war in the occupied territories was a plastic bullet which marked skin and clothing with patches of color that could not be removed for an entire week. The color capsules were fired from a semi-automatic rifle and were designed to facilitate the identification and arrest of demonstrators.

The following are some examples of the economic and administrative measures imposed by the Israeli authorities during the two months under review:

The civilian administration began to mark the identity cards of citizens of the Gaza Strip with symbols to prevent them from entering "Israel". It should be noted that Israeli law prohibits the marking of personal identity cards in any way.

The Israeli authorities raised the price of permits for departure across the bridges to Amman, increasing the fees for an exit permit to 187 new shekels (NIS) and that for a visit permit to NIS 220. This constitutes the second such adjustment to prices in a period of two months.

The Ministry of Defense issued new orders to terminate or restrict the Medical services provided by Israeli hospitals to Arab citizens in the occupied territories. Among those affected were many children and individuals suffering from heart disease, kidney complaints and cancer.

The Israeli authorities prohibited distribution of the newspaper Al-Fajr in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip for a period of two weeks, on the grounds that it had not submitted its material for perusal by the military censors.

The Israeli authorities are persisting in their policy of preventing the entry of funds to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. They have forbidden the transfer of any amount in excess of $1,200 every two months for each citizen in the occupied territories.

The occupation authorities have compelled medical institutions of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to register the names of those receiving treatment in their clinics and to provide a copy of such registration to the occupation authorities, thus exposing those injured to the danger of arrest.

Israeli Minister of Defense Yitzhak Rabin issued an order that the popular committees be considered illegal. Any member is therefore liable to arrest and imprisonment for a period of 10 years.

The Military Governor in the Gaza Strip ordered that the city's merchants should install signs written in both Arabic and Hebrew, including details of the place of business and its owner.

The Israeli civilian administrative authorities intend to begin a process whereby all the numbers of vehicles – of whatever type – in the occupied territories will be changed. The authorities are to impose a special tax on all vehicles.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense decided not to allow any unknown or new enterprise in the occupied territories to carry out any activity in the agricultural sector, particularly in the area of marketing.

The Israeli authorities closed four associations in the West Bank, namely, the General Federation of Labor Unions, the Association for Conservation of the Environment at Qalqilyah, the Association of Friends of the Sick at Tulkarm and the Assembly of Professional Unions at Bayt Hanina (Jerusalem).

The occupation authorities raided the headquarters of the Federation of Charitable Associations and the Al-Hayah press and publishing office in occupied Jerusalem and closed them for a period of one year in accordance with a decision by the Central Region Commander.

The authorities carried out a widespread survey of homes in the Nablus district, in which military teams visited each house and enquired about the family, the number, ages and places of employment of members of the household and whether any of them were in prison.

The Israeli civilian administration in the Gaza Strip imposed increased fees on any individuals who were late in exchanging their identity cards for new ones.

The authorities refused to provide the population of the village of Bayt Immar (Hebron) with permits to export their grape crop, picked from an area covering 15,000 dunums. The loss incurred by the village as a result of a ban on exports of their peaches amounted to some 1.5 million Jordanian dinars (JD).

The Israeli Cabinet decided to adopt an amendment to the emergency regulations whereby the Israeli police and armed forces would be permitted to enter the courtyards of houses in order to "maintain public order and security".

The authorities initiated the replacement of identity cards for the population of Rafah. Orders were issued in the early hours of the morning that citizens should present themselves in order to have their cards replaced.

The Israeli security services tightened their control over activities of the Supreme Islamic Council in Jerusalem and their surveillance of religious figures and senior officials of the Islamic awqaf. The authorities claim that awqaf officials have a growing hand in the spread of the uprising.

Customs officers carried out tax raids in the town of Qalqilyah. The raids covered all economic enterprises, including stores, barbers' shops, factories and building contractors, as well as a number of homes.

During the month of July, the authorities turned back over 60 citizens on the grounds that they did not have individual permits in their possession. The bridge authorities refused to accept identity cards with the number of the permit and the date of departure recorded on them, which had previously been treated as acceptable.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation authorities' determination to suppress the uprising has not prevented them from persisting in their daily pattern of aggression against Arab territory and the Arab population. Between the time of the occupation and the end of August 1988, the Israeli authorities confiscated some 2,776,626 dunums of land in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip and continued their desperate attempts to increase Jewish settlement and to draw up plans to attract and encourage Jews, particularly new immigrants, to take up residence in those settlements which have already been established in the occupied West Bank. Those settlements now number 170, together with 20 settlements in the Gaza Strip.

As regards attacks on the liberties and human rights of the Arab population, the Israeli authorities continued to pursue their inhuman policies and to impose individual and collective punishments. These included the sentencing of 330 citizens of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip who appeared before Israeli military courts. Their sentences ranged from imprisonment for many years or several months to the imposition of heavy fines. The authorities also placed more than 550 detainees under administrative detention and demolished or closed more than 53 Arab houses and dozens of stores. During the two months in question, 66 men and women fell victim to the bullets of Jewish soldiers and settlers, while hundreds of Arab citizens suffered various injuries.

Details of these acts of aggression are as follows:

I. CONFISCATION OF LAND

On 10 July 1988, the military authorities informed the population of Al-Midyah, near the village of Na'lin (Ramallah), of a decision to confiscate 850 dunums of land planted with trees and seeds, situated in the Al-Manatir, Najmat Umayrah and Al-Iraq areas.

A number of owners of land in the village of Na'lin also received notice of confiscation of land belonging to them in tract No. 5, covering an area estimated at 500 dunums.

On 4 August 1988, the Israeli authorities confiscated a large amount of land at Baytunya (Ramallah). The exact area was not specified.

On 5 August 1988, the Israeli authorities gave notice to 35 owners of land in the villages of Azzun al-Atmah and Bayt Amin (Tulkarm), informing them of their intention to confiscate land considered to be the property of the State. It should be noted that the settlement of Ur Mais is situated near the land which is to be confiscated.

On 8 August 1988, the Israeli authorities began to lay regional settlement road No. 60, linking Jerusalem to Hebron. The road, which passes through the village of Al-Khadr and the town of Bayt Jala, is 80 kilometers in length, 3.2 meters wide and has a hard shoulder on each side which stretches for 0.375 meters. Construction is forbidden in the vicinity of the road, the building of which will lead to the confiscation of approximately 1,600 dunums of land belonging to the village of Al-Khadr.

II. SETTLEMENT

On 7 July 1988, celebrations were held to mark the transformation of the Eley-Sinai settlement point in the Gaza Strip into a permanent settlement. The settlement is located near the Erez point at the approaches to the city of Gaza. It was established five years ago and comprises a number of settlers who were evacuated from the Yamit settlement in Sinai before the region was returned to Egyptian sovereignty. Ten Israeli families now live in the settlement.

On 7 July 1988, agreement was reached on a deal for construction of the Nofim settlement in the Nablus district. Citizens there will build their own homes on a do-it-yourself basis. The Israeli Ministry of Housing and Construction will provide the infrastructure for the settlement, including drains, water and electricity.

On 11 July 1988, the Emunah movement of Gush Emunim converted the Sham'ah military settlement established by Nahal into a civilian settlement. The new settlement is situated near the village of Al-Sammu' (Hebron district) and is to be established on land covering an area of 600 dunums. A prefabricated housing unit is to be transported to the settlement to accommodate new families.

On 17 July 1988, the Israeli authorities announced the establishment of a new settlement on land belonging to the village of Husan. The authorities erected four prefabricated units on land belonging to a citizen of the village of Husan approximately one year after the authorities had uprooted trees from the same piece of land. The future settlement borders on the settlement of Hadar Beitar.

On 1 August 1988, a celebration was held to mark the inauguration of the Beit Batir settlement, south of Mount Hebron, in the presence of Matityahu Drobles, Chairman of the Jewish Agency's Settlements Department and of Amiram Metzenaa, the Central Region Commander. Before its inauguration, the colony had been a settlement point.

On 8 August 1988, Israeli bulldozers resumed work on land belonging to the village of Husan, near the Israeli Hadar Beitar settlement, digging out foundations for the construction of residential units. The authorities are now beginning to build a new settlement on land which was taken over one year and a half ago and overlooks the two villages of Nahhalin and Wadi Fukin, near the village of Husan.

On 11 August 1988, 300 families of recent Jewish immigrants from South Africa took up residence in the Israeli settlements established in the Nablus district at the end of this summer.

On 13 August 1988, the Jewish settlers in the occupied territories conducted a campaign to collect signatures on a petition calling for the formation of a committee to investigate "the failure to suppress the uprising". The settlers wished to know who was responsible for the failure and why the necessary measures had not been taken to put an end to the uprising.

On 15 August 1988, the leaders of the Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip met with the Military Commander of the Gaza Region and asked him to arrange for trees to be uprooted along roads in the Gaza Strip, to a distance of 20 meters on either side, in order to prevent the throwing of stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli vehicles.

On 30 August 1988, an agreement was signed for the construction of a new Jewish settlement to accommodate military service recruits of the Israeli army in the Modi'in area on the Latrun road. One thousand residential units will be built on a do-it-yourself basis, and an area of half a dunum will be allocated to each family.

III. ACTS OF AGGRESSION AGAINST ARAB CITIZENS AND THEIR PROPERTY

During the months of July and August, 1988, the Israeli occupation authorities perpetrated a series of acts of aggression, carrying them out alternately with settlers and other Jewish extremists and racists.

Details of acts of aggression which resulted in damage to the person, property or land of Arab citizens are as follows:

(a) Acts of aggression Against Arab land

On 1 July 1988, "unidentified persons" attacked agricultural land covering an area of 21 dunums. They sprayed grape-bearing vines with chemicals which caused the destruction of approximately 225 such vines belonging to a citizen of the village of Al-Khadr (Bethlehem).

On 1 July 1988, Israeli settlers from the Beitar settlement, near the village of Husan (Bethlehem), attacked agricultural land and cut down nine olive-trees, 35 vines and 50 fig- and peach-trees.

On 2 July 1988, "unidentified persons" used saws to cut down 48 olive trees and fruit-bearing vines on land belonging to the village of Husan, close to the settlement of Beit Elit.

On 3 July 1988, an Israeli bulldozer uprooted 15 fruit-bearing olive-trees on land belonging to the village of Barqah.

On 3 July 1988, residents of the Mount Ibal settlement burned down approximately 500 olive-trees in the village of Asirah al-Shimaliyyah (Nablus).

On 4 July 1988, Israeli bulldozers uprooted 100 olive-trees on land belonging to the village of Dayr Istya (Nablus), on the grounds that a Molotov cocktail had been thrown from among the trees.

On 4 July 1988, residents of the settlement of Belgiora uprooted 31 vines and 10 olive- and almond-trees in the village of Husan.

On 6 July 1988, a large group of residents Of the Matityahu settlement set fire to over 40 olive-trees belonging to citizens of the village of Saffa (Ramallah).

On 9 July 1988, "unidentified persons" burned about 1,000 dunums planted with almonds in the village of Talluzah (Nablus).

On 14 July 1988, "unidentified persons" set fire to an olive grove in the village of Bayt Ur Al-Tahta. The fire consumed about 70 olive-trees.

On 17 July 1988, settlers uprooted about 40 "Roman" olive-trees belonging to the village of Haris (Tulkarm).

 

On 27 July 1988, "unidentified persons" burned an area of nine dunums of almond-trees on land belonging to the village of Talluzah (Nablus).

On 7 August 1988, Israeli military bulldozers ploughed up eight dunums of land planted with olive- and orange-trees in the village of Azzun, east of Qalqilyah.

On 8 August 1988, "unidentified persons" cut down some 150 fruit-bearing olive-trees on land belonging to citizens of the village of Kafr Thulth, east of Qalqilyah.

On 15 August 1988, settlers from Edora, near the village of Tarqumiah, south-west of Hebron, attacked land belonging to a citizen, cut down approximately 50 cultivated trees and ploughed up and ruined the land.

On 15 August 1988, Israeli military bulldozers uprooted dozens of citrus trees from a plantation situated on the main road at the Bureij camp, on the grounds that Molotov cocktails had been thrown at an Israeli vehicle.

On 19 August 1988, the Israeli authorities ploughed up two dunums of citrus trees from land belonging to a citizen of the village of Bayt Hanun, on the grounds that an explosive charge had been set.

On 25 August 1988, the occupation authorities uprooted approximately 150 fruit-bearing "Roman" olive-trees belonging to the population of Bayt Ur Al-Tahta (Ramallah).

On 23 August 1988, Israeli bulldozers uprooted olive-trees at the crossroads in the village of Bidya (Tulkarm), on the grounds that stones had been thrown at an Israeli vehicle from that area.

On 25 August 1988, "unidentified persons" lit a number of deliberate fires in the village of Azzun. The flames consumed almond- and olive-trees.

(b) Acts of aggression against Arab citizens and their property

On 3 July 1988, settlers from the Ariel settlement attacked the village of Mashah (Nablus), and more than 20 settlers fired bullets into the village. As a result, two youths were hit and more than 10 Arab vehicles were damaged in various ways.

On 4 July 1988, Jewish settlers closed the main road in Hebron and attacked vegetable sellers in the market and smashed their tables. They demanded that the merchants close their stores.

On 3 July 1988, dozens of citizens in Jerusalem were wounded during clashes with Israeli forces in the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, when a team of Israeli excavation workers started to dig a hole around a staircase leading to a tunnel underneath the Masjid al-Aqsa.

On 14 July 1988, settlers from the Karney Shomron settlement carried out extensive acts of sabotage. They fired shots, wounding five citizens and causing extensive damage to a number of houses, vehicles and water cisterns.

The Israeli authorities prevented some 600 students from entering the Palestine Religious Institute (Al-Azhar) in Gaza to take examinations on the morning of 16 June 1988.

On 30 July 1988, occupation forces issued an order for the closing of the Academic Organization for a whole year and for the director of the organization, Faisal al-Husaini, to be placed under administrative detention for six months.

On 2 August 1988, the authorities sealed three entry points at the Ayn Bayt al-Ma' camp in Nablus with reinforced concrete and steel on the pretext that stone-throwing had taken place. The authorities had already sealed 11 other entry points at the old Askar camp.

On 8 August 1988, Jewish settlers from the Ariel settlement attacked the village of Barqah (Nablus.) and carried out acts of sabotage in the village. As a result, six citizens suffered bullet wounds and more than 10 vehicles were damaged in various ways.

On 12 August 1988, Israeli bulldozers destroyed the supporting walls of houses and land belonging to a number of citizens in Bayt Sahur. They also destroyed the walls of the boys' primary school in Bayt Sahur.

On 12 August 1988, "unidentified persons", believed to be Jewish extremists, deliberately set fire to the huts of Arab workers in 1948 Palestine. Three of the workers died.

On 13 August 1988, occupation forces raided the village of Bayt Rima (Ramallah), and troops stormed the houses of citizens, hurled large numbers of gas bombs inside, destroyed the entrances and beat up women and children.

On 21 August 1988, dozens of occupation troops raided the village of Jayyus (Tulkarm) and began to fire a hail of live bullets. They attacked passers-by and the local population, and subsequently troops stormed d number of houses, throwing gas bombs and firing rubber bullets. Many women, children and old people were struck blind.

On 21 August 1988, eight settlers beat up Arab citizens in the Gaza Strip and fired in their direction on the road leading to Ghush Qatif. The army forces present in the area did not intervene.

On 23 August 1988, the Israeli authorities compelled citizens to cut down very large tall trees on the public roads with Palestinian flags hoisted on them. The authorities also cut down fruit-bearing trees and almond-trees on the main roads in a number of villages.

On 25 August 1988, the Israeli forces arrested more than 100 Palestinian citizens resident in one of the refugee camps in the Gaza Strip and forced them to lie face-down on the ground. The soldiers then proceeded to walk over them and maltreat them.

On 31 August 1988, some 20 settlers from the Alfei Menasheh settlement attacked the village of Azzun (Qalqilyah) and fired live ammunition at random into the village. This resulted in the wounding of three citizens and the destruction of more than 10 Arab vehicles.

IV. ISRAELI PRACTICES AND VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES

During the period under review in this report, the Israeli authorities continued their daily practices that in toto constitute a violation of the rights of Arab citizens, as laid down and enshrined in international covenants and treaties and resolutions of international organizations and their subsidiary institutions.

Details of the violations and of punishments imposed by the authorities on Arab citizens in the occupied territories during the months of July and August 1988 are as follows:

1. Arrests

(a) Collective arrests during the month of July 1988

The occupation authorities opened up a new detention centre some two kilometers from the Ansar 3 centre, which holds 644 detainees, 112 of these from the West Bank and the rest from the Gaza Strip. It also holds two 15-year-old administrative detainees as well as prisoners up to 55 years of age.

The newspaper Al Hamishmar reported that the Israeli army was completing the construction of a new central prison for Arab detainees from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. This was located inside 1948 Palestine and would hold hundreds of youths. It would be supervised by the military police.

The newspaper Davar for 18 July 1988 reported that 4,267 citizens from the West Bank were still being detained on charges of demonstrating, stone throwing and throwing incendiary bombs. These included 2,129 administrative detainees. The newspaper added that 1,366 detainees were currently being detained pending the conclusion of judicial proceedings concerning them, while 160 had been sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment. Three hundred and two detainees were imprisoned under a judge's detention order, and 310 others were hold under a judge's orders extending that term of detention. The newspaper emphasized that these detainees were all residents of the West Bank and that the number of detainees did not include those from the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli occupation forces are stepping up their arbitrary measures and acts of repression, maltreatment and arrest against Palestinian journalists and against the Arab information media.  A report issued by the League of Arab journalists indicated that up to 1 July 1988 33 journalists had been arrested.

The occupation authorities are using a new means of arresting youths in Arab villages by having agents pretend to be journalists and claim that they are trying to hold interviews with some of the youths sought. That occurred in the village of Zayta (Tulkarm) where two youths were arrested, while three managed to escape.

(b) Collective arrests during the month of July 1988

In recent days, the Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip arrested approximately 1,000 citizens from among the local population for interrogation, following the tumultuous demonstrations which swept the sector and which were marked by violent clashes between the local population and troops. Most of the detainees were taken to Israeli prison camps because of the severe overcrowding in the Gaza Strip prisons, particularly Ansar 2, which was full of detainees from the uprising. Palestinian detainees in Ansar 3 prison in the Negev declared a hunger strike, demanding that the prison be closed and that an end be put to administrative detentions.

The newspaper Hadashot reported that, by the beginning of the ninth month of the uprising, the number of security detainees in detention centres under the authority of the Israeli army totaled 5,000, 300 of whom the authorities charged were members of popular committees.

(c) Administrative detention

The newspaper Ha’aretz for 19 August 1988 reported that, following the decision taken by the military authorities to outlaw the popular committees, the authorities intended to carry out an extensive campaign of administrative detention aimed at the members of the committees.

The Israeli military Prosecutor General revealed that 2,470 persons were currently still under administrative detention. Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli Minister of Defense, revealed that the occupation authorities had arrested 18,000 citizens during the past nine months, since the beginning of the uprising, and that 5,600 of these were still being held in Israeli military detention centres, 2,600 of them administrative detainees.

The Israeli authorities are continuing to renew detention orders against those who have served their first term. During the month of August 1988, the authorities issued orders for administrative detention against more than 250 citizens from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, who were placed under administrative detention for a term of 6 months.

(d) Violations against detainees and conditions of detention

Occupation troops in Ansar 3 committed another massacre, resulting in the death of two Palestinian detainees and the wounding of two others, when a high-ranking officer in the Israeli army shot the detainee As'ad Jabra Al-Shawwa, illegally and in cold blood, killing him instantly, while the second, Bassam Ibrahim Al-Sammudi died of suffocation from the dense gas used by troops against the Palestinian detainees in the detention centre.

The newspaper Ha’aretz for 26 August 1988 carried the testimony of a first lieutenant in the Israeli army reserve who had completed his reserve service, which had consisted of one whole month in Ansar 3 detention centre in the Negev. He stated:

"I heard a lot about the inhumane practices of Israeli troops against defenseless detainees … When we arrived at Ansar 3, I got the shock of my life … In spite of all that I had read in the newspapers and seen on Israeli television, I was completely stupefied at what I saw. Everything was dreadful and horrifying. I received written firing instructions that contained a number of violations … The food given to the detainees was poor as regards quality and quantity, so that they felt constantly hungry. The detainees were treated harshly and subjected to horrifying daily punishments, most frequently savage beatings. The water was cut off most days and the sewers and bathrooms were in the open air. There were swarms of insects and flies, as well as noxious odors, all of which caused diseases. The sick did not get the necessary treatment, for there were 1,300 detainees in every section and one physician for each section … What really grieved and upset the detainees was being away from their families and their isolation in the burning desert. Families did not come to visit their sons for a number of reasons, such as distance and the severe restrictions imposed by the detention centre’s administration on families wishing to visit. The military police's treatment of the detainees was marked by harshness and severity, as well as abuse and threats to kill. Every soldier interpreted the spirit of the military orders as he saw fit, without any intervention on the part of the prison administration.

"The soldiers' behavior and their treatment of Palestinian detainees in Ansar 3 stems from the ideology and political positions which they have espoused and which are linked to the customs and traditions in which they have been raised at home in their families; as a result they adopt extremist positions.

"A large portion of the detainees placed in Ansar 3 are innocent, having been arrested on mere suspicion and subjected to beatings and savage torture during interrogation. This treatment has led to groundless confessions made in order to escape the beatings and torture."

  (e) Judgements against Arab citizens

The chief military prosecutor stated to the Israeli army magazine Ba-Mahaneh that about 4,500 indictments had been brought before the military courts in the occupied territories since the beginning of the uprising. The trials of about 3,500 persons had been completed, and about 1,000 cases were awaiting clarification. The courts had acquitted about 120 persons, and the remainder had been condemned either on the basis of their own confessions or following the presentation of evidence.

During July and August 1988, 330 Arab citizens were brought before the Israeli military courts in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip on various indictments, including participation in demonstrations and stone-throwing. The sentences imposed on the accused ranged between 3 to 6 months' imprisonment, with two thirds of the sentences suspended, and several years' imprisonment.

Most of the condemned were young men against whom accusations of participation in demonstrations and stone-throwing had been fabricated, and sentences of imprisonment were imposed on all of these in addition to cash fines of 600 new shekels each on average. The total value of the fines imposed by the Israeli military courts during the month has been estimated at NIS 72,500 or the equivalent of $US 48,333.

2. Restrictions on freedom of movement and travel

(a) Curfew

In the midst of campaigns of collective detention the like of which have been rare, the occupation forces continued to impose curfews and blockades on about 1 million Palestinians. All of the towns, camps and villages in the Gaza Strip were affected as well as the Tulkarm, Qalandiya and Dheisheh camps, the village of Dhanabah and the township of Qabatiyah. They also continued their blockade of a number of population centres in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Many areas are suffering from an evident lack of foodstuffs and milk for children as a result of the maintenance of curfews for long periods of time. They also suffer from continual disruptions in the drinking-water and electricity supply. The inhabitants are forbidden to move from place to place during the curfew under penalty of being shot on sight.

(b) Travel restrictions

The Israeli occupation authorities are, without providing any reason, preventing citizens in some areas from crossing the bridges. The authorities select certain towns, villages and population centres in the West Bank and either prevent their inhabitants from travelling or turn them back from the bridges. There follows a list of those areas whose inhabitants were prevented from travelling during the two months in question.

All inhabitants of Tubas were prevented by the authorities from crossing the Amir Muhammad bridge and travelling to Amman.

For the ninth successive month, the authorities are preventing all inhabitants of the town of Anbata from travelling to Amman.

The authorities prevented the inhabitants of Qalqiliyah from travelling to Amman by way of bridges and turned them back at the Amir Muhammad bridge.

For some time, the inhabitants of Bayt Rims (Ramallah) were forbidden to travel by the authorities.

The inhabitants of Badya (Tulkarm) were forbidden to travel to Amman, following an attempt to assassinate the mukhtar of the village.

The authorities prevented the inhabitants of the village of Asakirah (Bethlehem) from travelling to Amman by way of the bridges by refusing to issue them with permits.

The authorities turned back the inhabitants of Hayy al-Thawri and Silwan at the King Hussein bridge and, without providing any reasons, prevented the inhabitants of the village of Nuba from travelling to Amman.

The authorities prevented the inhabitants of the villages of Tamun and Salfit (Nablus district) from travelling across the Amir Muhammad bridge.

The authorities prevented the inhabitants of the town of Nablus, both men and women, from travelling to Amman by way of the Amir Muhammad bridge.

Without giving reasons, the authorities prevented the inhabitants of the village of Nahhalin (Bethlehem) from travelling to Amman by way of the King Hussein bridge.

3. Expulsions

During the two months in question, the Israeli authorities expelled 13 citizens from the occupied territories and confirmed the expulsion of 25 more, 15 from the West Bank and 10 from the Gaza Strip, thereby violating those, provisions of international law that forbid the occupying Power from expelling citizens from their homeland.

4. Demolition of houses

During the two-month period, the Israeli occupation authorities demolished 40 houses on the pretext that they had been constructed without a license, because Molotov cocktails were alleged to have been thrown from them or in connection with allegations against young men that they belonged to Palestinian organizations. Thirteen houses were likewise sealed. A list of those citizens who suffered as a result of the demolition of their houses is given below.

5. Killings

During July and August, 66 persons were killed by the bullets of Israeli soldiers and settlers, some of them dying as a result of previously inflicted wounds and from the effect of tear-gas grenades. The Israeli soldiers hinder the removal of the shot and wounded to hospital, thereby causing them to lose large quantities of blood.

The number killed from the beginning of the uprising up to the end of August 1988 thus amounts to 377. The Israeli magazine Haolam Hazeh has acknowledged that, as of 20 July 1988, the number of killed had reached 304, including 202 who had been killed by the bullets of Israeli troops, 58 by inhalation of toxic gases, 21 by electric shock and 23 by the bullets of Jewish settlers.

6. Injuries

Amnesty International has asserted that the Israeli occupation forces have beaten several thousand Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip in the course of the demonstrations that have taken place over the last eight months and that at least eight have died from the beatings inflicted.

In a report on Israel and the occupied territories and the excessive use of violence, Amnesty International further stated that, since the beginning of the uprising, several thousand Palestinians in all parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip had been injured. Beatings had been widespread following house-to-house searches in the refugee camps and villages, and injured citizens had been forcibly expelled from hospitals, despite the protests of doctors, and had then been beaten before being taken to the detention centres.

The magazine Haolam Hazeh has estimated the number of those injured in the course of the uprising up to 31 August 1988 at 25,000, including more than 4,000 Palestinian women and children.

During the last two weeks of August, tumultuous demonstrations took place in the Gaza Strip, in the course of which about 120 inhabitants of the Strip were shot with live ammunition during the clashes that took place. About 300 citizens were afflicted with severe asphyxiation from the explosion of tear-gas grenades, and a large number of young persons suffered various fractures while being beaten with truncheons and rifle-butts by the troops.

7. Closure of schools and universities

The Israeli authorities decided to renew the order for the closure of all private schools and schools belonging to UNRWA in the West Bank until 1 October 1988. The school-year was to have begun on 1 September 1988.

General Amiram Metzenaa likewise issued an order extending the closure of all universities in the West Bank for a period of one month, from 5 August 1988 until 5 September 1988. Another order was issued on 18 August 1988 extending the closure of the universities until further notice.

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