PALESTINIAN CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
PRESS RELEASE
Ref: 87/2003
Date: 02 August 2003
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights has issued a report, entitled “Suffering in Isolation: A report on life under occupation in the Mawasi areas in the Gaza Strip.” The report details the dire situation in the Mawasi areas in the southern Gaza Strip and includes an examination of the violations of international human rights and humanitarian law perpetrated by the Israeli belligerent occupation forces and Israeli settlers in the area from the beginning of Al Aqsa Intifada (September 2000) to the end of May 2003.
The Mawasi areas are ‘Yellow Areas’ as defined in the Oslo Agreement (1995) and as such, fall under Israeli security jurisdiction, while the Israeli settlements located within the same area are governed by Israeli civil law. The Mawasi areas continue be under a strict military siege and all aspects of life are greatly hindered by the extreme measures imposed by the Israeli forces controlling the area.
The Mawasi area was chosen as a prime example of the matrix of control that Israel exerts over the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The report details the impact of the Israeli settlements that are located in close proximity to Palestinian villages and towns and focuses on the impact of Israel’s so-called ‘security’ measures on the fundamental rights of the inhabitants of the area.
The report is based on extensive research conducted by a PCHR researcher, assisted by PCHR field workers, the communities of the Khan Yunis and Rafah Mawasi areas and various international organisations. As well as specific references to violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, the report also provides victim’s statements and eyewitness accounts.
Since its establishment in 1995, PCHR has published a number of reports detailing specific violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in the OPTs. PCHR published a previous report in 1998 on the status of the ‘Yellow Areas’, with specific reference to the situation in the Mawasi.
PCHR sincerely hopes that this report will contribute to raising awareness about the ongoing deterioration of the humanitarian and human rights situation in the Mawasi area, which is a clear example of the de facto apartheid situation that exists throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The full report:
Public Document
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For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 - 2825893
PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail:pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org