Ref: 07/2008

Date: 28 January  2008

Time: 10:30 GMT

PCHR Calls for International Resolution over Rafah Crossing Crisis

The Palestinian Centre for Human rights (PCHR) is concerned about the continuing state of chaos on the Egyptian-Palestinian border. The Centre believes the current situation does not provide a solution regarding civilians' rights to safe and unhindered travel into and out of the Gaza Strip, especially as Rafah International Crossing Point remains officially closed.

PCHR calls upon all parties involved, including the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), and the international community, to resolve the crisis at the Rafah Crossing. The Centre reiterates that a sustainable solution is essential in order to ensure freedom of movement for Palestinian civilians, as well as the safe passage of goods into and out of the Gaza Strip, in accordance with international humanitarian and human rights law.  

Hundreds of thousands of Gazans have crossed the border into Egypt since Palestinian activists blew up entire sections of the border fence in the early hours of 23 January, 2008. In addition to residents of Gaza crossing into Egypt en masse, hundreds of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip who have been stranded in Egypt, due to the enforced closure of Rafah International Crossing Point, have also returned home to Gaza. The Egyptian authorities have responded positively and with restraint, allowing Palestinian civilians to purchase food, medicine, and other supplies which are not available in Gaza due to the escalating IOF siege and closure of the Gaza Strip.   

However, opening the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip does not meet all the basic needs of the civilian population of Gaza. Civilians across the Gaza Strip still suffer from severe shortages, or total unavailability, of many essential items, including domestic fuel and industrial fuel for Gaza's single power plant. In addition, hundreds of students, patients, and Gazans living abroad remain in effective limbo; many have been waiting for permission to leave the Gaza Strip legally since June 2007. PCHR has learned that approximately 1,500 Gazans have gathered in the Egyptian town of Al-Arish, and have asked the Egyptian authorities to allow them to travel via Cairo to third countries, where they can pursue their work, study or medical treatment. They are currently awaiting an official decision from the Egyptian authorities.  

PCHR reiterates its position that the chaos on the Rafah border during the past week is an inevitable consequence arising from the IOF siege and closure of the entire Gaza Strip. The IOF have deliberately deprived the entire civilian population of the Gaza Strip of their human right to safe movement and unrestricted travel. In addition, the closure has prevented essential goods and medicine reaching the civilian population. PCHR notes that IOF have tightened the closure of the Gaza Strip since June, 2007. Since then, all border crossings into and out of Gaza have been effectively sealed, including the Rafah Crossing.

IOF has also maintained the effective closure of the Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing between Gaza and Israel, as well as the commercial crossings of Al-Mentar, Sofa, and Nahal Oz. IOF have sporadically opened these crossings to open, in order to facilitate the passage of some food and medical supplies into Gaza. However, these supplies have consistently failed to meet the needs of the 1.5 million citizens of Gaza.  

As a front-line human rights organization, PCHR is continuing to monitor developments in the Gaza Strip and on the Palestinian/ Egyptian border, which were triggered by the basic needs of the civilian population for food, medicine, and other supplies. PCHR therefore:

-         Calls upon the international community to actively participate in finding a just and sustainable solution to this crisis that will ensure the safe and unrestricted movement and travel of the civilian population as well as of imported and exported goods.

-         Calls upon IOF to respect International Humanitarian Law, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention, and to facilitate a rapid and just solution regarding freedom of movement for Palestinian civilians through the Rafah Crossing. PCHR calls upon IOF, as the Occupying Power, to completely withdraw from the Gaza Strip, and to hand control of the Rafah Crossing to the Egyptian and Palestinian authorities; or else to openly declare that it is still an Occupying Power in the Gaza Strip. As an Occupying Power, the IOF must fulfill its legal obligation to establish a clear working mechanism, administered by a third party, to ensure the free and safe movement of civilians and goods into and out of the Gaza Strip.  

-         Calls upon the Egyptian authorities to contribute towards resolving this crisis in line with its historical role in the Palestinian issue, and its moral and legal responsibilities under international humanitarian law. As a High Contracting Party of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Egypt is obliged to ensure the protection of the civilian Palestinian population, and to take the practical steps necessary to protect the civilian Palestinian population.

-         Calls upon the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their moral and legal responsibilities to protect Palestinian civilians from collective punishment imposed by IOF; and to work towards ensuring freedom of movement for Palestinian in the OPT, as guaranteed under international human rights law. The Centre calls upon the High Contracting Parties to ensure that any future working mechanisms of the Rafah Crossing conforms with international standards of border crossings, as opposed to the humiliating mechanisms designed and implemented by IOF that are currently violating the right of Palestinian civilians to free and safe movement.