
West Bank: illegal persecution under Beit Sahour seige
The ICJ has received from its West Bank affiliate, AI-Haq (ie. Justice), the following report dated 15 July on the siege of the town of Beit Sahour.
The ICJ has received from its West Bank affiliate, AI-Haq (ie. Justice), the following report dated 15 July on the siege of the town of Beit Sahour.
The ICJ is profoundly concerned about the measures taken by the Israeli military authorities in the village of Bieta, apparently as reprisals for the killing of a 15 years old girl from Elon Moreh settlement.
The latest Israeli army reports indicate that the girl was shot by an Israeli settler and not by a Palestinian from Bieta.
On any count the measures taken against the villagers were excessive. In particular the destruction of 16 houses as reprisals or as a punishment are illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, as is the decision to deport 20 Palestinians of whom 6 come from Bieta.
According to Israeli officials hundreds of youths have been arrested in Bieta and the entire male population, which would number about 2,000, was detained in a school courtyard, allegedly for questioning.
The ICJ welcomes the resolution of the UN Security Council declaring that the deportation of Palestinians from the West Bank is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.