April/May 1993, Page 73

Human Rights

By Andrea W. Lorenz

U.S. State Department's Annual Report Documents Israeli Human Rights Violations

The U.S. State Department's Human Rights Report on Israel and the Occupied Territories was released in February, two months after the Israelis' expulsion of 415 Palestinians to southern Lebanon. The men, several of whom are in their 60s, were said to be associated with the Hamas or Islamic Jihad organizations, both of which are Islamic radical groups, although no specific charges were made and no court hearings held.

The release of the report so soon after the expulsions worried some pro-Israel activists. One was Rep. Charles Schumer (D-NY), who, according to the Jan. 22-26 Queens (NY) Jewish Week, worked "behind the scenes" to soften the report's criticism of Israel's human rights record.

Nevertheless, the report, organized under the subtitles used for all country reports, documents an extensive list of human rights abuses. Its overall tone is made clear in the sentence: "The longstanding U.S. position is that several Israeli practices, such as transfer of prisoners outside the occupied territories and demolition or sealing of houses as a form of collective punishment, contravene specific provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention."

Regarding Palestinian deaths at the hands of the Israel Defense Forces, the State Department reports that "despite an overall reduction in intifada violence, IDF killings of Palestinians were 62 percent higher in 1992 than in 1991 (158 killed in 1992 compared to 98 in 1991)."

The violations documented include forced confessions. The report cites an unusual public statement released by the International Committee of the Red Cross in May 1992 on the treatment of Palestinian detainees under interrogation. The ICRC states that "means of physical and psychological pressure are being used that constitute a violation of the Geneva Convention." As of Dec. 15, five Palestinians had died in custody either during interrogation or shortly thereafter. The Department's report on Israel adds, "Most convictions in military courts are based solely on confessions. Physical and psychological pressures and the probability of reduced sentences for those who confess contribute to the likelihood that security detainees will sign confessions." The report notes that confessions are usually recorded in Hebrew, which most of the defendants cannot read.

Under the section entitled "Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government," the report states bluntly, "The people of the occupied territories do not enjoy this right." It notes that the last municipal elections held in the West Bank were in 1976 and in Gaza in 1946. Israeli authorities dismissed most of the mayors elected in 1976 on "security grounds. "

Not only do the occupied Palestinian people not have any political representation but they must pay higher than their fair share of taxes. "Significant disparities exist between the personal income taxes levied on Palestinians as compared to the taxes levied on Israeli settlers," asserts the report. Although an Israeli pays no tax if his monthly income is below $1,000, Palestinians pay taxes on any monthly income in excess of $250. The report also mentions that corporate tax breaks available to Israeli settlers in the occupied territories are not available to Palestinians. (According to Prof. Bishara Bahbah of the Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine, the average annual per capita income of Palestinians in the territories prior to the intifada was about $1,600. Following the outbreak of the intifada in 1987, it dropped to about $800 a year.)

Under the section "Freedom of Movement Within the Occupied Territories, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation," the Department's report describes the strict controls the Israeli authorities exert over Palestinians' movement. A particularly harsh practice is the issuance of green identity cards. The card identifies the bearer as a security risk, barring him or her from travel in or through Jerusalem, as well as abroad. During the first nine months of 1992, the Israelis issued more than 1,800 green identity cards, bringing the total in circulation as of October to approximately 11,000. The report says, "The issuance of such cards, like administrative detention, is a form of punishment without formal charge or trial." It adds that the Israelis have rescinded only 124 of the cards on the basis of the bearers' appeals.

Another form of collective punishment the Israelis have used consistently is curfews. The Department's report mentions that Israeli settlers living in the occupied territories are free to move about during curfews, whereas Palestinians are confined to their homes.

With regard to house demolition, the Department reports: "Security forces may demolish or seal the home of a suspect, whether he is the owner or only a tenant, before the trial is held. When a house is demolished, the Israeli authorities confiscate the land on which it sits and the house owner is not allowed to rebuild or even remove the rubble." The State Department reports that between Jan. 1 and Dec. 15, 1992, Israeli authorities demolished 12 houses and sealed 33. (It should be noted that the Palestine Human Rights Information Center reports the demolition of 207 homes in 1992, making a total of 2,272 since the beginning of the intifada.)

A drawback of the section on house demolitions is that it discusses how they affect the lives of the men accused of security violations but fails to mention the impact they have on the lives of Palestinian women and children who had lived in the homes before they were destroyed. In traditional Palestinian society, women are more likely to work at home caring for children and older members of the family. During curfews and school closures children have no choice but to stay at home. Many women and children, who are guilty of nothing but having shared the same house as the suspect, literally have nowhere to go when their home has been flattened.

With regard to freedom of speech and the press, the report states in its first paragraph, "Public debate on issues of concern to Israelis is open and lively," and "a vigorous free press scrutinizes all aspects of Israeli life and politics. " Nevertheless, several pages later it notes that in 1991 and 1992 two "prominent Israeli peace activists" were jailed for six and five months respectively. These activists' names are not revealed, but the report also mentions the case of Israeli Arab poet Shafiq Habib, who received an eight-month "conditional sentence," a three-year probationary period, and a fine for violating the 1949 Antiterror Act. Habib had published poems in 1990 which, according to the Israeli government, praised the revolutionary aspect of the intifada.

In addition, the report states that publications in East Jerusalem must submit to the Israeli military censors all copy relating to the security, public order, and safety of Israel and the occupied territories. It adds that although some reports and editorials were permitted, "articles and editorials were routinely expurgated." In addition, Arabic translations of news stories about the uprising, which previously had appeared in the Hebrew-language press, were routinely censored from the Arabic press.

Despite Congressman Schumer's efforts to blunt the effect of the State Department's 1992 report regarding Israel's human rights record, readers will come away disappointed that a country lauded as a democracy continues to commit human rights violations to the extent documented.

Andrea W. Lorenz is the features editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.