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Severe
economic hardship now prevails in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Poverty is extremely high and many Palestinians have trouble finding
work to support themselves and their families. The State of Israel
bears a substantial part of the blame for this dismal situation, and,
given that it maintains effective control of these areas, it is
responsible for rectifying the problems. Not only does Israel do
nothing to ease the hardship, it aggravates the situation. It has done
this, for example, by imposing a tight closure, which prevents
Palestinians to leave the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and enter Israel
unless they have permits, which Israel grants sparingly. Many
Palestinians who have been unable to obtain the entry permit violate
the closure and stay in Israel without a permit, hoping to find work
and deliver themselves and their families from the anguish of poverty.
Over
the years, B'Tselem has issued numerous reports on the abusive conduct
of police officers and soldiers against Palestinians who violate the
closure to seek work. While the Israeli authorities condemn the acts of
abuse that are reported in the media, claiming they are lamentable
exceptions, the report shows that these cases are not exceptions at
all. In fact, they are the tip of the iceberg, under which is concealed
a harsh routine of violence and abuse, including the use of illegal
force, illegal damage to property, use of illegal force to extract
information and recruit collaborators, and unlawful use of firearms.
The report also documents how these forbidden acts occur upon the
express instructions of commanding officers, and that the authorities,
which officially condemn the actions, transmit a contradictory message
to the soldiers and police officers by turning a blind eye and giving
tacit consent.
The faulty patterns of
conduct described in the report all flagrantly breach Israeli law and
international law. However, because of the failures and omissions that
prevent the submission of complaints and thwart proper investigation of
complaints that are filed, the authorities rarely punish police
officers and soldiers who commit crimes of the kinds described in the
report.
To correct this perverse
situation, B'Tselem urges the authorities to ensure that the procedures
for treating Palestinian staying in Israel without a permit conform to
Israeli law and international law, that police officers and soldiers do
not deviate from these criteria, and that those who do are punished. In
addition, and most importantly, B'Tselem calls on the government to
solve the underlying problems that cause so many Palestinians to stay
in Israel even though they do not have a permit: Israel must take
effective measures to promote an independent Palestinian economy. As
long as the economic situation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
remains grim, it must ease its closure policy and enable many more
Palestinians to enter Israel , in a controlled manner and subject to
suitable security checks. Such controlled entry would not threaten the
security of Israelis and would likely substantially do much to reduce
the hardship endured by Palestinians.
For more information on the report, please go to B'Tselem.
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