The Palestinian
National Authority (PNA) was established in 1994 following the Oslo Agreement of
1993. The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip identifies areas under Israeli and Palestinian control. Zone A comprises
the six cities in the West Bank, and the Palestinian Council has full
responsibility for internal security. Zone B comprises the Palestinian towns and
villages in the West Bank, in which the Palestinian Council has responsibility
for civil authority and Israel has overriding security authority. Zone C
comprises the unpopulated areas of the West Bank and Jewish settlements, for
which Israel retains
responsibility.[1]
Decades of war and instability have left thousands of antipersonnel and
antitank landmines on these lands. The problem of landmines and UXO has not yet
been discussed in the peace negotiations between Israel and the PNA.
Mine Ban Policy
The PNA does not have the international legal
status to sign or ratify international treaties, including the Mine Ban Treaty
The PNA has not made any public policy statements with regard to the treaty, or
a landmine ban more generally. In February 1999, a representative of the
Palestine National Liberation Army called on developed countries which produce,
sell and transfer antipersonnel mines to halt
immediately.[2]
Landmine Problem
The number of landmines planted in Palestine is
not exactly known and there are no precise and comprehensive statistics from any
source. In addition to the mines that have been planted by numerous armed
forces over the years, unexploded ordnance (UXO) left behind by the Israeli army
following military training represent a threat to the Palestinian people.
Landmine and UXO explosions occur frequently in the Palestinian territories and
tens of victims, as a result, fall
annually.[3]
A study by Defense for Children International/Palestine Section indicated
that most of the mines are laid, and 94% of mine and UXO accidents have
occurred, in Zones B and C.[4]
Palestinians currently have restricted or no access to large areas of land in
Zones B and C. Lieutenant Jihad Jayousi from the operation division at the
National Security Leadership in the West Bank gave a presentation on minefields
and UXOs in the West Bank.[5]
Lieutenant Jayousi indicated that the Israeli government has declared the
existence of sixteen minefields in the West Bank: five minefields in Jenin
district, one minefield in Tulkarem district, two minefields in Qlaqilya
district, three minefields in Bethlehem district, three mine fields in Ramallah
and Jerusalem Districts, and two minefields in the Hebron district. Lieutenant
Jayousi made the following remarks:
Most of the landmines were planted by the British army during the British
Mandate or by the Jordanian army before the 1967 War. The purpose of planting
landmines by the Jordanian army was to delay an Israeli possible military attack
using tanks. Most of these minefields include anti-tank landmines are found on
the sides of strategic roads that lead to the main towns of the West Bank.
There is no definite information that the Israeli army has expanded the
borders of the minefields after the occupation of the West Bank except for the
main minefield east of Qalqilya.
After the occupation of the West Bank, Israel has not attempted to clean
those fields although they are located in the center of the West Bank and have
no military value. The exception was the removal of fences around the minefield
near al-Nabi Elias village in the Qalqilya district and declaring the area as
safe. A number of explosions took place since the removal of the fences that
resulted in the injury of several Palestinian civilians.
The majority of minefields are located in areas under the Israeli security
authority (Zones B and C). Legally and ethically speaking, Israel is
responsible for the safety and security of Palestinians residing in those
areas.
According to published information concerning the victims of landmines, all
victims were Palestinians. We have not heard of any Israeli who have been
killed or injured in a landmine or an UXO explosion in the West Bank, whether
they are from the Israeli settlements or from the Israeli military forces in the
West Bank. Israeli soldiers know very well about the exact locations of
landmines and have full details about minefields.
Israel has not declared the existence of minefields other than the ones
specified above. However, military experts believe that there are a number of
other minefields that include antipersonnel and anti-tank landmines. These
minefields are located in the first defense line along the border areas between
Jordan and the West Bank (from Ein El Bayda in the north to the Dead Sea in the
south). Large minefields are located in areas close to Damia Bridge, Al-Karameh
– Allenby Bridge, and King Abdullah Bridge and on the sides of main roads
in the Jordan Valley that lead to Jerusalem and Nablus. Other minefields are
located in the second defense line especially around the agricultural and
military colonies in the Jordan Valley and in other strategic areas leading to
the central areas of the West
Bank.[6]
There are a number of areas in the West Bank used by the Israeli army as
military training areas, which are now UXO-affected. Those areas include: the
fields northeast of Tubas, Tayaseer, Tammoun, Tel El-Maleh, and Wadi Al-Bathan,
the fields between Dyook to Oja villages in the Jordan Valley, the fields east
of the Bethlehem and Hebron districts, the fields close to the military camps in
Zababdeh (south of Jenin), Sanoor (southwest of Jenin). Arrabeh (west of
Jenin), and Howarah (south of Nablus) and the fields in Al-Khan Al-Ahmar (east
of Jerusalem), and Bardala and Kardala (northern area of the Jordan
Valley).[7]
Mine Clearance
The ability of the PNA to clear landmines and UXO
in areas under its jurisdiction is limited. It requires international technical
assistance, training, equipment, and funding. Lieutenant Eisa Khrais from the
operation division at the National Security Leadership in the West Bank,
indicated that: “The first step in landmine clearing is to specifically
identify the locations of minefields and landmines. Obtaining maps from the
parties that planted the landmines is useful. A team of experts with equipment
will be needed to identify the locations of
landmines.”[8]
Mine Awareness
Palestinian nongovernmental organizations are
working to develop a comprehensive mine action program which would raise
awareness and create interest from local institutions on the problem of
landmines and UXOs. Current proposals suggest targeting residents of border
areas, residents of areas close to military training camps, and high-risk groups
(children / farmers / students).
A new project was implemented in March 1999 by Defense for Children/Palestine
Section, War on Want, Norwegian People’s Aid, Handicap International, and
Rädda Barnen.[9] The
project intends to create awareness among the Palestinian community and local
organizations about the effects of landmines and UXOs on human beings and the
environment; support people with disabilities (mainly landmines and UXO
survivors) by training them to cope with their economic, social and emotional
problems; mobilize landmine and UXO survivors to come forward with their
experiences; and to lobby with Palestinian, international and Israeli-interested
organizations to place the issue of landmines and mine survivors on the
political agenda of Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, so preventive
actions could be taken.
The project also intends to create a database on the landmine and UXO-issue
in Palestine. This database will include documentation of casualties and how
they occurred, action taken, socio-economic conditions of casualties and mapping
results of areas at risk. Access to this data will be free and be available to
relevant local and international organizations.
The target group of the project is the rural population of the West Bank,
numbering approximately 500,000 people. The rural, northern part of the West
Bank (the regions of Jenin, Tulkaram, Qalqilyia and Nablus) will be especially
targeted since it is the area with most frequent landmine and UXO incidents.
Landmine Casualties
According to a study carried out by Defense for
Children International/Palestine Section in 1998 on the problem of landmines and
unexploded ordnance in the Palestinian territories, since the beginning of the
Israeli occupation in 1967, there have been more than 2,500 landmine and UXO
victims--an average of more than eighty victims per year. Most of the
explosions occurred in Zone C (65%), then in Zone B (29%) then in Zone A
(6%).[10]
The U.N. landmine database shows that in the West Bank, an estimated thirty
Palestinians have been killed and dozens more injured by landmines in the past
few years.[11] According to the
U.S. State Department, there have been 464 casualties in the West Bank during an
unspecified period of
time.[12]
Landmine Survivor Assistance
Most of the time, mine accidents cause economic
disaster for the victims and their families. In many cases, victims of
explosions need to undergo a number of expensive surgeries. In the absence of
an effective health insurance system, the cost of treatment is paid by the
family.
Victims sometime need sophisticated and long-term rehabilitation. In the
past few years, a network of good rehabilitation services was established in
Palestine. However, services do not cover all areas and their capacity to deal
with serious cases is limited. Prosthetic workshops exist in Palestine.
However, these workshops have the capacity to deal with only very simple cases
which do not include serious landmine injuries. Eighteen percent of the victims
have taken legal actions and requested compensation from the Israeli army.
[1]From the Main Points of
the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip,
25 September 1995.
[2]Lt. Sultan Abu Al-Ainan,
Palestine Liberation Organization/Palestine National Liberation Army, Statement
prepared for presentation, “The Situation from a Military Point of View
Panel,” Regional Conference on the Menace of Landmines in the Arab
Countries, Beirut, Lebanon, 11 February 1999.
[3]Defense for Children
International / Palestine Section, A Seminar Report on the Problem of
Landmines, Unexploded Ordnance and Munitions Remnants in the Palestinian
Territories, 25–26 March 1998, p. 6.
[4]Defense for Children
International / Palestine Section, A Report on the Field Study On The
Victims of Landmines and the Remnants of the Israeli Army in the West Bank in
the Period from June 1967 till February 1998, p. 31-34.
[5]Lieutenant Jihad Jayousi,
National Security Leadership in the West Bank, presentation.
[6] See, Defense for Children
International / Palestine Section, A Report on the Field Study On The
Victims of Landmines and the Remnants of the Israeli Army in the West Bank in
the Period from June 1967 till February 1998, and A Seminar Report on
the Problem of Landmines, Unexploded Ordnance and Munitions Remnants in the
Palestinian Territories, 25–26 March 1998.
[7]A Report on the Field
Study On The Victims of Landmines and the Remnants of the Israeli Army in the
West Bank in the Period from June 1967 till February 1998, p. 14.
[9]Defense for Children
International / Palestine Section, Mine Action in the Palestinian
Territories, Project Proposal, 1998.
[10] Defense for Children
International / Palestine Section. A Report on the Field Study On The
Victims of Landmines and the Remnants of the Israeli Army in the West Bank in
the Period from June 1967 till February 1998.
[11]United Nations,
Casualty and Incidents: Israel. At
http://www.un.org/Depts/Landmine/casualty/israel.htm.
[12]Hidden Killers: The
Global Landmine Crisis, U.S. Department of State, 1998, p. A4.
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