Key
developments since May 2000: It appears that Israel has continued to use
antipersonnel mines in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. There have been
allegations of mine use by Palestinians as well. The Defense for Children
International/Palestine Section’s mine awareness campaign continued, as
more than 70 mine awareness sessions took place in 2000. DCI/PS, in cooperation
with the Palestinian National Security Forces, also erected a fence and put
warning signs around the Qabatia minefield. In August 2000, the UK-based Mines
Advisory Group completed an assessment of mined areas around the village of
Husan.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) is not a sovereign
state and does not have the international legal status to join international
treaties, including the Mine Ban Treaty. In April 2000, the Palestinian
Authority stated its support for and desire to join the Mine Ban
Treaty.[1]
According to the
Palestinian National Security Information Center, the landmine problem in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories is regarded “as one of the national
problems that directly affects social and economic life. Moreover it affects
Palestinian national
security.”[2] The Center
says that the Declaration of Principles, signed between the Palestine Liberation
Organization and Israel in 1993, does not explicitly mention the mine
issue.[3]
Palestinian
Authority representatives did not participate in the Second Meeting of States
Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, but a local NGO, Defense for Children
International/Palestine Section (DCI/PS) and Al-Haq attended. During the
meeting, DCI/PS and Al-Haq issued a joint press release that addressed in
particular Israel’s refusal to accede to the Mine Ban
Treaty.[4] The two
organizations also stressed that Israel, as a State Party to the Fourth Geneva
Convention of 1949, is obligated to safeguard the security of the civilian
population under occupation from the threat of mines and unexploded ordnance
(UXO). The Palestinian Campaign to Ban Landmines was established in December
2000.[5]
Use, Production, Stockpiling, Transfer
Since the escalation of violence in September
2000, there have been allegations of use of antipersonnel mines by both Israel
and Palestinians. It would appear the Israel Defense Force (IDF) has continued
to use mines in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. (See the country report on
Israel). Landmine Monitor has been unable to confirm allegations regarding
Palestinian use.
The Palestinian Security Forces assert that they do not
possess antipersonnel mines or any kinds of
mines.[6] The
Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreements on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
places numerous constraints on the kinds of weapons that the Palestinian
Police[7] can possess. As such,
the prohibition of Palestinian possession of landmines is implicit,
according to the National Security Information
Center.[8] Article XIV of the
Israeli-Palestinian Interim agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
includes the following language:
Except for the arms, ammunition and
equipment of the Palestinian Police described in Annex 1, and those of the
Israeli military forces, no organization, group or individual in the West Bank
and the Gaza Strip shall manufacture, sell, acquire, possess, import or
otherwise introduce into the West Bank or the Gaza Strip any firearms,
ammunition, weapons, explosives, gunpowder or any related equipment, unless
otherwise provided for in Annex
1.[9]
There are
indications that armed Palestinian groups have access to some types of mines. A
number of media reports indicate that these groups are taking the explosives
from landmines to manufacture other explosive devices. For example, an
unidentified Palestinian was quoted as saying that “explosives used by
Hamas and other groups come from landmines laid in the 1967 Middle East
war.”[10] Alternatively,
there are also reports that armed Palestinian groups are attempting to improvise
antivehicle mines from “ordinary bombs/grenades” to use against
Israel Defense Force tanks.[11]
There have also been reports that mines taken from the ground in the Golan
Heights by Palestinians are being used in a similar
way.[12]
On 7 May 2001, the
Israeli Navy apparently seized a ship containing weapons that was reportedly
headed to Gaza.[13] An IDF list
of the seized cargo includes 62 TMA-5 and 8 TMA-3 Yugoslavian made antivehicle
mines.[14] The chief of the
Israeli Navy stated that the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine-General Command was responsible for the smuggling operation. The
Palestinian Authority has denied
involvement.[15]
Israeli
sources claim that the Palestinians have increased mine-laying in the Gaza
Strip. “Security sources in Israel have learned that the PA has increased
its mine-laying and fortification work in its outposts facing IDF position....
The Palestinians are also carrying out extensive fortification work and
improving their position in case of possible confrontation with the IDF. The
security establishment is also concerned over the fact that the Palestinians
have recently increased the production of anti-tank
weapons.”[16]
Mine Clearance
The mine problem does not appear to constitute a
priority for Israel or the Palestinians at this time. The problem remains as
described in previous Landmine Monitor reports. The impact of unexploded
ordnance in military training areas and military bases as well as minefields
remaining from prior armed conflicts has not been systematically surveyed.
During the reporting period no mine clearance is believed to have taken
place either by the PA or by the Israeli government. There is no information
available on any demining activities planned for the year 2001. The only mine
related improvement which took place in 2000 was the fencing and posting of
signs around a portion of Qabatia minefield in the northern West Bank, which
came under Palestinian security control following an Israeli re-deployment in
1999. The project was implemented in conjunction with the DCI/PS Mine Awareness
project, in coordination with the Palestinian Security Forces and with support
from the Canada Fund.[17]
In
August 2000, the UK-based Mines Advisory Group completed an assessment of mined
areas around the village of Husan, southwest of Bethlehem. Funded by the
Canadian Landmine Foundation, the mission gave rise to 12-week clearance plan
that has been put on hold due to the security
situation.[18]
Mine Awareness
The mine awareness campaign implemented by DCI/PS
continued in 2000. The project places particular emphasis on areas adjacent to
minefields and military training bases in the northern parts of the West Bank.
Rädda Barnen, the Canada Fund, the Diana Fund (through War on Want),
Norwegian People’s Aid and the Ploughshares Fund provided $60,000 in
financial support for the project in 2000. In 2000, more than 70 mine awareness
sessions took place, including lectures, mine awareness workshops, and special
events conducted in schools, summer camps, and villages near minefields and
military training bases, reaching approximately 20,000 people. DCI/PS project
produced and distributed two mine awareness booklets, one for children between
the ages of 12 and 15 and a coloring book for children between the ages of 6 and
9.
On 10 May 2000 DCI/PS held an internal evaluation workshop on the landmine
awareness project that included participation by representatives of the
Palestinian Red Crescent Society-Department of Youth and Volunteers, Ministry of
Education, Palestinian National Forces, and DCI/PS. The evaluation noted
strengths such as a high level of community participation, successful
coordination, the inclusion of children’s participation in all stages of
project implementation and the high level of transparency that characterizes
relations between the local project partners and international
organizations.[19] Weaknesses
noted included a lack of services provided to the local community and
recognition of the bureaucratic and logistical obstacles involved in organizing
project activities, particularly those involving governmental entities and
located in remote areas of the West Bank.
Landmine/UXO Casualties
DCI/PS believes that the number of casualties due
to mines and UXO in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since May 2000 are
within the average, when compared to casualties in previous years. According to
information collected by DCI/PS, nine incidents occurred between May 2000 and
March 2001, resulting in the deaths of five Palestinians, four of them aged 18
years or younger. Another six Palestinians were injured, including four under
the age of 18 years. All the casualties were the result of UXO explosions, and
took place in areas near military training bases, in the confrontation areas
during Al-Aqsa Intifada, or in blockades separating the Palestinian
governorates.
Survivor Assistance
The Palestinian health care system is a mixture of
public, non-governmental, United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and
private (profit and not-for-profit) service delivery, with a developing
governmental health insurance system. In 1994, the PA’s Ministry of
Health inherited a mixed public/private sector health care system that included
a severely uncoordinated service delivery system. Improvements have been made
in years since. The most prominent providers of health services are the
Ministry of Health, the UNRWA, and NGOs. The Ministry of Health is responsible
for a significant portion of both primary health care and secondary care, and
some tertiary care. Moreover, the Ministry of Health purchases tertiary
services from other health providers, both locally and abroad.
UNRWA plays
an important role in health services delivery, providing free of charge primary
health care, and purchasing secondary and tertiary services for the 1,074,718
registered refugees. In addition, UNRWA contracts for services with NGOs,
primarily for secondary and tertiary care, and with some Israeli facilities for
limited, specialized tertiary care.
While the Israeli health system provides
free medical coverage to Israeli citizens, tourists, and students injured by
landmines and UXO, this system does notextend to Palestinian residents
of the territories occupied by Israel. Medical care for Palestinian mine and
UXO victims in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is provided through the
Palestinian health system. Landmine survivors obtain their health and
rehabilitation services from the existing centers for the
disabled.[20]
Disability Policy and Practice
Mine victims do not receive treatment different
from other people with disabilities. There are neither special laws nor health
services specifically for mine survivors in Palestine. Instead, they receive
treatment under the Law Number 4 (1999), the “People with Disability
Rights Law,” which entered into force in the Palestinian Territories one
month after its formal publication on 10 October 1999. As of March 2001,
however, the law had not been implemented due to an absence of
regulations.[21] The General
Union of the Disabled and the Ministry of Social Affairs have been working
together to establish an executive body to oversee implementation of the law.
[1] Letter from the PNA
Office of the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Gaza, 27 April
2000.
[2] “The Landmine
Issue in the Occupied Territories,” by Hisham Salem, National Security
Information Center, 2000, p. 1. The Center is affiliated with the Palestinian
Authority and is part of the President Security Advisor Office in
Gaza.
[3] Ibid, p.
5.
[4] DCI/PS and AL-HAQ
Joint Statement to the Second Meeting of States Parties to the 1997 Mine Ban
Treaty, ref: 001500, 13 September
2000.
[5] It is coordinated
by Defense for Children International/Palestine Section and includes the YMCA
Rehabilitation Program in its
membership.
[6] Telephone
interview with Younis Al-Katry, General Director, National Security Information
Center, 21 December 2000.
[7] The term
“Palestinian Police,” which is used in the agreements, includes six
branches of the Palestinian security forces, as outlined in the
agreement.
[8] Telephone
Interview with Younis Al-Katry, General Director, National Security Information
Center, 21 December 2000.
[9]
Article XIV, Israeli-Palestinian Interim agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip, 28 September
1995.
[10] “Palestinian
gunmen defy Arafat, enrage Israelis,” Reuters, 26 April
2001.
[11] Cited in news
column in Aftenposten (Norwegian daily newspaper), 30 April 2001,
translation provided by Norwegian People’s
Aid.
[12] “Israeli Army
making arrangements in preparation for the expected landmine war in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories,” Al-Ayyam Newspaper, 16 December
2000.
[13] “Israel
Captures Boat With Weapons,” Associated Press (Jerusalem), 7 May
2001.
[14] IDF Spokesman,
“Israel Navy Forces Detain Ship With Weapons” (online edition), 8
May 2001.
[15]
“Captured boat with weapons was for Palestinians,” Associated
Press (Jerusalem), 7 May
2001.
[16] Hagai Huberman,
“Palestinians Bolstering Defenses: Palestinians Increasing Mine-Laying in
Gaza Strip,” Hatzofe (Israeli Hebrew language newspaper), p.
3.
[17] The Canada Fund for
Local Initiatives is an organization that facilitates Canadian government (CIDA)
funds to local NGOs.
[18]
Email from Tim Carstairs, Director of Communications, Mines Advisory Group, 16
July 2001.
[19] For more
information, see DCI/PS, “Mine Awareness in the Palestinian Territories,
Evaluation Report,” May
2000.
[20] Interview with
Ziad Amr, Ramallah, 20 September
2000.
[21] Telephone
interview with Ziad Amr, Director, Palestinian General Union of the Disabled,
Ramallah, 21 March 2001.
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