Key developments since May 2004: In 2005, the National Mine Action
Committee started to develop a mine action strategy and a formal mine action
structure, with UNICEF support. In 2004, the Palestinian Bomb Squad Unit
responded to nearly a thousand call-outs and conducted 33 explosive ordnance
disposal operations.
Mine Ban Policy
The Palestinian Authority (PA) does not have the international legal status
to sign, ratify or accede to international treaties, including the Mine Ban
Treaty. The PA has not made any recent public statements with regard to the
treaty, nor has it formulated a general mine ban
policy.[1 ]The landmine issue has yet
to be discussed within the framework of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, and
apparently is not a priority for either the PA or the Israeli
government.[2 ]
Representatives of the PA did not attend the First Review Conference of the
Mine Ban Treaty in Nairobi in November-December 2004. The PA participated in
the First Meeting of States Parties in 1999, but has not been present for any
subsequent annual Meetings of States Parties or intersessional Standing
Committee meetings.
Use
In recent years, armed Palestinian groups have used improvised explosive
devices (IEDs) and, allegedly, landmines. Some groups are believed to have
access to both antipersonnel and antivehicle mines, and have reportedly used the
high explosives from mines to make other kinds of explosive
devices.[3 ]In this reporting period,
since May 2004, Landmine Monitor has received few reports of use of
antipersonnel mines by Palestinian groups, and no reports of use by Israeli
forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
(OPT).[4 ]In December 2004, according
to a media report, Hamas said it had planted landmines and roadside bombs in an
area east of Gaza City.[5 ]Another
media report in January 2005 said that Israeli troops uncovered two landmines
near Rafah, in the Gaza Strip.[6]
The Mine Ban Treaty prohibits not only antipersonnel mines, but also
explosive booby-traps and other improvised explosive devices that are
victim-activated. Media and others are not always clear whether the devices
used are victim-activated or command-detonated and often use terms
interchangeably, citing the use of bombs, landmines, booby-traps and improvised
explosive devices in the OPT without making any distinctions.
Landmine/ERW Problem
The OPT are contaminated with explosive remnants of war (ERW), in the form
of landmines dating from World War II, and mines, abandoned explosive ordnance
(AXO) and unexploded ordnance (UXO) from the conflict between Israel and the
Palestinians, including Israeli munitions such as unexploded missiles, grenades
and cartridges, as well as booby-traps.[7 ]A further hazard arises from Palestinian IEDs, including homemade mortars,
rockets, mines and roadside bombs. The placement of these devices varies
but would appear to be mostly in the vicinity of Israeli
settlements.[8 ]There are also ERW
left behind in populated areas from Israeli military incursions into urban areas
of the OPT, as well as from Israeli military
training.[9 ]Owing to air and
ground attacks in many areas, the landmine and ERW problem has expanded to
include virtually all of the
OPT.[10]
The PA National Security Forces do not have maps or records of minefields
and rely on information from the Israelis. The Jordanian-West Bank border and
the Jordan Valley area contain most of the declared
minefields.[11 ]Minefields left
from the time of the British mandate and the Six Day War in 1967 are, in
general, neither fenced nor
well-marked.[12 ]It is also
believed that landmines have been laid on the border between Egypt and Gaza, and
throughout the Gaza Strip.[13 ]
No detailed assessment of the mine and ERW contamination has been carried
out. In August 2000, Mines Advisory Group completed an assessment of mined
areas around the village of Husan in the West Bank, which gave rise to a 12-week
clearance plan that was put on hold due to the security
situation.[14]
Mine Action Program
Mine action is coordinated in Gaza and the West Bank through the National
Mine Action Committee (NMAC), which was chaired until early 2005 by the National
Plan of Action for Palestinian Children (NPA-PC), assisted by
UNICEF.[15 ]NMAC was established in
2002 as an informal structure by concerned agencies to improve the coordination
and impact of mine action. It includes representatives from the Ministry of
Education, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Police and Civil Defense from the
Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Health, UNICEF, UN Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Defense for Children International
and Palestinian Red Crescent Society.[16 ]
The committee seeks to set priorities for mine action, including explosive
ordnance disposal (EOD) operations and mine risk education (MRE) activities, and
coordinates day-to-day mine action activities in the OPT. The committee tries
to ensure that MRE messages used throughout the occupied territories are
consistent and coherent, undertakes impact surveys to assist in the appropriate
design and prioritization of activities, and monitors mine action
initiatives.[17 ]
UNICEF is the lead UN agency for MRE and has assisted NPA-PC, as the chair
of NMAC, to undertake mine action coordination. UNICEF also supported NMAC in
assessing needs and developing a national strategy since the committee’s
creation in 2002. In 2005, NMAC sought UNICEF support to investigate the
possibility of creating a formally recognized ERW/mine action coordination body,
and to develop a national mine action plan and strategy to improve impact and
coordination between Gaza and the West
Bank.[18]
As of mid-2005, MRE strategy, planning and activities were based on an
August 2002 UNICEF consultant’s report and
recommendations.[19 ]To determine
how best to provide future support, a member of the UNICEF Landmines and Small
Arms Team based in New York undertook a field visit to Israel and the OPT in
August 2005, and a further consultancy in support of the development of a
national strategy was planned for October
2005.[20]
Mine and ERW Clearance
The Israeli Defense Force clears mines and UXO on an emergency basis in
Israel and some parts of the OPT. Its countermine capabilities are considerable
but apparently not used for humanitarian mine clearance within Israel or the
territory that Israel controls. There is no mine clearance capability within
the PA, as the Israeli government does not allow this to be
established.[21 ]
NMAC believes that because of the security sensitivity on the ground it is
difficult for the PA to conduct surveys or clear minefields in the occupied
territories. These activities require permission from Israel, as minefields are
located in Zone C (all West Bank areas not under the control of the PA), which
is under the security control of
Israel.[22 ]
The Palestinian Police Bomb Squad Unit responds to reports of mines, UXO or
IEDs. The six teams―three in the Gaza Strip (North, Middle and South), and
three in the West Bank (Ramallah, Nablus and Bethlehem)―were called out
858 times in 2003 and 972 times in 2004. The Gaza Strip had by far the largest
number of call-outs, receiving 714 in 2003, and 788 in 2004. The nature of
call-outs varies and includes searching cars, examining suspicious objects,
post-incident investigations, area inspection tasks and EOD. During 2004, the
teams undertook 33 EOD operations, 20 of which were in Gaza. In July 2005, work
began to clear areas around the Israeli settlements being evacuated as part of
the disengagement plan, with support from European Union Coordinating Office for
Palestinian Police Support (EU
COPPS).[23 ]
The Bomb Squad Unit staff, 50 in Gaza and 60 in the West Bank, were trained
in the US, Turkey and Austria. In Gaza, the Bomb Squad is split in three
sub-units, based in the North, the Middle and the South respectively, limiting
the need to cross Israel Defence Force checkpoints and thereby speeding up
response times. Since the beginning of the Intifada, clearance and EOD
equipment has been destroyed and a number of staff have been
killed.[24 ]
In 2002, there were three bomb disposal equipped vehicles in Gaza, one in
each branch, but none in the West Bank where they had been destroyed. In 2004,
an assessment was carried out by an EU-financed police advisor, followed by an
assessment by an EOD specialist from the British Ministry of Defence on the
quality of EOD equipment, and the training and capacity of Palestinian police
EOD personnel. The report concluded that there was an urgent need to upgrade
EOD equipment. Following the report, the UK government approved the provision
of four Land Rovers equipped with modern EOD
equipment.[25 ]
Initially, the Israeli Authorities did not approve the EOD-equipped
vehicles, which were eventually delivered in May and June 2005, as part of an EU
operational assistance package.[26 ]Two fully equipped vehicles have been based in Gaza, and two in the West
Bank (one in Bethlehem and one in Nablus). Each EOD vehicle is equipped with a
computer, X-ray equipment, personal protective equipment and EOD tools. Three
British EOD experts undertook a two-day course in Jericho to familiarize
Palestinian EOD personnel with the new equipment, and recommended a full-scale
EOD training for Palestinian EOD trainers in new methods of handling explosive
devices. The course was planned for October/November
2005.[27]
Mine Risk Education
MRE in the occupied territories has been conducted through NMAC partner
organizations. Children are priority targets, as many children have become UXO
casualties and many items of ordnance remain in areas regularly accessed by
children.[28 ]This has become more
urgent with the planned withdrawal of settlers from the West Bank and Gaza, as
there are reports of mines and UXO around the
settlements.[29 ]
In 2004, UNICEF funded Defense for Children International, Palestine Section
(DCI/PS) to undertake a series of MRE workshops and capacity-building activities
with local NGOs, community groups and UNWRA. During the second half of 2004,
NMAC conducted two training sessions, one in the West Bank and the other in the
Gaza Strip, to train trainers in MRE; 42 trainers from a variety of local
community organizations were trained.[30 ]UNICEF has not funded DCI/PS for MRE activities in 2005. UNICEF provided
US$20,000 to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) for a three-month
campaign in the run-up to the disengagement process in
Gaza.[31 ]In Gaza during 2005,
UNICEF also established 15 safe-play areas for
children.[32]
PRCS, in coordination with NMAC, has established 60 mine action cells since
2002; five are in Gaza and 55 in the West Bank. The cells, which consist of
five or six volunteers/PRCS personnel, are located in areas deemed to require
mine action interventions; these are determined by recent fighting, casualty
figures or by the presence of known dangerous areas. The cells are integrated
into the wider PRCS structure in the area, and assess the extent and nature of
the UXO problem and develop coordinated responses, including collection of
information, education, UXO call-out procedures and initiatives aimed at
reducing risk.[33 ]
In 2005 through March, 250 personnel had been trained and were active in MRE
and mine action initiatives, of whom 65 (40 in the West Bank and 25 in Gaza) are
considered to be MRE trainers. With support from the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC), PRCS assists and supports the cells through annual
workshops and refresher training events, when security and funding permit. A
training-of-trainers workshop for PRCS personnel was held in December 2004 and
January 2005, with ICRC
support.[34]
In 2005, PRCS concentrated on preparing for the disengagement process from
Gaza. During 2004, PRCS personnel provided direct MRE messages to approximately
100,000 people, predominantly children. Messages were delivered through a
variety of approaches, including around 600 summer camps for children held in
2004.[35]
During 2005, a series of activities were initiated in support of the
disengagement process. Through June, PRCS estimated that 50,000 people had
received direct MRE messages, while in addition, children and adults were the
focus of many TV and radio slots, along with discussion programs and phone-in
shows, informing them of the possible dangers of entering newly evacuated
settlement areas. The PRCS program includes messages promoting recognition, and
what to do and who to contact if a suspected item is
encountered.[36 ]
School and non school-based activities have been developed, with
competitions for MRE posters and the creation of an animated film on MRE by
children (to be aired on national TV). PRCS also undertakes MRE in safe-play
areas, and holds community briefings for those living near
settlements.[37 ]While MRE material
stresses aspects such as awareness and mine/UXO identification, there is now a
need to stress further risk reduction measures, and messages that inform those
at risk about what should be done to minimize
exposure.[38]
During 2005, following a request from UNICEF, the Palestinian Police
undertook an MRE exercise for children playing in or near UNICEF safe-play
areas, particularly in Gaza, warning of the dangers of UXO and who to call if
they discovered suspected devices. Police also conducted MRE through ad hoc
workshops, upon request by UNICEF or PRCS, in UNWRA schools, summer camps and
Islamic organization summer
camps.[39]
The Civil Defense is an active member of NMAC; based in Gaza, it has over
600 staff and volunteers. Civil Defense staff conduct MRE activities in
schools.[40 ]
In 2004, Canada gave the PA C$173,057 (US$132,947) through UNICEF for MRE
(TV spots, videos, billboards, banners, information booklets and media
campaign).[41]
Landmine/UXO Casualties
In 2004, at least 26 new mine/UXO casualties were recorded by DCI/PS,
including two people killed and 24 injured; all were children. Activities at
the time of the incidents include playing, grazing animals, helping their
families in agricultural work, or collecting (scrap)
metal.[42 ]Casualties include a
girl killed and her brother injured when a mine exploded in the Al-Maghazi
refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on 5
June.[43 ]On 6 June, another boy
was injured in a mine incident.[44 ]In 2003, 23 mine/UXO casualties (three people killed and 20 injured) were
recorded.[45]
On 5 August 2004, one Palestinian was killed, and four other Palestinians
and Moroccans were injured, while illegally crossing a minefield on the
Greek-Turkish border.[46]
Casualties continued to be recorded in 2005 with DCI/PS reporting four
people killed and 16 injured to August; all were civilians and 18 were
children.[47 ]Seven casualties were
recorded in the Gaza Strip; five were in Bethlehem governorate, two in Jericho,
two in Jenin, two in Ramallah, one in Nablus and one in Hebron
governorate.[48 ]In one incident in
March in the southern border town of Rafah, four children were seriously injured
when UXO exploded in a confined residential
area.[49 ]
The total number of mine/UXO casualties in the OPT is not known. According
to DCI/PS, more than 2,500 people were killed or injured by mines and UXO
between 1967 and 1998. Between May 2000 and the end of 2003, Landmine Monitor
reported at least 111 mine/UXO casualties (28 people killed and 83 injured),
including at least 62 children.[50 ]UNICEF reports 26 children killed and 120 injured by UXO between September
2000 and the end of May
2005.[51 ]
Survivor Assistance and Disability Policy and Practice
Palestinian residents of the OPT are not eligible for medical insurance
coverage under the Israeli National Insurance Services (Hamosad Lebituah Leumi).
Instead, Palestinian healthcare facilities provide medical care to Palestinian
mine and UXO casualties. The most prominent health service providers in the OPT
are the Ministry of Health, UNRWA and
NGOs.[52 ]
The Ministry of Health is responsible for assisting mine and UXO casualties,
who are usually transferred to the closest government hospitals. In the case of
very serious injuries, if no hospitals in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip have
the capacity to deal with the injuries, the casualty is transferred to Jordan or
Egypt, with the Ministry of Health covering the
costs.[53]
UNRWA provides an extensive range of services, including a community-based
rehabilitation program for refugees with disabilities that includes 37 local
centers, and micro-credit schemes. The centers provide basic rehabilitation,
referrals, and assist people with disabilities to access vocational training and
job opportunities. Between 1 July 2003 and 30 June 2004, 24,903 disabled
persons and their families benefited from the program; 967 prosthetic devices
were fitted, 132 houses were modified, and 628 disabled children were integrated
into the regular school
system.[54 ]
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has a network of ambulances, health
clinics and 13 rehabilitation centers, including two new physiotherapy centers
that opened in Hebron in March 2005, and a mobile physiotherapy unit in Nablus.
The rehabilitation centers also provide psychosocial
support.[55 ]
In 2004, ICRC continued to support the Palestinian Ministry of Health with
emergency medical supplies and transportation for emergency cases from the West
Bank to Jordan. ICRC also held four war surgery seminars in Ramallah, Nablus,
Khan Younis and Gaza City.[56]
Other organizations providing physical rehabilitation, psychosocial support
and vocational training for casualties of the Intifada and mine/UXO survivors
include the Young Men’s Christian Association, Abu Rayya Rehabilitation
Center, Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation, National Central Committee of
Rehabilitation, and Jerusalem Princess Basma Center for Disabled
Children.[57]
The 1999 Law Number 4, People with Disability Rights Law, applies to all
persons with disabilities, including mine/UXO survivors. The law is gradually
being implemented.[58 ]The General
Union for Disabled Palestinians, the lead agency for disability issues, is
advocating for full implementation of the law. The Ministry of Social Affairs
is responsible for issues relating to people with disabilities, in consultation
with other relevant ministries.
[1 ]In April 2000, an official
stated that the PA supported and desired to join the Mine Ban Treaty. Letter
from the office of the Palestinian Minister of Planning and International
Cooperation, Gaza, 27 April 2000.
[2 ]In 1999, Col. Nizar Ammar, Head
of Planning and Studies, General Security, stated that “landmines are a
secondary issue, which will be discussed in final status as a part of the
security arrangements.... The matter is very complicated and may lead to
hindering the current negotiations in achieving the Palestinian dream of an
independent state.” Hadeel Wahdan, “Landmines, the Hidden
Terror,” Palestine Report, 22 September 1999.
[3 ]See Landmine Monitor Report
2004, p. 1224; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp. 848-849.
[4 ]On 11 May 2004, news agencies
reported that Palestinian militants were responsible for a landmine that
destroyed an armored vehicle in Gaza and killed six Israeli soldiers. Most
reports attributed the explosion to a landmine, but one article stated that the
tank was destroyed by a roadside bomb. Five more Israelis were killed on 12 May
2004, in an explosion for which the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad
claimed responsibility, but most reports attributed the explosion to a homemade
rocket and not a landmine. See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1224.
[5 ]“Israeli soldier killed,
four wounded in Gaza Strip explosion,” Associated Press (Gaza
City), 7 December 2004.
[6]“Israelis reopen stalled
talks with Palestinians,” Courier-Mail/Reuters (Jerusalem), 21
January 2005.
[7 ]Email from Kaj Stendorf, Police
Advisor, European Union Coordinating Office for Palestinian Police Support (EU
COPPS), 30 August 2005.
[8 ]Email from Kaj Stendorf, EU
COPPS, 30 August 2005.
[9 ]Nathalie Prevost,
“Final Report/ Mission Report OPT,” UNICEF, August 2002, p. 7.
[10]Interview with Ali Mograbi,
Palestinian Police, Ramallah, 27 March 2003.
[11 ]Laila El-Haddad,
“Landmines: Palestine’s hidden danger,” Al Jazeera, 10
January 2004.
[12 ]Nathalie Prevost,
“Final Report/ Mission Report OPT,” UNICEF, August 2002, p. 7.
[13 ]See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 1125.
[14]See Landmine Monitor
Report 2001, p. 1056, and Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 850.
[15 ]Telephone interview with
Pauline O’Dea, Chief, Child Protection, UNICEF OPT, 19 August 2005. It is
not clear who is currently chairing NMAC, following NPA-PC’s withdrawal.
[16 ]Telephone interview with
Pauline O’Dea, UNICEF OPT, 19 August 2005.
[17 ]Telephone interview with
Julie Myers, Project Officer, Landmines and Small Arms, UNICEF, New York, 16
August 2005.
[18]Telephone interview with
Pauline O’Dea, UNICEF OPT, 19 August 2005.
[19 ]Telephone interview with
Julie Myers, UNICEF, New York, 16 August 2005.
[20]Telephone interview with
Pauline O’Dea, UNICEF OPT, 19 August 2005.
[21 ]Nathalie Prevost,
“Final Report/Mission Report OPT,” UNICEF, August 2002, p. 9.
[22 ]NMAC meeting, 14 August
2003. Under the Oslo Agreement, the occupied West Bank is divided into three
zones: Zone A would come under exclusive Palestinian control; Zone B under
Israeli military occupation in participation with the Palestinian Authority;
Zone C under total Israeli occupation.
[23 ]Email from Kaj Stendorf, EU
COPPS, 30 August 2005.
[24 ]Email from Kaj Stendorf, EU
COPPS, 30 August 2005; Nathalie Prevost, “Unexploded Ordnance and Mine
Action in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” UNICEF, August 2002, p.
8.
[25 ]Email from Kaj Stendorf, EU
COPPS, 30 August 2005; European Union, “EU Council Secretariat Factsheet:
EU Assistance to the Palestinian Civil Police,” pal/02 (update 2), 8 July
2005.
[26 ]European Union, “EU
Council Secretariat Factsheet: EU Assistance to the Palestinian Civil
Police,” pal/02 (update 2), 8 July 2005.
[27]Email from Kaj Stendorf, EU
COPPS, 30 August 2005.
[28 ]Telephone interview with
Khaldoun Oweis, Head of Youth and Volunteer Section, PRCS, 24 August 2005.
[29 ]Telephone interview with
Pauline O’Dea, UNICEF OPT, 19 August 2005.
[30 ]Information provided to
Landmine Monitor by DCI/PS, 18 July 2005.
[31 ]Telephone interview with
Khaldoun Oweis, PRCS, 24 August 2005.
[32]Telephone interview with
Pauline O’Dea, UNICEF OPT, 19 August 2005.
[33 ]Telephone interview with
Khaldoun Oweis, PRCS, 24 August 2005.
[34]Telephone interview with
Khaldoun Oweis, PRCS, 24 August 2005.
[35]Telephone interview with
Khaldoun Oweis, PRCS, 24 August 2005.
[36 ]Telephone interview with
Khaldoun Oweis, PRCS, 24 August 2005.
[37 ]Telephone interview with
Khaldoun Oweis, PRCS, 24 August 2005.
[38]Concerns expressed in
confidence to Landmine Monitor during research for the 2005 report.
[39]Telephone interview with
Pauline O’Dea, UNICEF OPT, 19 August 2005.
[40 ]Nathalie Prevost,
“Final Report/Mission Report OPT,” UNICEF, August 2002, p. 10;
telephone interview with Khaldoun Oweis, PRCS, 24 August 2005.
[41]Mine Action Investments
database; emails from Elvan Isikozlu, Mine Action Team, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Canada, in June through August 2005. Average exchange rate for 2004:
US$1 = C$1.3017. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates
(Annual),” 3 January 2005.
[42 ]Emails to Landmine Monitor
(HI) from Ayed Abu Eqtaish, DCI/PS, Jerusalem, 20 and 27 August 2005.
[43 ]“Palestinian girl
killed in mine blast in central Gaza,” Xinhua (Gaza), 5 June
2004.
[44 ]“Palestinian urges
[sic] world to save 14-year-old prisoner,” Xinhua (Gaza), 6 June
2004.
[45]For more information, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1226.
[46]“Palestinian killed in
landmine blast on Greece-Turkey border,” Agence France-Presse
(Komotini), 5 August 2004.
[47 ]DCI documentation
department, analysis of data from 1 January to 31 December 2004, as accessed on
20 August 2005, provided in email to Landmine Monitor (HI) from Ayed Abu
Eqtaish, DCI/PS, Jerusalem, 20 August 2005.
[48 ]Email to Landmine Monitor
(HI) from Ayed Abu Eqtaish, DCI/PS, Jerusalem, 20 August 2005.
[49 ]UNICEF, “Humanitarian
Action Occupied Palestinian Territory Donor Update,” 12 April 2005, p. 2.
[50 ]For more information, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1226.
[51 ]UNICEF, “Unexploded
ordnance in Gaza a real threat to kids,” 11 August 2005.
[52 ]For more information, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 851.
[53]Email to Landmine Monitor
(HI) from Ayed Abu Eqtaish, DC/PSI, Jerusalem, 20 August 2005.
[54 ]“Report of the
Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees in the Near East, 1 July 2003-30 June 2004,” submitted on 19
October 2004, General Assembly, Official Records, Fifty-ninth Session Supplement
No. 13 (A/59/13); see also www.un.org/unrwa.
[55 ]For more information on the
Palestinian Red Crescent Society, see www.palestinercs.org.
[56]ICRC, “Annual Report
2004,” Geneva, June 2005, p. 287.
[57]Email to Landmine Monitor
(HI) from Ayed Abu Eqtaish, DCI/PS, Jerusalem, 20 August 2005; see also www.fejh.org/princess_basma.htm.
[58 ]Email to Landmine Monitor
(HI) from Ayed Abu Eqtaish, DCI/PS, Jerusalem, 20 August 2005; for more
information, see Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 851.
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