Blog 8

Mechanics of the Occupation

Since the beginning of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip following the 1967 war (The Six Day War), some 650,000 Palestinians have been detained by Israel. This represents one in five (20%) of the entire population, or 40% of the male population.

As at July 2006 some 9,493 Palestinian prisoners were being held in Israeli prisons. This is in contravention of Article 47 of the Fourth Geneva Convention which states that:

“Protected persons accused of offences shall be detained in the occupied country, and if convicted shall serve their sentences therein.”

With the strict system of permits, one practical result of this contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention is that many Palestinian prisoners held in Israel never receive family visits.

There are currently 120 Palestinian female prisoners, 19 of whom are mothers, 2 of whom gave birth in prison.

Children

There are currently 349 Palestinian children (under 18) being detained, of whom 48 are under 16 years of age. Under Israeli military regulations a child over 16 is considered to be an adult. This contravenes Article 1 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (“CRC”) which defines a child as a person under the age of 18 years. Israel ratified the CRC in November 1991.

In practice, children as young as 12 may be charged and sentenced in military courts. Children between the ages of 12 and 14 can be sentenced for up to six months, for example, for throwing a stone. After the age of 14 Palestinian children are sentenced as adults if the offence carries a maximum penalty that exceeds five years, such as throwing a stone.

Military orders

Much of Palestinian life is governed by military order. The Israeli military have issued 1500 military orders for the West Bank and 1400 for the Gaza Strip since 1967. Palestinians generally become aware of a new military order only once the military start enforcing the order.

Here are some examples of military orders:

Order 101

Prohibits:
(i) Conducting a protest march or political meeting with 10 people or more without permission from the Israeli military commander.
(ii) Raising a flag or other symbol.
(iii) Distributing or publishing a political article or picture with political connotations.
(iv) Attempting to influence public opinion in a way detrimental to public order or security.

Max. penalty – 10 years
(Applies to all those 14 years of age or older)

Order 898

An Israeli settler may detain any Palestinian, including children whom they deem to be acting suspiciously.

Stone throwing

Max. penalty – 20 years

Custody

Under Israeli military regulations a Palestinian can be detained for up to eight days without being informed of the reason for his or her arrest and without being taken before a judge. This period is sometimes extended to 18 days. During the eight day period the detainee is interrogated, charged with an offence, given an administrative detention order, or released.

A Palestinian detainee can be interrogated for up to 180 days. During this period, the detainee can be denied access to a lawyer for up to 60 days.

Military trial

Those accused of breaking military orders are tried before a military tribunal located on military bases or settlements in the Occupied Territories. The tribunals are presided over by three judges appointed by the military. Two of the judges have no legal training and the entire panel consists of either soldiers and/or settlers.

98% of proceedings against Palestinians in military tribunals end in conviction.

I read an anecdotal story the other day of the trial of a Palestinian that ended in an acquittal. The court translator, who had been working in the system for three years, did not know the Arabic word for "acquittal".

Administrative detention

Administrative detention orders are issued based on secret evidence presented to a military tribunal, by the military. Neither the detainee nor his or her lawyer are permitted to see the secret evidence.

There are approximately 765 Palestinians being held under administrative detention orders. They are held without charge or trial for up to six months. This six month period can be extended for another six month period, again and again, indefinitely. One of the longest serving Palestinian administrative detainees was held for eight years without charge or trial.

Between March and October 2002 (at the height of the current Intifada) the Israeli military detained 15,000 Palestinians in mass arrest campaigns, rounding up males in cities and villages between the ages of 15 and 45. By October 2002, 1,050 Palestinians were being detained pursuant to administrative detention orders.

The detainee and his family usually do not know whether the administrative detention order will be extended until a few hours before the expiry of the previous order. I was told the following anecdotal account the other day of a young Palestinian man who was released from administrative detention after six months. As he was walking into his village and in sight of the family home, he was taken back into custody by the Israeli military. He was close enough to smell the meal his mother had cooked to welcome him home. (See http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engMDE150031997?OpenDocument&of=COUNTRIES%5CISRAEL%5COCCUPIED+TERRITORIES and http://web.amnesty.org/pages/isr-action-detention)

Much of the cost of detention is paid for by the detainee's own family - like I said in a previous blog, you would require a seriously good sense of humour to live here.

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