Blog 11

Quietish in Ramallah

Apart from a couple of shops being burnt to the ground it has been a fairly quiet few days in Ramallah.(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6241185.stm)

Went to a legal conference in Tel Aviv yesterday and heard some interesting speakers, including a Palestinian who spent 27 years in jail for being a member of a the PFLP (the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - a local political party). In the absence of anything interesting to report, here are some of the main UN Security Council Resolutions that have been passed (and ignored) since 1967 in regards to the Occupied Territories:

Security Council Resolutions

1967 - Res. 242

Calls for a withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Occupied Territories.

1968 - Res. 252

Considers that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel which tend to alter the legal status of Jerusalem are invalid.

1969 - Res. 267

Deplores the failure of Israel to show any regard for resolutions of the General Assembly or the Security Council.

1971 - Res. 298

Reaffirms resolutions 252 (1968) and 267 (1969).

1973 - Res. 338

Calls for a ceasefire in the current hostilities.

1979 - Res. 446

Determines that the establishment of settlements by Israel in the Occupied Territories have no legal validity and constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a just and lasting peace. Calls upon Israel, as the Occupying Power, to abide scrupulously by the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilians Persons in Time of War (12 August 1949).

1979 - Res. 452

Calls upon Israel to cease, on an urgent basis, the establishment, construction and planning of settlements in the Occupied Territories and Jerusalem.

1980 - Res. 465

Strongly deplores Israel’s construction of settlements in the Occupied Territories and Jerusalem and calls for the dismantling of existing settlements. Further calls on member States not to provide Israel with any assistance to be used specifically in connection with settlements in the Occupied Territories.

1980 - Res. 476

Reaffirms the overriding necessity to end the Israeli occupation of the Occupied Territories and Jerusalem. Strongly deplores Israel’s refusal to comply with Security Council and General Assembly Resolutions. Reiterates that all measures to alter the geographic, demographic and legal status of Jerusalem are null and void. In the event of non-compliance by Israel with the present resolution reaffirms a determination to find practical means within the terms of the UN Charter to effect compliance.

1994 - Res. 904

Strongly condemns the massacre of Palestinian civilians at Hebron in which 50 were killed and several hundred injured. Calls upon Israel, the Occupying Power, to implement measures to prevent illegal acts of violence by Israeli settlers.

1996 - Res. 1073

Expressing deep concern about the high number of Palestinian deaths and injuries in Jerusalem, Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem and the Gaza Strip. Calls on Israel to ensure the safety and protection of Palestinian civilians.

2002 - Res. 1397

Recalls all previous resolutions and in particular resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). Demands immediate cessation of all acts of violence, including all acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction.

2003 - Res. 1515

Reaffirms the vision of a two State solution. Endorses the Quartet Performance-based Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the conflict.

(The full text and list of Security Council Resolutions can be found at - http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/unsc_resolutions.html)

There are now approximately 430,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. According to a report prepared by the Directory General of the International Labour Organisation in 2004, the settler population in the West Bank is increasing at a rate of 5.3% per annum.