A/HRC/15/21 24. In assessing the evidence and information available to it, the Mission paid particular attention to the content of the evidence and demeanour of the persons appearing before it in deciding whether, and if so, what part of the information provided should be accepted. More weight of necessity was accorded to such evidence if believed than to information from other sources. In addition, with respect to information in the nature of hearsay evidence, due regard was paid, giving to it such weight as the circumstances merited. Matters were decided on the basis of the preponderance and quality of the evidence so as to satisfy all the members of the Mission in order that they felt sure of their conclusions. 25. In the preparation of the report, the Mission first of all reviewed the factual contextual background to the incident and came to its conclusions on the facts, which are set out in this report. The Mission expressed its opinion on the relevant principles of international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law on the basis of the facts it found. A segmented approach is taken to the analysis. II. Background A. Context 1. The blockade of the Gaza Strip Pre-existing restrictions of maritime access to the Gaza Strip 26. Israel implemented a complete military occupation of the Gaza Strip from June 1967 until its first disengagement from parts of the Gaza Strip starting from May 1994 as part of the peace process. A series of peace agreements between 1993 and 1995 concluded between the State of Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization with international backing were intended, within a transitional period of five years, to regulate Israel’s disengagement from the West Bank and Gaza Strip leading up to the conclusion of a permanent status agreement which would establish an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. These agreements, often collectively referred to as the Oslo Accords, provided the basis for, amongst other matters, the establishment of the Palestinian Authority and Council and put in place interim arrangements for security cooperation between the Israeli and Palestinian police, including the policing of borders, maritime waters and airspace. 27. Under the Oslo Accords, it was agreed that the territorial waters off Gaza would be included in the territorial jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority (PA).8 However, the external security of the Gaza Strip was specifically excluded from the PA’s functional jurisdiction;9 responsibility for external security was retained by Israel until the final status agreement.10 Article VIII of the Gaza-Jericho Agreement specifically states that “Israel shall continue to carry the responsibility … for defense against external threats from the sea and from the air … and will have all the powers to take the steps necessary to meet this responsibility.” The agreed security arrangements and coordination mechanisms establish three maritime activity zones: a central zone extending twenty nautical miles out to sea, bounded by two one-nautical mile-wide strips of water at the Egyptian end and Israeli end of the Gaza Strip, both of which are closed military areas under Israeli control. The central zone, under joint Palestinian-Israeli control, was designated as open for fishing up to the twenty nautical miles limit and for recreational boats up to three nautical miles. Foreign 8 9 10 6 Article 5, para. 1(a), Gaza-Jericho Agreement. Article 5, para. 1(b), Gaza-Jericho Agreement. Article 5, para. 3, Gaza-Jericho Agreement.