A/HRC/44/60 22. A number of arrests by Palestinian Security Forces continued to be reported in the West Bank. Many of those arrested were accused of using social media platforms to criticize the Palestinian authority or expressing opposing political views. 32 Limitations on freedom of expression remain a concern for journalists. A number of allegations of ill-treatment of those arrested also continue to be received. H. The Impact of the COVID 19 Pandemic 23 As of 8 July, the total reported cases of COVID-19 in the occupied Palestinian Territories were 5,567 and 72 in Gaza33 while they stood at 33,556 cases in Israel with a reported average of 3690 cases per day. As of the writing of this report the rate of increase in cases remains alarming, despite the implementation of considerable measures by all duty bearers to contain the pandemic. Accordingly, vulnerable groups, particularly Palestinian prisoners, including children, older persons and those with chronic conditions, remain very exposed to infection with the virus. Israel, as the occupying power, remains primarily responsible for ensuring the right to health of Palestinians and ensuring that all preventive measures are utilized to combat the spread of the pandemic. 34 In this context, Israeli authorities have continued to impede efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19 in occupied East Jerusalem. In one reported incident in April, Israeli Security Forces raided a clinic in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan and arrested a number of doctors under the pretext that it was run by the Palestinian Authority. 35 The clinic provided testing kits to Palestinian inhabitants due to the lack of coverage and treatment in the area. Despite measures imposed to combat the spread of the virus including restrictions on movement, levels of violence particularly settler violence and demolition of Palestinian homes have increased in the last few months. Besides exposing Palestinians to further violence, settler attacks increased the risk of their exposure and infection with COVID-19. III. Collective Punishment and the Israeli Occupation 24. Collective punishment is an inflamed scar that runs across the entire 53-year-old Israeli occupation of Palestine. Over these years, two million Palestinians in Gaza have endured a comprehensive air, sea and land blockade since 2007, several thousand Palestinian homes have been punitively demolished, extended curfews have paralyzed entire towns and regions, the bodies of dead Palestinians have been withheld from their families, and critical civilian supplies – including food, water and utilities – have been denied at various times. Notwithstanding numerous resolutions, reports and reminders critical of its use, Israel continues to rely upon collective punishment as a prominent instrument in its coercive toolbox of population control. 25. A fundamental tenet of any legal system – domestic and international – which respects the rule of law is the principle that the innocent cannot be punished for the crimes of others. A corollary of this tenet is that the collective punishment of communities or groups of peoples for offences committed by individuals is absolutely prohibited under modern law. Individual responsibility is the cornerstone of any rights-based legal order, as explained by Hugo Grotius, the 17th century Dutch legal philosopher: “No one who is innocent of wrong may be punished for the wrong done by another.”36 26. Throughout history and in contemporary times, belligerent armies, colonial authorities and occupying powers have commonly employed a spectrum of collective punishment 32 33 34 35 36 https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/05/palestine-end-arbitrary-detention-of-critics-in-westbank-and-gaza/. https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiODJlYWM1YTEtNDAxZS00 OTFlLThkZjktNDA1ODY2OGQ3NGJkIiwidCI6ImY2MTBjMGI3LWJkMjQtNGIzOS04MTBiLT NkYzI4MGFmYjU5MCIsImMiOjh9. https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25728&LangID=E. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200416-israel-closes-coronavirus-testing-centre-in-occupiedeast-jerusalem/. S. Neff (ed.), Hugo Grotius on the Law of War and Peace: Student Edition (Cambridge University Press, 2012) at 298. 7