A/HRC/13/54 I. Introduction 1. This is the second periodic report submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution S-9/1, in which the Council requested the High Commissioner to monitor, document and report on the violations of human rights of the Palestinian people. The report covers the period from 1 May 2009 to 3 February 2010. 2. The present report also contains information regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the first periodic report of the High Commissioner (A/HRC/12/37) and the situation in East Jerusalem, as requested by the Human Rights Council in resolution S12/1. II. Follow-up to the first periodic report 3. During the reporting period the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) remained of serious concern. Recommendations made previously by the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner remain valid and need to be implemented as a matter of urgency. 4. Peace negotiations and intra-Palestinian reconciliation remained at a standstill. The occupation continued to be the main cause of widespread violations of Palestinians’ civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. While arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment were perpetrated by all parties, Israeli settlements continued to expand in the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem, as did home demolitions and forced evictions of Palestinians by Israeli authorities.1 5. Demonstrations against the wall continued, especially in the villages of Ni’lin and Bil’in. According to Yesh Din, an Israeli non-governmental organization, over the past six months, 31 residents of Bil’in have been arrested by Israeli authorities, including 10 children. It is reported that 12 remain in custody.2 Demonstrators are frequently responded to with excessive force by Israeli security forces (ISF).3 This includes the use of rubbercoated steel bullets and live ammunitions. During the reporting period, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the OPT (OHCHR-OPT) recorded the death of one demonstrator due to excessive force by ISF.4 6. The fragmentation of the West Bank continued, as did the severing of the West Bank hinterland from East Jerusalem through a system of checkpoints and permits. Severe restrictions on the freedom of movement in the West Bank — as well as in Gaza through the blockade — persisted throughout the reporting period. While there were no further 1 2 3 4 GE.10-12152 A/HRC/12/37, paras. 38, 42–45 and 50–56. A report recently published by the Public Committee against Torture in Israel notes that impunity for torture continues. See “Accountability denied: the absence of investigation and punishment of torture in Israel” (December 2009). Available from www.stoptorture.org.il/files/Accountability_Denied_Eng.pdf. Information obtained by the OHCHR-OPT directly from Yesh Din during a 15 December 2009 meeting in Tel Aviv. The term Israeli security forces (ISF) is used in the present report when it is unclear which agency or body (police, security or military) is involved. On 5 June 2009, Yousef Akil Srour, a Palestinian, was shot in the chest with 0.22 calibre live ammunition and pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. On the same day, four other demonstrators were injured by 0.22 calibre live ammunition. See B’Tselem (The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories), www.btselem.org/English/Firearms/20090618 _Firing_live_ammunition_on_demonstrators.asp. 3