A/HRC/19/20 I. Introduction 1. The present report is the fourth periodic report on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory submitted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. It covers the period from 1 December 2010 to 15 November 2011. 2. The information in the present report is based primarily on human rights monitoring carried out by the field presence of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OHCHR-OPT). Monitoring activities are implemented within the framework of General Assembly resolution 48/141 of 1994 and in consideration of Human Rights Council resolutions S-9/1 and S-12/1 of 2009, in which the High Commissioner was requested to monitor, document and report on human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in Gaza and East Jerusalem, and report periodically to the Human Rights Council. 3. In the present report, the High Commissioner highlights issues of concern with regard to each of the three main duty-bearers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, namely the Government of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the de facto authorities in Gaza. The issues addressed in the report are far from exhaustive of all human rights concerns in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. While issues of concern highlighted in previous reports of the High Commissioner remain valid, the present report focuses on a number of areas requiring priority attention by duty-bearers and which OHCHR-OPT intends to focus its work on in the coming months. 4. The report is organized in four main sections. Following this introductory section, section II makes a brief reference to the High Commissioner‟s first periodic report on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (A/HRC/12/37), which provided an analysis of the applicable legal framework in the Occupied Palestinian Territory that remains valid. Section III addresses a number of human rights concerns and is organized into three subsections according to duty-bearer. That section also suggests steps that could be taken by the duty-bearers in fulfilling their obligations under international law. Section IV presents some conclusions and provides a number of recommendations for each duty-bearer. II. Legal framework 5. International human rights law and international humanitarian law are applicable in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The High Commissioner‟s first periodic report on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory contains a detailed analysis of the legal framework applicable and the basis for the obligations of the different duty-bearers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, namely the State of Israel as the Occupying Power, the Palestinian Authority and the de facto authorities in Gaza (A/HRC/12/37, paras. 5-9). This analysis remains valid. 3