A/HRC/43/70 in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan.5 Concerns also remained over the detention practices of Israel, particularly against children, human rights defenders and journalists. Legal framework 7. International human rights law and international humanitarian law are applicable in the entirety of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, namely Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. A detailed analysis of the relevant legal obligations is contained in a report of the Secretary-General on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and remained applicable for the duration of the reporting period.6 II. Violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory by all duty bearers A. Israel 1. Obligations of the occupying Power under international humanitarian law 8. The Israeli blockade and punitive closures continued to severely restrict the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza. Other Israeli practices that may amount to collective punishment, including punitive demolitions, closures and withholding of bodies, continued at a high rate. Collective punishment, in addition to being explicitly prohibited by international humanitarian law, violates a range of human rights. 9. On 9 September 2019, the High Court of Justice of Israel reversed its earlier decision of December 2017 and ruled that the Israeli authorities could withhold the bodies of Palestinians killed by the Israeli security forces as a tool for bargaining.7 By the end of the reporting period, Israel held the bodies of 303 Palestinians, 253 of whom had been killed during hostilities and buried in graves marked only by numbers. This figure includes a further 20 bodies of Palestinians who were killed and withheld during the reporting period.8 Withholding bodies punishes the families of the deceased and thus could amount to collective punishment and violate the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment and the obligations of Israel, as an occupying Power, pursuant to article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.9 10. In the West Bank, the Israeli security forces carried out eight punitive demolitions, all in Areas A and B, under Palestinian civilian control.10 In one case, on 15 December 2018, the Israeli security forces demolished a four-storey building in Al Ama’ari refugee camp that was home to three families, including the family of a man indicted for killing an Israeli soldier. The High Court of Justice of Israel rejected a petition against the demolition order, stating that demolitions could be authorized even if the other residents did not help to perpetrate or were not aware of the intention to commit the attack.11 11. Also of concern was the continued closure of villages by the Israeli security forces following alleged stone-throwing in surrounding areas.12 In one such case, following the alleged throwing of stones at settlers’ vehicles outside Azzun, Qalqilya Governorate, the 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 A/HRC/43/67. A/HRC/34/38, paras. 3–12. High Court of Justice, The IDF Commander in the West Bank v. Alian (case No. 10190/17). Information provided by the Jerusalem Centre for Legal Aid and Human Rights Center. See also A/71/364, para. 25. Information provided by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance of the Secretariat. High Court of Justice, Naji v. the Military commander of the West Bank (case No. 6905/18). A/HRC/40/39, para. 11. 3