A/HRC/12/48 (ADVANCE 2)
page 16
forces or acquiesced by them, including the removal of residential status from Palestinians,
which could eventually lead to a situation of virtual deportation and entail additional
violations of other rights.
(b)
Detention of Palestinians by Israel
1942. The Mission analysed information it received on the detention of Palestinians in
Israeli prisons during or in the context of the military operations of December 2008–
January 2009 and found those practices generally inconsistent with human rights and
international humanitarian law. The military court system to which Palestinians from the
Occupied Palestinian Territory are subjected deprives them of due process guarantees in
keeping with international law.
1943. The Mission finds that the detention of members of the Palestinian Legislative
Council by Israel violates the right not to be arbitrarily detained, as protected by article 9
of ICCPR. Insofar as it is based on political affiliation and prevents those members from
participating in the conduct of public affairs, it is also in violation of its articles 25
recognizing the right to take part in public affairs and 26, which provides for the right to
equal protection under the law. Insofar as their detention is unrelated to their individual
behaviour, it constitutes collective punishment, prohibited by article 33 of the Fourth
Geneva Convention. Information on the detention of large numbers of children and their
treatment by Israeli security forces point to violations of their rights under ICCPR and the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
(c)
Violations of the right to free movement and access
1944. The Mission finds that the extensive restrictions imposed by Israel on the movement
and access of Palestinians in the West Bank are disproportionate to any legitimate
objective served and in violation of article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and article
12 of ICCPR, guaranteeing freedom of movement.
1945. Where checkpoints become a site of humiliation of the protected population by
military or civilian operators, this may entail a violation of the customary law rule reflected
in article 75 (2) (b) of Additional Protocol I.
1946. The continued construction of settlements in occupied territory constitutes a
violation of article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The extensive destruction and
appropriation of property, including land confiscation and house demolitions in the West
Bank, including East Jerusalem, not justified by military necessity and carried out
unlawfully and wantonly, amounts to a grave breach under article 147 of the Fourth
Geneva Convention.
1947. Insofar as movement and access restrictions, the settlements and their
infrastructure, demographic policies vis-à-vis Jerusalem and “Area C” of the West Bank,
as well as the separation of Gaza from the West Bank, prevent a viable, contiguous and
sovereign Palestinian State from arising, they are in violation of the jus cogens right to selfdetermination.
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