[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: If anyone thought that it was possible to work
out some kind of arrangement that relied on the Arabs to act in a
pluralistic manner in anything relating to the Temple Mount then take a look
at what the leading secular Palestinian human rights NGO has to say about an
incident in which some non-Moslems being escorted on a visit to the Temple
Mount were pelted with rocks by Moslems.]
PCHR
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights LTD (non profit)
Press Release
Ref: 104/2009
Date: 28 September 2009
Time: 10:00 GMT
PCHR Condemns Israel's Granting of Permission for Settlers to Enter al-Aqsa
Mosque and Use of Excessive Force against Palestinian Civilians
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the Israeli
government's decision to allow Jewish settler groups to enter the yards of
the al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem. PCHR further condemns the
use of excessive force by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) against
Palestinian civilians who attempted to prevent the provocative entry of
settlers into the Mosque. PCHR reminds of similar incidents that took place
9 years ago when the former Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, entered
the yards of the al-Aqsa Mosque. This incident sparked the outbreak of the
al-Aqsa Mosque, in which thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed
or wounded. PCHR calls upon the international community to immediately
intervene and pressurize Israeli occupation authorities to stop all
settlement activities in occupied Jerusalem.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 07:30 on
Sunday, 27 September 2009, at least 40 Israeli settlers, escorted by Israeli
Police and Border Guards, attempted to break into the yards of al-Aqsa
Mosque through the al-Maghariba Gate. A number of Palestinian civilians who
were present in the mosque were able to prevent the settlers from entering.
Soon after, the Israeli police and border guards violently broke into the
yards of the Mosque firing rubber-coated metal bullets, tear gas canisters
and sound bombs at Palestinian civilians. They also violently beat a number
of civilians. As a result, 3 Palestinian civilians were wounded by
rubber-coated metal bullets:
1) Mohammed al-Joulani, 73, wounded in the eye;
2) Rami Saleh al-Fakhouri, 20, wounded in the eye; and
3) 'Aadel al-Silwadi, 31, wounded in the chest.
Additionally, at least 20 civilians sustained bruises as they were violently
beaten. IOF closed the gates of the al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem fence, and
did not allow Palestinian civilians to enter the old town or the al-Aqsa
Mosque.
PCHR strongly condemns Israel's decision to allow settlers to enter the
yards of the al-Aqsa Mosque, and the use of excessive force against
Palestinian civilians, and stresses that:
1) East Jerusalem is an integral part of the Palestinian Territories
that were occupied by Israel following the June 1967 war.
2) Measures taken by Israeli occupation authorities following the
occupation of the city, in the foremost, the Israeli Knesset's decision on
28 June 1967 to annex the city, its decision on 30 July 1980 considering
"complete and united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel" and the decision to
expand the municipal boundaries, are flagrant violations of international
law and United Nations resolutions.
3) Measures and plans implemented by Israeli occupation authorities in
occupied Jerusalem can never change its legal status.
4) Article 53 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12
August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International
Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), and Article 16 of Protocol II prohibit
"committing any acts of hostility directed against the historic monuments,
works of art or places of worship which constitute the cultural or spiritual
heritage of peoples."
5) Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 prevents the
Occupying Power from "deporting or transferring parts of its own civilian
population into the territory it occupies."
In light of the above:
1) PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva
Convention, jointly or individually, to fulfill their legal and moral
obligations to ensure Israel's respect for the Convention in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (OPT) according to Article 1 of the Convention, and
believes that the international silence and inaction encourage Israel to act
as a State above law and perpetrate more violations of international human
rights law and humanitarian law, including efforts intended to establish a
Jewish majority in occupied East Jerusalem.
2) PCHR calls upon the international community to immediately act to
force the Israeli government to stop all settlement activities in the OPT,
especially in East Jerusalem, and to dismantle existing settlements, the
existence of which constitute war crimes under international humanitarian
law.
3) PCHR calls upon the European Union and/or its Member States to
activate Article 2 of the Euro-Israeli Association Agreement, which links
continuous economic cooperation between the two parties with Israel's
respect for human rights, and to stop dealing with Israeli products,
especially those produced in Israeli settlements in the OPT, including
occupied East Jerusalem.
Public Document
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For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8
2824776 - 2825893
PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip.
E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
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