|
|
|
|
General Search
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Weekly Picture
|
Free Gazza
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Primary Article
Open Joint Letter to EU High Representative and Foreign Affairs Ministers ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council on 26 July 2010
As human rights NGOs concerned with the promotion and protection of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), we, the undersigned organisations, welcome the EU’s repeated condemnation of Israel’s closure of the Gaza Strip and its calls for ending this illegal policy.
Israel’s continuing closure of the Israeli occupied Gaza Strip, intensified after the 2007-Hamas take over, has a devastating impact on the daily lives and rights of the Strip’s 1,5 million inhabitants, half of whom are children. Israel continues to severely restrict the movement of goods and people to and from the territory, to impede fishing activities and access to agricultural lands, and continues to undermine the functioning of infrastructure, which is indispensible to the survival of the civilian population (such as the water and electricity networks). The closure violates inter alia Palestinians’ rights to life, movement, health, education, housing, an adequate standard of living, family, and essentially, their fundamental right to self-determination.
20/7/2010
|
|
|
|
Primary Article
Join Statement on The Interception of the Freedom Flotilla
The Interception of the Freedom Flotilla is an International Crime and an Act of Organized Piracy
As the flotilla of humanitarian assistance initiated by humanitarian associations worldwide was about to reach Gaza City, Israeli Navy preparations were intensified to intercept the flotilla and detain and arrest the peace activists on board and prevent the ships from reaching the Gaza Port at any cost.
We, the undersigned, consider this an act of marine piracy in violation of international laws and humanitarian norms. This is another Israeli attempt to crack down on our people besieged in Gaza for several years, constricting and cutting them off from the outside world, which has become aware of the horror of the siege and the brutality of the occupation.
The planned kidnapping of these activists, whose purpose was purely humanitarian, is an attack on humanity as a whole, and must be opposed by all peoples, governments and organizations active in the field of human rights in Palestine and elsewhere.
31/5/2010 |
Primary Article
24 Arab organizations demand the release of Ameer Makhoul
.JPG3)
Stop silencing defenders of the rights of Arab Israelis
The undersigned organizations are gravely concerned by the arbitrary measures taken by the Israeli authorities against prominent human rights defender Ameer Makhoul, the director-general of Ittijah, the Union of Arab Community-Based Associations, an umbrella group for dozens of Arab NGOs working on behalf of Arab Israelis.
The Israeli authorities suddenly arrested Makhoul on May 6, a short time after the Ministry of Internal Security issued an administrative order on April 22 banning Makhoul from leaving the country for two months due to unspecified security concerns. Under the order, Makhoul was prohibited from crossing the Israeli-Jordanian border.
|
|
Discrimination Diary
Primary Article
The Militarism in Israel "tramples" the Academy
The Arab Cultural Association - OBSREVER 1
General (Aluf) Eliezer Shkedi, former Commander in Chief of the Israeli Air Force, is a candidate for President of the Hebrew University- the decision will be taken within the next few weeks.
Jan-Feb 2009: the Colonel Pninah Sharvit-Barokh, the head of the International Law Department in the Military Advocate General, started studying international law in Tel-Aviv university. She was the head of the International Law Department during the most recent Israeli Troops attack on Gaza. The appointment report was faced with massive public protest- many lawyers and academicians signed a petition calling for cancelling the appointment, claiming that Sharvit-Barokh has authorized and legalized committing crimes in this war, and causing serious insult to the international law. Tel Aviv University has rushed into announcing support for Sharvit-Barokh, and so did the minister of Defense- Ehud Barak, and the Prime Minister Ehud Olmert; In the government session, Olmert even said that the state will not support institutions that won't employ officers because of their military service; Sharvit-Barokh's first lesson took place yesterday (5.3.2009), and demonstrations were held in the university between supporting and objecting to her appointment. Several Likud members of the Israeli parliament arrived at the university in order to express support for Sharvit-Barokh.
|
Primary Article
Arrest of Palestinian leaders in Israel "a dangerous development"
Jonathan Cook, The Electronic Intifada, 14 May 2010
The recent arrest of two respected public figures from Israel's Palestinian Arab minority in nighttime raids on their homes by the Shin Bet secret police -- brought to light this week when a gag order was partially lifted -- has sent shock waves through the community.
The arrests are not the first of their kind. The Shin Bet has been hounding and imprisoning politicians and intellectuals from the country's Palestinian minority, a fifth of the population, since the birth of the Jewish state more than six decades ago. Currently, two MPs from Arab political parties, as well as the leader of the popular Islamic Movement, are facing trials.
But the detention of Ameer Makhoul and Omar Said is seen differently -- as the gathering storm clouds in a political climate already fiercely hostile to its Palestinian citizens.
|
Primary Article
Little Arafat
.jpg1)
Discrimination Diary Series, No.1
After Fathi’s son had been attending a child daycare center for several days, the daycare worker telephoned him and said: “We have a problem with your son… and after the other parents found out, some of them have removed their children from the center.” She continued: “One of the daycare workers opened your son’s bag and found out that he is called Arafat. She spoke about it with her relatives, who also have children in the center, and in response they removed their children from the center because there is an Arab child there.”
25/1/2008 |
Primary Article
Upper(ty) Nazareth
“I am all for a democratic Upper Nazareth, but first of all a Jewish one" declares Gapso, a Tunisian immigrant vying for the town’s mayorship in the coming elections. With that he dismisses the appeal of a delegation of Arab residents to take their concerns into consideration. He is not the only contender for the post who is dismissive of Arab demands
29/8/2008 |
|
|
Reports
Primary Article
Civilians in Danger
The Location of Temporary and Permanent Military Installations Close to Arab Communities during the Second Lebanon War
This report focuses on one claim. This claim is that military installations were positioned by the Israeli army in proximity to Arab civilian locales. On the basis of the investigation undertaken by the HRA, it emerges that temporary military installations from which missiles were fired into Lebanon during the war were indeed positioned in very close proximity to the Arab locales that suffered the gravest attacks during the war. This is in addition to permanent military installations in existence prior to the war. In some cases, the military installations were established inside the Arab locales.
11/12/2007 |
Primary Article
On the Margins 2006
Annual Review of Human Rights Violations of the Arab Palestinian Minority in Israel 2006
The Arab Association for Human Rights (HRA) has been publishing annual reports for the last three years, documenting some of the violations of human rights of Palestinian Arab citizens in Israel and tracking the official policy of Israel and its institutions throughout the year towards the Palestinian Arab minority in Israel. Our third annual report hereby presented portrays a typical picture of racial discrimination, which has become entrenched in official and legal policy, and has become an extremely dangerous practice and the legal basis that establishes relations between the state and its Jewish majority towards the Palestinian Arab minority.
22/6/2007 |
Primary Article
Suspected Citizens
Racial Profiling against Arab Passengers by Israeli Airports and Airlines
This report details the forms of racial profiling implemented at airports. This phenomenon is alarming both in terms of the frequency with which it is encountered and in terms of its acceptance in Jewish public opinion and by the authorities. The report aims to alert Israeli society, public bodies, and official institutions to this problem, and to appeal to the international community and to governmental and community bodies to act forcefully and clearly to condemn this unacceptable behavior as a manifestation of racial discrimination. Forms of racial discrimination are contrary to international standards of morality and have been condemned by international human rights conventions as among the most offensive and injurious violations of human dignity.
4/12/2006 |
Primary Article
On the Margins 2005
Annual Review of Human Rights Violations of the Arab Palestinian Minority in Israel 2005
On the Margins: Annual Review of Human Rights Violations of the Arab Palestinian Minority in Israel 2005 is a compilation of the HRA's Weekly Press Reviews from the year, which take news pieces on human rights violations of the minority from the local Arabic and Hebrew press, in addition to providing historical background information. The report does not document all the violations in 2005, only what the HRA believes to be the most pressing. These violations point to a real danger that threatens the Palestinian Arab minority in Israel; this has compelled the HRA to issue calls to the State to take action and put a halt to such an affront to human rights.
27/6/2006 |
|
|
Press Releases
Primary Article
Human rights defender’s freedom of movement and right to a fair trial violated
The EMHRN strongly condemns the Israeli High Court of Justice’s (HCJ) decision on 10 March 2009 to dismiss the petition brought by Shawan Jabarin, the General Director of Al-Haq - a Ramallah based Palestinian human rights organisation- challenging the arbitrary, indefinite and unconditional travel ban imposed on him by the Israeli military authorities shortly after he was appointed as General Director of Al-Haq early 2006.
13/3/2009 |
Primary Article
Human Rights NGO 'Prisoners Association' in imprisoned expression by Israeli authorities
On Friday, September 8, a large band of police and Shin Bet security forces stormed the Majd al-Krum office of the Arab human rights NGO, Prisoners Association (Ansar Al-Sajeen) at 1:30am and the home of the Chairperson of the Association, Munir Mansour. The security officials and police took from the office telephones, computers, photocopying machines, and gifts received from prisoners. In addition, Mr Mansour's home was searched and his mobile confiscated.
14/9/2006 |
Primary Article
Israel's war crimes, massacres and blatant breaches of international law continue unhindered in Lebanon and Gaza
Israel's military assault on Lebanon continues to violate international humanitarian law as Israel pushes forward an agenda awash in unabated violent massacres and war crimes. US diplomacy has only complied with these war crimes through granting Israel impunity, thereby giving Israel the impression that it has permission to continue. Finally, it is plain to see that the international community has failed miserably in its duty – to ensure the protection of innocent civilians during time of war.
31/7/2006 |
Primary Article
IDF storm Jericho prison in illegal raid while US and UK guards comply
On Tuesday, March 14, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) stormed Jericho prison in the West Bank to capture Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Ahmed Sa'adat and a number of other prisoners. Their massive raid on the prison was marked by helicopters, bulldozers, death threats to prisoners who did not surrender and the killing of two guards.
15/3/2006 |
|
|
Recent Developments
Primary Article
New report by PCATI - “Family Matters, Using Family Members to Pressure Detainees"
The illegal exploitation of family members, who, in most instances, are not suspects themselves, has on many occasions caused severe psychological suffering to interrogees and to their innocent relatives. In more extreme cases, this method takes the form of psychological torture of a detainee rendering him a victim of a cruel psychological manipulation via the illegal exploitation of a close relative. In one such case, detailed in the report, the pressure caused by this form of abuse led the detainee to attempt suicide on several occasions.
22/4/2008 |
Primary Article
Suspended Sentence for Policeman Who Shot Arab Citizen for No Reason, Leaving Him Disabled
On 30 December 2007, Tel Aviv District Court convicted a former policeman in the Border Guard, Chaim Castro, on charges of aggravated assault. In 2003, Castro shot Salah Suleiman `Amer, a resident of Kafr Qassem, from a distance of some 50 cm, injuring him in the leg. Castro was sentenced to six months’ community service.The HRA welcomes the conviction of the policeman, which it believes constitutes an important (though still inadequate) step toward enforcing criminal law against police personnel. However, although the conviction in this case is very important, the penalty imposed on the offender effectively neutralizes the impact of the conviction.
10/1/2008 |
Primary Article
New report published by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel
The report paints a depressing picture, detailing the worsening nature of human rights violations of the Palestinian Arab minority in Israel
On 10 December 2007, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) published its annual report – State of Human Rights Report – 2007. The report reviews the human rights situation in Israel and the Occupied Territories over the year. As always, this year’s report includes an entire chapter examining the human rights situation of the Palestinian minority in Israel. The chapter relating to the Palestinian minority paints a depressing picture, detailing the worsening nature of human rights violations.
11/12/2007 |
Primary Article
HRA position on recent Supreme Court decisions: The Supreme Court ranges between "security" and human rights
Between December 12 and 14, the Supreme Court headed by retired Chief Justice Aharon Barak, gave three important decisions relating to human rights, two of them related to the rights of the Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories and the third relates to the rights of the Arab citizens in Israel.
21/12/2006 |
|
|
International News
Primary Article
Understanding the Gaza Catastrophe by Richard Falk
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories (and Professor Emeritus of International Law, Princeton University)
For eighteen months the entire 1.5 million people of Gaza experienced a punishing blockade imposed by Israel, and a variety of traumatizing challenges to the normalcy of daily life. A flicker of hope emerged some six months ago when an Egyptian arranged truce produced an effective ceasefire that cut Israeli casualties to zero despite the cross-border periodic firing of homemade rockets that fell harmlessly on nearby Israeli territory, and undoubtedly caused anxiety in the border town of Sderot. During the ceasefire the Hamas leadership in Gaza repeatedly offered to extend the truce, even proposing a ten-year period and claimed a receptivity to a political solution based on acceptance of Israel's 1967 borders. Israel ignored these diplomatic initiatives, and failed to carry out its side of the ceasefire agreement that involved some easing of the blockade that had been restricting the entry to Gaza of food, medicine, and fuel to a trickle
5/1/2009 |
Primary Article
New Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network report on the freedom of Association
In December 2007, the Euro-Meditteranean Human Rights Network issued the first report on freedom of association. This work includes a complete inventory, country by country, of the exercise of freedom of association in the Euro-Mediterranean region.
20/12/2007 |
Primary Article
United Nations adopts Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The General Assembly today adopted a landmark declaration outlining the rights of the world’s estimated 370 million indigenous people and outlawing discrimination against them. The Declaration emphasizes the rights of indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions and to pursue their development in keeping with their own needs and aspirations.It also prohibits discrimination against indigenous peoples and promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them, and their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own visions of economic and social development.
13/9/2007 |
Primary Article
UN Reports highlights' HRA claims of discriminatory policies that are affecting the Palestinians Arab Minorities in Israel
On October 2nd, the UN Human Rights Council published a report based on their investigatory mission to Lebanon and Israel with respect to the impact of the war and its aftermaths. The report was authored by four Special Rapporteurs which mandates relate to different aspects of human rights.
11/10/2006 |
|
|
|
|