IMEU : Documents & Reports

Hamas: Ideological rigidity and political flexibility (United States Institute of Peace)

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:39:40 PST

The report attempts to inject some gray areas into an issue that is often framed only in black and white terms. In a unique approach, the authors do not ask us to necessarily change our conclusions about the value of such engagement. Instead, they invite us to reevaluate our assumptions by providing a new prism through which to analyze Hamas.

Rights without remedy: Israel's illegal wall five years after the advisory opinion of the ICJ (Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions and Stop the Wall)

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:36:17 PST

Israel should comply with the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice and related UN resolutions by immediately ceasing construction of the Wall, dismantling the Wall and providing reparation for victims of damages caused by the Wall. Israel should end the illegal occupation of Palestine and enable Palestinians to enjoy their right to self-determination. Until that time, Israel should ensure that human rights law and the Fourth Geneva Convention are upheld and applied in the oPt.

Losing ground: Protection and livelihoods in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Overseas Development Institute - Humanitarian Policy Group)

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:30:53 PST

This Working Paper analyses the relationship between protection and livelihoods in the oPt. It explores how threats to people's protection are linked to their livelihoods, the impact of these threats on particular groups in the West Bank and Gaza and the strategies they employ in response. The study analyses the efforts of humanitarian organisations to link protection and livelihoods in their work, with recommendations on how this work could be expanded in the oPt and elsewhere.

Life in the garbage: A status report of sanitation services in East Jerusalem (The Association for Civil Rights in Israel)

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:25:11 PST

Sanitation conditions in East Jerusalem are currently in a terrible state. This is the result of ongoing neglect and discrimination in the allocation of resources to East Jerusalem by the Jerusalem municipality. Neglect and discrimination of the eastern part of Jerusalem are manifest in every municipal and governmental area, but they are particularly obvious and tangible with regard to sanitation.

Israel's step children: The lack of pediatrics in the Unrecognized Villages in the Negev (Physicians for Human Rights - Israel)

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:22:04 PST

Despite the high morbidity and mortality among the Bedouin children in the Negev, none of the clinics existing in the villages (all clinics except for one are run by "Clalit"), employ a pediatrician. On the other hand, in adjacent, rich Jewish communities - such as Meitar, Omer and Lehavim the residents insured in "Clalit", have pediatricians, gynecologists and family physicians, many and more flexible reception hours and accompanying services that do not exist in the clinics in the unrecognized villages.

Five years of illegality: Time to dismantle the Wall and respect the rights of Palestinians (Oxfam)

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:24:31 PST

Oxfam International presents testimonies of fifteen Palestinian men and women who recount their daily problems, arising from the construction of the Wall and its associated regime of land confiscation and permits, and the construction and expansion of settlements. Tragic consequences: farmers separated from their fields, workers without access permits, pregnant women unable to reach the hospital, villages without adequate access to water.

Operation "Cast Lead": 22 days of death and destruction (Amnesty International)

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:05:18 PST

Much of Israel's destruction was wanton and resulted from direct attacks on civilian objects as well as indiscriminate attacks that failed to distinguish between legitimate military targets and civilian objects. Such attacks violated fundamental provisions of international humanitarian law, notably the prohibition on direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects (the principle of distinction), the prohibition on indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks, and the prohibition on collective punishment.

Precisely wrong: Gaza civilians killed by Israeli drone-launched missiles (Human Rights Watch)

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:23:03 PST

This 39-page report details six incidents resulting in 29 civilian deaths, among them eight children. Human Rights Watch found that Israeli forces failed to take all feasible precautions to verify that these targets were combatants, as required by the laws of war, or that they failed to distinguish between combatants and civilians. Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups have reported a total of 42 drone attacks that killed civilians, 87 in all, during the fighting in December 2008 and January 2009.

Gaza: 1.5 million people trapped in despair (International Committee of the Red Cross)

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:29:28 PST

Six months after Israel launched its three-week military operation in Gaza on 27 December 2008, Gazans still cannot rebuild their lives. Most people struggle to make ends meet. Seriously ill patients face difficulty obtaining the treatment they need. Many children suffer from deep psychological problems. Civilians whose homes and belongings were destroyed during the conflict are unable to recover.

Foul play: Neglect of wastewater treatment in the West Bank (B'Tselem)

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:26:18 PST

Official sources estimate the amount of wastewater flowing in the West Bank - from the settlements, from Jerusalem, and from Palestinian communities - at 91 million cubic meters a year. They also estimate that the average daily per capita amount of wastewater produced by settlements is more than twice the amount produced by Palestinian communities. Despite the dangers inherent to wastewater flowing freely, the vast majority of wastewater in the West Bank is not treated.