Since the start of February 2008, all male residents of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nablus between the ages of 16 and 35 have been subject to restrictions preventing them from leaving the northern West Bank. At a later date, the restrictions were expanded to include residents of Kalkilya. In all, the sanctions apply to tens of thousands of individuals, the large majority of whom are not seen by the military as a threat.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), together with the heads of local councils in the northern West Bank, filed an emergency Supreme Court petition today (February 21, 2008) to cancel a series of restrictions on the movement of West Bank residents. The petition charges that the restrictions are unjust in the extreme since they collectively discriminate against a very large group; since it can be reasonably assumed that terrorists will be the ones who most easily skirt the restrictions; and since the restrictions demonstrate utter disregard for the lives and basic needs of all northern West Bank residents.
In the petition, ACRI Atty. Limor Yehuda notes that the collective punishment against West Bank residents has intensified over the last two weeks through tighter restrictions on movement, which is already heavily restricted to begin with. The city of Tulkarem is completely cut off from the villages surrounding it, and the military “encirclement” around Nablus, now in place for seven years, has been tightened even more. Movement has also been restricted in other, smaller northern West Bank areas, whose residents are not permitted to leave or enter.
The petition also stated that some of the restrictions on movement change with no prior notification. The result is that residents of the northern West Bank leave home in the morning not knowing if they will be allowed to return in the evening; students and teachers are unable to reach their classrooms; employees cannot get to their jobs; merchants have no contact with their clients; people in need of medical care fail to reach clinics and hospitals; and routes for transporting goods are either disrupted or totally blocked.
Another point emphasized in the petition is the fact that 16- to 35-year-old males, who comprise the primary wage-earning sector, are the pillar of economic existence, services, and social life. Therefore, beyond the personal harm inflicted on each one of these residents, greater damage is caused to the fabric of life of the entire population of the region and to its ability to survive economically and socially.
HCJ 1706/08
