Israel’s coronavirus lockdown is blocking human rights work, but not abuses
Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian man as Israeli bulldozers operate on land near Nablus, 1 March 2020
Judith Sudilovsky reports in +972:
Emergency directives issued by the Israeli authorities, which bar freedom of movement and other activities under the pretext of the coronavirus, are making it harder to monitor, document, and defend against Israel’s violations of Palestinian human rights in multiple areas of life, say Palestinian and Israeli rights groups.
“We are still monitoring cases, but our researchers are unable to be fully present and document the area,” said Rania Muhareb, legal researcher and advocacy officer at Al-Haq, a Palestinian human rights organization based in Ramallah. “It is very difficult to say if there are more or less incidents for the simple reason that, in this situation, it is harder to get all the information at the same speed we usually do.”
The violations, Muhareb explained, include advancing land confiscations and construction plans for Israeli settlements and the separation barrier in the occupied West Bank; settler violence against Palestinian farmers; incursions and arrests in Palestinian towns and villages; and home demolitions.
“These abuses highlight a widespread and systematic effort to undermine the rights of Palestinians even during a public health emergency of international concern,” she said. Despite the serious crisis, “Israel still has time to carry out these unlawful acts.”
Muhareb noted a March 19 incident in the East Jerusalem village of Sawahra Al-Sharqiya, where Israeli bulldozers destroyed several structures including a barn for sheep, but which could not be documented because of the ban on movement.
Settler violence has also continued in the area around Nablus, she added. On March 17, a group of settlers attacked a Palestinian house in the village of Burin; according to people who monitored the incident, Israeli soldiers shot rubber-tipped bullets, shock grenades, and tear gas at the Palestinian villagers instead of stopping the settlers. Three days later, on March 20, settlers severely beat farmer Ali Musafa Zouabi south of Jenin.