Reports and Studies
15 October 2007
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Restriction of Palestinians' movement represents the cornerstone of Israel's policy on the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT); and particularly the Gaza Strip (Gaza).
The word siege in this report refers to the closure instituted by Israel of all Gaza's passage points.
These include Gaza's five land crossings (only one of which, Rafah, is not shared with Israel), Gaza International Airport, and an unfinished seaport.
The siege imposes restrictions on the movement of both people and goods, allowing only a very limited number of people to move across the border and only a restricted amount of goods to enter or leave Gaza.
Movement restrictions are a major direct cause of human rights violations in Gaza.
Besides representing an illegal constraint on the right of every person to move freely, including within one's country and outside it, as stipulated by Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), these restrictions are the primary cause of violating several other human rights.
Israel increases collective punishment measures by suspending goods exports from Gaza for the third consecutive day
Human rights organizations: Israel must immediately cease attacks on Gaza’s civilian population and re-open Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings
In parallel to its aggression, Israel closes Gaza crossings: Al Mezan warns of possible serious deterioration of humanitarian conditions
Al Mezan condemns Israel's ban on Gaza Christians from visiting West Bank holy sites for Easter
Israeli authorities at Erez arbitrarily arrested a cancer patient on his way back to Gaza from Jerusalem hospital