[WCUSP] Al-Haq's appeal to Palestinian political parties & armed factions

[KATHARLOW at aol.com]

Al-Haq (The Truth) ( _http://asp.alhaq.org/zalhaq/site/home.aspx?ln=en_ 
(http://asp.alhaq.org/zalhaq/site/home.aspx?ln=en)  ), a Palestinian human rights 
group  located in Ramallah, was established in 1979  by a group of Palestinian 
lawyers following extended debate over how best  to address the lack of human 
rights protection mechanisms in the Occupied  Palestinian Territories (OPT).  
Founded as Law in the Service of  Humanity, Al-Haq was one of the first human 
rights organizations  established in the Arab world.  During its first years 
Al-Haq  remained small, hiring only a few staff members in addition to its  
founding members.  

AL-HAQ  PRESS RELEASE 
03 July  2006 

Al-Haq’s  Appeal to Palestinian Political Parties and Armed  Factions  
The nature and  type of the current concentration of Israeli armed forces 
along the  borders of the Gaza Strip appear to indicate that the Israeli army had 
 made preparations and developed a prior plan to carry out a large-scale  
military attack on Gaza. The Israeli military operation is  not simply a reaction 
to current events. The Israeli attack will have a  grave impact on the life 
and property of the Palestinian civilian  population. Already, the existing 
blockade of the Gaza Strip has been  intensified, leading to increased civilian 
suffering and more difficult  living conditions. The Israeli army has also 
launched indiscriminate  attacks targeting public property, water, electrical, and 
transport  infrastructure, and other vital services. 
Affirming once  again that Israel is illegally occupying the Palestinian 
Territories, and  emphasizing Palestinians’ right to resist and confront the 
occupation as a  means of attaining self-determination, in accordance with 
international  resolutions, Al-Haq demands that all members of Palestinian resistance  
movements act according to the principles of international humanitarian  law, 
which regulate the rights and duties of belligerent parties, in  particular: 
    *   Absolutely  avoid targeting civilians; military operations must be 
limited to  military targets;  
    *   Respect the  right to life of all prisoners, not take reprisals 
against them, and  refrain from torturing or subjecting prisoners to inhuman or 
degrading  treatment;  
    *   Refrain from  enlisting children or employing them in military  
operations;  
    *   Care for the  enemy’s wounded and ill personnel, not take reprisals 
against them, and  respect their right to life;  
    *   Respect medical  personnel accompanying enemy forces, refrain from 
targeting them, and  treat them humanely; and  
    *   Refrain from  attacking journalists. 
Al-Haq also  wishes to remind Palestinian resistance  movements that they may 
not resort to reciprocity as a legal justification  for violating the rules 
and provisions of international humanitarian law.  In no circumstances is it 
permissible to use the Israeli occupying forces’  actions or war crimes against 
Palestinian civilians as a pretext for  Palestinians to likewise violate 
international  law. 
The risk of armed  confrontation between the Palestinian resistance  and 
Israeli occupying forces throughout the Gaza Strip has prompted Al-Haq  to issue 
this appeal in order to ensure that armed Palestinian activists  take into 
account the rules of international law. In order to rely on  international law to 
give legitimacy to their resistance and struggle for  self-determination, the 
Palestinian resistance  movements must respect their obligations under 
international law, which  regulates the conduct of combatants during  war. 

- Ends  -  
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