The following is an update of activities
carried out by the ICRC in Israel, the Occupied and Autonomous Territories
in December 2005.
Protection
Monitoring conditions of detention
Visits to detainees falling under the ICRC mandate are a long-standing priority of the institution in Israel, the Occupied and Autonomous territories. ICRC delegates regularly visit Israeli and Palestinian places of detention to monitor treatment and living conditions. The observations and recommendations are submitted confidentially to the authorities in charge.
Detainees visited in Israeli places of detention
In December, ICRC delegates visited 4 interrogation centres and Damoun, Gilboa, Hadarim, Megiddo and Neve Tirza prisons. They also visited Binyamin, Efraim, Gush Etzion, Howara and Salem provisional detention centres.
Detainees visited in the Territories
On the Palestinian side in the Gaza strip ICRC delegates visited the Saraya central prison and the interrogation centres of the Preventive Security, the Military Intelligence (Istikhbarat) and the General Intelligence (Mukhabarat). Deir el Balah police station was also visited.
In the West Bank, ICRC delegates visited Daheriyeh, Jericho, Nablus and Ramallah central prisons as well as the interrogation centres of the General Intelligence (Mukhabarat) and the Preventive Security in Bethlehem, Daheriyeh, Jericho and Qalqilia. They also visited the police stations in Bethlehem and Tulkarem.
Family visits and messages to detainees
The ICRC's family visit programme allows families from Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights to visit relatives held in Israeli places of detention. Facilitating these contacts is of primary importance to the ICRC.
In December, around 17,700 people travelled to 23 Israeli places of detention and visited around 6,700 relatives held.
Another way of maintaining family links while people are detained is to exchange Red Cross Messages (RCM). In the period mentioned, more than 4,400 messages regarding family news were exchanged through the ICRC between detainees and their relatives.
Assistance
Latest distributions in the West Bank and Gaza
During the month of December, the ICRC carried out the following relief activities:
House destruction relief programme
5 families whose homes in the Gaza Strip and West Bank were destroyed received ICRC relief kits.
Rehabilitation projects
In the Gaza strip, the ICRC supports small-scale projects to help re-establish the livelihoods of the most vulnerable communities. In the Mawasi area, 8 fishing boats have been rehabilitated, benefiting fishermen affected by closures during the second Intifada.
The ICRC is supporting the rehabilitation of a number of greenhouses in the southern Gaza Strip to kick-start agricultural production.
H2 assistance programme
In the city of Hebron (zone H2 - under Israeli control), the ICRC distributed food parcels to around 2,500 families especially affected by strict closures.
Emergency assistance
6 food parcels were distributed to vulnerable families in the West Bank.
Water assistance
In the West Bank, the ICRC is constructing a booster station in Kufr Thulth and rehabilitating a pumping station in Falamia. Once completed, the projects will improve water supply for some 5,700 people.
Health
Around 50 Palestinian medical health professionals participated in a course to train them how to deal with multiple trauma, particularly useful in mass-casualty situations. The course was organised in Ramallah and in Gaza in cooperation with the Palestinian ministry of health.
Cooperation with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and Magen David Adom (MDA)
Following the agreement signed between the PRCS and the MDA in Geneva on 28 November, the first PRCS/MDA Liaison Committee Meeting chaired by the Swiss government and attended by PRCS and MDA representatives was convened at the ICRC office in Jerusalem on 14 December. The ICRC and the International Federation attended the meeting as observers to provide technical advice.
Raising awareness of the ICRC and international humanitarian law
Promoting respect for the civilian population
It is the responsibility of all those involved in armed conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The ICRC supports their efforts by raising awareness about IHL and about its role and activities.
In December, a presentation on the ICRC and the basic principles of IHL was held for the first time for Israeli Military Police commanders in Ofer Military Detention Centre. Sessions were also carried out for police officers of the Israeli Civil Administration, military police cadets, non-commissioned Officers (NCOs) and trainees assigned to the West Bank Barrier unit as well as to military detention centres.
On the Palestinian side, the ICRC carried out sessions for officers of the security services and staff members of governorates and municipalities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The ICRC also carried out sessions for PRCS staff and volunteers, members of village councils and NGO employees, as well as for imams and prayer leaders in Jenin.
Overall, the ICRC continued to be concerned by the restriction of movement within the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. ICRC delegates closely monitored difficulties faced by many farmers to access their land located on the eastern side of the West Bank Barrier.