'Widespread' abuses in Hebron

The Israeli army imposed restrictions on Palestinians

An international rights group has highlighted "widespread" human rights abuses by both Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank town of Hebron.

HRW says the Israeli army is responsible for the "most extensive abuses"

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the flashpoint city - where a small population of extremist Jewish settlers live among the largely Palestinian population - is a microcosm of "the devastating impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on civilians".

The group's executive director for the Middle East and North Africa, Hanny Megally, said: "Both sides have shown a blatant disregard for the rights of civilians."

HRW said the Israeli army, which has military control over central Hebron's Palestinian residents because of the presence of Jewish settlements there, was responsible for the "most extensive abuses".

One of the things which is rather unique about Hebron is the very extensive and widespread violence committed by settlers against Palestinians

Researcher Peter Bouckaert

These included "excessive use of force against unarmed demonstrators, unlawful killings, indiscriminate and disproportionate use of fire in response to Palestinian attacks and a consistent failure to protect Palestinians from attacks by Israeli settlers".

The army withdrew from 80% of Hebron under a US-brokered agreement in January 1997, but kept full control of the remaining 20% at the heart of the city where about 400 settlers live.

Civilian targets

HRW published its findings in a 82-page report on a case study of human rights abuses in Hebron, based on more than 180 interviews in November 2000 and February 2001.

There are 400-or-so Israeli settlers ln Hebron

The organisation finds the Palestinian side culpable because gunmen, including some belonging to President Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, have allegedly targeted Israeli civilians living in settlements.

"Although Israeli settlements are illegal under international humanitarian law, unarmed Israeli settlers, including children, are civilians and attacks on them are prohibited under international humanitarian law," the group says.

There is also a risk to Palestinian civilians because the gunmen often launch attacks from heavily populated Palestinian neighbourhoods.

Human Rights Watch said Jewish settlers beat Palestinians, attack their homes and businesses, shoot and stone Palestinian drivers, while the army rarely intervenes.

Palestinian gunmen have allegedly targeted Israeli civilians

An example of this came when a Jewish settler's baby daughter was killed by Palestinian gunfire earlier in April. Settlers went on a rampage of looting and burning Palestinian homes and shops.

"The abuses committed by the Israeli Defence Forces and Israeli settlers are certainly of a much larger scale than those committed by Palestinian gunmen," said Human Rights Watch researcher Peter Bouckaert.

"One of the things which is rather unique about Hebron is the very extensive and widespread violence committed by settlers against Palestinians within the city and the surrounding area."

Monitoring forces

HRW also criticises the Israeli military curfew on Palestinians in central Hebron, which does not apply to Jewish settlers.

"Basically the Israelis are punishing 30,000 people who have not fired on Israeli settlers for abuses committed by other Palestinian gunmen. That is a violation of international law that amounts to collective punishment," Peter Bouckaert said.

The organisation recommends the establishment of a independent international monitoring presence to be set up in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to monitor and report abuses by both sides.

The United States, Israel's main ally, vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have created such a force on 27 March.