Israel's Wall displaces 1000s of Palestinians

BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights
Bethlehem, Palestine, 26 September 2006 (E/20/06)


PRESS RELEASE

Israel's Wall in the Occupied Palestinian West Bank forces thousands of
Palestinians out of their homes - report

Geneva: September 25, 2006: Thousands of Palestinians have been forced to
leave their homes as a direct result of the Wall built by Israel in occupied
East Jerusalem. Many more may be forced to leave as fundamental rights and
freedoms are violated  on a massive scale. These are conclusions from a study
published today by BADIL Resource Center and the Norwegian Refugee Council's
International Displacement Monitoring Centre.

The study (1) was presented today in Geneva where the UN Human Rights Council
has convened for its second session. Prof. John Dugard, UN Special Rapporteur
on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories joined the panel
presentation.

"The ongoing forced displacement of Palestinian communities is alarming not
only because of the suffering of those directly affected, but also because of
its longer-term effects on the fabric of Palestinian society", said Jens
Mjaugedal, Director of the International Department of the Norwegian Refugee
Council.

"Given Israel's unwillingness to reverse the disastrous effects of the Wall,
states and civil society must finally act, and they must recognize that the
ongoing forced displacement of Palestinians is the result of Israel's policy
of population transfer. Such recognition would be an important step towards
more effective assistance and protection of the displaced," said Karine Mac
Allister of BADIL, one of the authors of the report.

The study reveals that 17 percent of those who have changed their place of
residence in occupied East Jerusalem have done so as a direct result of the
construction of the Wall. Restriction of movement and access to services and
basic goods resulting from the construction of the Wall has been the most
important factor inducing forced displacement. Close to 90 per cent of
households on the eastern side of the Wall are cut off from health services
in the center of Jerusalem. The study shows that the Wall also causes serious
disruptions in Palestinian family life: over 20 per cent of households have
been split since the beginning of construction in 2002. The study suggests
that the number of internally displaced Palestinians is likely to grow
further: as many as 64 per cent of Palestinians in East Jerusalem are
considering changing their place of residence.

"Every one of the 192 member states of the United Nations is responsible for
what is going on", said UN Rapporteur Dugard. He noted that the Quartet
(U.S.A, Russia, United Nations, and the E.U.) has been "a total failure" and
called on the United Nations and its members to work for a solution of this
conflict.

For more information, please contact:

Karine Mac Allister, BADIL Resource Center, Geneva: +41-78-918-8391;
Jens-Hagen Eschenbacher, NRC-IDMC, Geneva: +41-22-799 0703,
or +41-79 797 9439; or BADIL Resource Center, Bethlehem, Palestine:
+972-2-2747346, info@badil.org.

(1) The full report  entitled "Displaced by the Wall: Forced Displacement as a
Result of the West Bank Wall and its Associated Regime" is available on
www.internal-displacement.org and www.badil.org/Wall-Report.pdf


--
BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights
PO Box 728, Bethlehem, Palestine
Telefax: 00972-2-2747346

info@badil.org - www.badil.org