B’Tselem: Israel convicts nearly 100% of stone throwing minors via malicious prosecution

No Minor Matter: Violation of the Rights of Palestinian Minors Arrested by Israel on Suspicion of Stone-Throwing, July 2011

From the beginning of 2005 to the end of 2010, at least 835 Palestinian minors were arrested and tried in military courts in the West Bank on charges of stone throwing. Thirty-four of them were aged 12-13, 255 were 14-15, 546 were 16-17. Only one of the 835 was acquitted; all the rest were found guilty.

Palestinian minors charged with criminal offenses are tried under the military legislation applying in the West Bank, which grants them very few of the special rights relating to persons their age. These protections, such as separation from adults during detention and imprisonment, are not always maintained. The same is true regarding protections prescribed in the military legislation for all suspects that are especially important in the case of minors, such as the right to consult with an attorney. The military legislation dealing with minors does not conform to international and Israeli law, which acknowledge that the minor’s age affects his criminal responsibility and the manner in which he experiences arrest, interrogation, and imprisonment, and which assume that these experiences might harm the minor’s development. Consequently, under international law and Israeli law, suspected offenders who are minors are given special protections, their parents must be allowed to be present during their child’s interrogation, and their arrest and imprisonment are viewed as a last resort.

In November 2009, the Military Youth Court was established in the West Bank. The court was empowered to hear offenses committed by minors under age 16. The military judges, on their own initiative, expanded the jurisdiction of the court to cover all minors, i.e., up to age 18. A few judges expressed, in their judgments, their belief that the military justice system should try minors in accordance with the standard practice in juvenile courts around the world. The president of the Military Court of Appeals added that the military courts must operate in the spirit of the Israeli Youth Law, even though the Youth Law itself is not incorporated in the military legislation. Despite these declarations, institution of the Military Youth Court has brought limited change, and serious infringement of the rights of minors appearing before it continues.

In preparing this report, B'Tselem interviewed 50 minors, who described the events from the moment they were arrested to the time they were released from jail. Their testimonies indicate numerous serious violations of their rights, as follows:

• The arrest: Thirty of the minors said they were taken from their home by soldiers in the middle of the night and that their parents were not allowed to accompany them.
• The interrogation: Only three of the minors who were arrested at night said they were interrogated that night. Nineteen stated they were questioned the next morning, three were questioned in the afternoon, and two were not questioned until five days later. Only three of the minors who were arrested at night reported that they were given a reasonable chance to sleep prior to the interrogation, and five related that soldiers made a point of awakening them if they fell asleep while waiting for the interrogation. Nineteen also said they were treated violently and were threatened during the interrogation, and 23 said that they were not allowed, for many hours, to perform necessary functions, such as going to the bathroom, eating, and drinking.
• Remand until the end of proceedings: The military justice system does not have an alternative to remand until the end of proceedings as the Israeli law does. In the vast majority of cases, the judges order the minor held in custody until the end of the proceedings. Of the 133 minors who were prosecuted for stone throwing in cases handled by DCI-Palestine in 2009 and 2010, only 23 (17 percent) were released on bail pending their trial. As a result, many minors prefer to enter into a plea bargain, in which they confess to the charges against them in exchange for a shorter sentence, fearing that, if a trial is held, they would be kept in jail during the long period of time that it takes to complete the trial.
• Imprisonment: Imprisonment, rather than an alternative punishment, is the principal penalty chosen by the military courts. In the period 2005-2010, 93 percent of the minors convicted of stone throwing were given a prison sentence, its length ranging from a few days to 20 months. Nineteen minors under age 14, who accounted for 60 percent of this age group who were convicted of stone throwing during this period, were given a prison sentence. Under the law in Israel, incarceration of minors under age 14 is prohibited.

The age of the minor has a decisive effect on the length of the prison sentence: children under 14 on the day of sentencing served no more than two months’ imprisonment, 26 percent of minors aged 14-15 served sentences of four months and more, and among 16-17 year olds, 59 percent served a sentence of four months or more.

During their imprisonment, most of the minors interviewed by B'Tselem were not visited by their families. Of the 29 minors who were held in detention or were imprisoned for more than a week, only one said he had been visited regularly once every two weeks, and four others said they had been visited a few times. Being security prisoners, minors convicted of stone throwing are not allowed access to a telephone. The prison authorities enable them to study only some of the subjects they were taking at school, which reduces their chances of successfully completing the school work for the year and of being promoted.

All the officials engaged in handling Palestinian minors in cases of stone throwing – police, judges, and soldiers serving in the West Bank – are well aware of the reality described in the report. Yet, the only call for change has come in the form of declarations by a few judges, and no action has been taken to end the infringement of the minors’ rights. Israel has the obligation to ensure the rights of Palestinian minors under its responsibility, and bring the provisions of military law on par with those of Israel’s Youth Law.

• Download full report, PDF
• Excerpts from the minors’ testimonies
• More videos on the topic

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Published 02:35 18.07.11Latest update 02:35 18.07.11

Israel convicts most stone-throwing Palestinian children, right group says

B’Tselem says nearly 100% of Palestinian children charged with rock-throwing are convicted, because of overwhelming pressure to plea bargain.

By Anshel Pfeffer

Only one Palestinian minor of 853 charged with rock-throwing between 2005-2010 was acquitted, according to a new report by the human rights group B’Tselem.

B’Tselem based its report, which is being released Monday, on data it obtained from the Israel Defense Forces spokesman about minors who were arrested during those six years and charged solely with rock-throwing; it does not relate to those charged with other crimes.

The nearly 100-percent conviction rate stems from, among other things, the willingness of the detainees to plead guilty as part of a plea agreement, the report says. The pressure to plead guilty is great, because generally minors charged with throwing rocks are held in custody until the end of legal proceedings; a regular trial could keep them detained for longer than the sentence they receive after pleading guilty, which is usually no more than a few months.

Of the 853 arrested, 18 were aged 12-13 and 255 were 14-15.

Sixty percent of the 12-13 year-olds received prison terms ranging from a few days to up to two months.

Fifteen percent of all the minors served terms of more than six months and 1 percent served longer than a year.

Because of the frequency of these incidents, B’Tselem was not able to get an exact tally of how many had actually occurred in the West Bank during those years. The Judea and Samaria police reported 2,100 to 3,000 incidents annually during those years, while the IDF Spokesman reported 3,600 to 4,300 incidents each year.

Nor could B’Tselem ascertain how many minors had been detained by the security forces for stone-throwing but were let go without being charged.

Because military law does not afford minors the same rights that they have under Israeli law, in many of the cases B’Tselem investigated, the minors were arrested at night, were not allowed to be accompanied by a parent or other adult when arrested, and were brought before a judge only eight days after being taken into custody.

“In terms of numbers, the [B’Tselem] report is not accurate, because during this period, I personally acquitted a number of minors,” said one judge in the army reserves, who dealt with many cases of stone-throwing minors.

“But there’s no doubt that it reflects a very problematic situation. Nearly all minors are convicted of stone-throwing because they have no choice but to sign a plea agreement, for which the punishment is usually between one to three months, and if they go to evidence they’ll sit longer. The High Court has ruled that anyone throwing stones at a person or vehicle can be remanded until the end of legal proceedings.

“Of course, it’s terrible that they arrest them in the middle of the night and question them without lawyers,” the judge said. “Sometimes this provides an impetus to release them. But there should be a legal mechanism under which a minor who throws stones for the first time and doesn’t hurt anyone can be released, and for the responsibility of probation to be imposed on the father, who will have to keep an eye on him.”

The IDF Spokesman, in a detailed response to B’Tselem, wrote: “Although legal systems that are established under military law do not include special arrangements for judging minors, over the past year a youth court has been established that improves the defense of minors’ rights.

“The Military Youth Court protects minors’ rights, allows the minors to be heard without adults present, gives more freedom of expression to the minors and allows for a broader discussion of parental responsibility as a substitute for punishment.”

The IDF Spokesman added that although it had asked B’Tselem to deal with the issue of judging minors in a fair and complete fashion, and had given B’Tselem information about 160 cases in which minors who were used by terror groups to carry out serious terror attacks, “the group chose not to deal with the issue of judging minors in a balanced manner and did not deal with the use of minors by terror groups in a fashion that violates human rights and contravenes international law.”

source:

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-convicts-most-stone-throwing-palestinian-children-right-group-says-1.373807

Beitar Illit Settlement to Grow by 294 Units!

Israel approves more settlement units in West Bank

Published today (updated) 18/07/2011 18:49

TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- Israel's Construction and Housing Ministry approved Monday a tender for the construction of 294 housing units to be built in the West Bank settlement Beitar Illit, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank units are part of 7,000 being planned as a response to housing concerns in Israel. Over 1,000 of the units are to be built in northern towns like Tiberias, Nahariya and Afula, the Ynet news site reported.

The construction of the Beitar Illit units will be offered to the bidder offering the lowest price per unit, the Ynet report said. Lots allotted for 42 one-floor homes will be auctioned off in the Karnei Shomron settlement.

source:

http://maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=406269

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Government resumes settlement construction

State unveils plan for construction of 7,000 affordable housing units nationwide; over 300 of units planned for Beitar Illit, Karnei Shomron
Attila Somfalvi

The Construction and Housing Ministry announced Monday issued a tender for the construction of 7,000 housing units nationwide, 294 of which are to be built in the West Bank settlement Beitar Illit, Ynet has learned.

Plans for construction beyond the Green Line often draw criticism from the United States and European nations.

As per Construction and Housing Minister Ariel Atias's plan, the construction of 294 housing units in Beitar Illit will be offered to the bidder offering the lowest final sale price per unit. Lots allotted for the construction of 42 one-floor homes will be auctioned off in the settlement Karnei Shomron.

Contractors will be able to bid on the sites within 60 days.

Over a thousand of the units are to be built in northern Israeli towns, including Tiberias, Nahariya and Afula.

source:

http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-4096868,00.html

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• Published 15:33 18.07.11
• Latest update 15:33 18.07.11

Palestinians: New Israeli settlement building hardens our resolve to seek UN recognition

Developers competing to build 294 apartments in Beitar Illit and Karnei Shomron; spokesman for housing ministry says work will be completed within three years.

By ReutersTags: Israel settlements Israel settlers West Bank Palestinians

Israel announced plans on Monday to build another 294 homes in two Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and the Palestinians said the move hardened their resolve to seek statehood recognition from the United Nations.

Israel's Housing Ministry linked the new construction to a nationwide plan to lower housing prices, which have skyrocketed in recent years, and appease protesters demanding affordable living space.

The tenders seek builders for the projected expansion of the Beitar Illit enclave outside Jerusalem and Karnei Shomron, a settlement on the outskirts of the West Bank's largest Palestinian city of Nablus.

Ariel Rosenberg, a ministry spokesman, said it could take as long as two to three years before the homes were built, adding that the tenders were the first issued for occupied areas beyond Jerusalem since a building freeze expired in September.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November 2009 had ordered a 10-month temporary halt to new settlement-building on territory Israel captured in a 1967 war. He declined U.S. appeals to extend the moratorium late last year.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to hold peace talks with Israel unless it completely freezes settlement activity. He has instead focused efforts on a unilateral bid for statehood recognition from the United Nations in September.

"This decision is another reason calling on us to go to the United Nations and the Security Council to ask for recognition of the state of Palestine and gaining full membership for it in the United Nations," Nabil Abu Rdainah, an Abbas spokesman, said in a statement.

Hagit Ofran, a spokeswoman for Israel's settlements watchdog group Peace Now, charged that the new construction plans "show the public the Israeli government isn't moving toward peace."

Rosenberg said the new construction was part of a wider plan to build another 7,000 homes across Israel, releasing his statement as hundreds of protesters pitched tents in the business hub of Tel Aviv to demand more affordable housing.

"The ministry is constantly seeking to market land to cope with a housing shortage," Rosenberg said.

In contrast with the United States and Europe, Israeli housing prices have soared by an average of 50 percent in the last three years, an issue

Netanyahu has said he would address by efforts to cut red tape he says often hinders new construction.

source:

http://www.haaretz.com/misc/article-print-page/palestinians-new-israeli-settlement-building-hardens-our-resolve-to-seek-un-recognition-1.373880?trailingPath=2.169%2C2.216%2C2.218%2C

Israeli Passes Law Banning "Geographic" Boycotts

11 July 2011 Last updated at 16:29 ET

Israeli lawmakers pass West Bank settlement boycott law

The Israeli parliament has passed a controversial law that will punish any Israeli individual or organisation boycotting West Bank settlements.

Rights groups say the legislation stifles freedom of speech and compromises Israeli democracy.

After failed attempts to delay debate, it was voted through 47-36.

It follows several Israeli calls to boycott institutions or individuals linked to Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

The settlements are deemed illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this. Recent peace talks with the Palestinians were derailed over the issue of continued building in settlements.

The Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future state.

Among the recent initiatives that angered settlers and their influential political patrons was a pledge by Israeli academics and artists to boycott the West Bank settlement of Ariel.

Israeli developers also agreed not to use products or services from settlements when they signed on to help build a new modern Palestinian city, north of Ramallah.

Under the new law those who sponsor a "geographically based boycott" - which includes any part of the Jewish state or its settlements - could be sued for damages in a civil court by the party injured in the boycott call.

The petitioner is not required to prove that "economic, cultural or academic damage" was caused, only that it could reasonably be expected from the move.

"The State of Israel has for years been dealing with boycotts from Arab nations, but now we are talking about a homegrown boycott," said the author of the legislation, lawmaker, Zeev Elvin, the Associated Press news agency reported.

"It is time to put an end to this travesty. If the State of Israel does not protect itself, we will have no moral right to ask our allies for protection from such boycotts."

Fierce opposition

The new law has been strongly opposed by rights groups in Israel.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (Acri) described it as "deeply anti-democratic" and a violation of Israelis' freedom of speech.

"There is no question that promoting boycotts is a legitimate, democratic, non-violent form of protest that is being used by Israelis on a wide variety of issues from environmental issues to opposing the prices of certain products," said ACRI executive director, Hagai el-Ad.

"No reasoning has been suggested to explain why the boycott of settlement goods should be uniquely cherished as opposed to the right of the Israeli citizen to protest."

On Sunday, activists opposed to the boycott ban held a noisy demonstration outside the Justice Ministry. They carried banners which read "the boycott law boycotts democracy."

There are plans to challenge the legislation in Israel's High Court.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has led an increasingly concerted campaign against the settlements.

Last year, it passed a law banning settlement produce from Palestinian shops in the West Bank. Traders who break the law face prison and a heavy fine.

However the PA has yet to pass promised legislation making it illegal for Palestinian labourers to work in settlements.

more coverage:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14125033

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-passes-law-banning-calls-for-boycott-1.372711

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/the-boycott-law-is-unconstitutional-and-undemocratic-1.372728

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/heated-debate-in-knesset-over-boycott-law-legislation-will-stain-israeli-democracy-1.372697

http://maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=404493

http://maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=404363

ARIJ: Israel's wall segregates 13 percent of West Bank

Study: Israel's wall segregates 13 percent of West Bank

Published today 17:56

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israel's separation wall will annex 773 sq. km. of Palestinian land, a study by the Applied Research Institute in Jerusalem said on the anniversary of a judicial ruling which called on Israelis to stop building.

Just 6.5 percent of the wall is constructed along the pre-1967 armistice lines internationally recognized as the basis of an independent Palestinian state, ARIJ said Saturday in the report marking the International Court of Justice advisory opinion.

The wall, 473 km. of which has been constructed, 54 km. under construction, and 247 km. planned for building, separates Palestinians from 13 percent of the total area of the West Bank, ARIJ said in its survey of the June 2011 status of the wall.

This area includes 348 sq. km. of agricultural land, 250 sq. km. of forest areas and 25 sq. km. of Palestinian built-up areas, the study noted, as well as 110 sq. km. where Israeli settlements and military bases are built.

There are 107 Jewish-only settlements in this zone, where 582, 000 Israeli settlers live, over 80 percent of their total number in the West Bank, the ARIJ report added.

The Battle for Internationals to Visit Palestine

Welcome to Palestine – if you can get in

Posted on: July 5, 2011 |

5 July 2011 | The Guardian, Sam Bahour

Palestinians have globally touted an array of rights that Israel systematically denies. There is the right of return, the right of freedom of movement, the right to water, the right to education, the right to enter (not to be confused with refugees’ right to return) and so on.

But the right to receive visitors, or lack thereof? This is the most recent addition. The prohibition on freely receiving foreign visitors is as disturbing as it is shocking, especially for a country that claims to be the only beacon of democracy in the Middle East.

Yes, you read correctly. Israel is threatening to refuse to allow Palestinians living in the occupied Palestinian territory to receive visitors from abroad. We are not talking here about visitors such as the 5 million Palestinian refugees whom Israel has refused to allow to return to their homes after being expelled by force and fear when Israel was founded in 1948. Rather, the issue now is that foreigners who desire to visit the occupied Palestinian territory are being denied entry into Israel.

Remember, there is no other way to get to the Palestinian territory of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which is under military occupation by Israel, except by passing through Israeli-controlled points of entry such as Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv or one of Israel’s sea ports or land crossings. The entry point to the Gaza Strip from the West Bank requires passage through Israel as well.

So, more than 300 international activists plan to arrive in Tel Aviv during the week of 8 July at the invitation of 30 Palestinian civil society organisations, to participate in an initiative named “Welcome to Palestine”. Delegations from France, Great Britain, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, the USA, Japan and several African countries are expected.

Upon arrival at Ben Gurion airport, the invited guests, all from countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel, will make no secret of their intent to go to the occupied Palestinian territory. This nonviolent act, a civil society tsunami of sorts, only comes after Israel’s restriction of movement and access to and from Palestine for Palestinians and foreigners has exhausted all established channels that carry the responsibility to uphold international law first and their domestic laws second.

The greatest inaction has come from the US state department, even though it has put on record, multiple times, the fact that Israel is discriminating at its borders against US citizens.

It is also worth noting that the 1951 Israel friendship, commerce and navigation treaty explicitly states: “There shall be freedom of transit through the territories of each Party by the routes most convenient for international transit …” and persons “in transit shall be exempt from … unreasonable charges and requirements; and shall be free from unnecessary delays and restrictions.” So much for respecting signed agreements.

Israel, as a state and previously as a Zionist movement, has gone to every extreme to fragment and dispossess the Palestinian people. It has had accomplices every step of the way, starting with Great Britain and continuing to this very day with the US and the flock of UN member states that act more like parakeets to the US than sovereign states when it comes to Palestine.

Well, the game of inaction is coming to an end. When states fail, people take over. It is these people, like those coming to Palestine this week, or those attempting to reach the Israeli- blockaded Gaza Strip by sea, or those living in Palestine and resisting the occupation day in and day out, who will prove to historians once again that history is made of real people who have a keen sense of humanity and the courage to sacrifice.

• Sam Bahour is one of the co-ordinators of the Right to Enter Campaign.

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On July 8th we are flying for Palestinian freedom — and for our own

Posted on: July 4, 2011 |

3 July 2011 | Welcome to Palestine

For Immediate Release

Hundreds of internationals on their way to visit Palestinians in Gaza have been prevented from departing from the ports in Greece. However, we hope that on July 8th, 2011, hundreds of others of us from many countries will succeed in reaching Palestine by flying to Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. We have been invited by some forty Palestinian organizations to “Welcome to Palestine,” a week of activities in Palestine. It should be a wonderful visit, but most of us are frankly a bit scared. This is because of one decision we’ve all made: to tell the truth that our plan is to visit Palestine. It should be so simple, shouldn’t it? But it is not, because Israel controls all access to Palestine — by air, and by land, as well as by sea.

Even the website of the U.S. State Department warns of “prolonged questioning and thorough searches by Israeli authorities upon entry or departure,” of particularly “probing questioning” visited upon “U.S. citizens whom Israeli authorities suspect of being of Arab, Middle Eastern, or Muslim origin,” who are frequently denied entry. This is also true of visitors who are suspected to sympathize with Palestinians. The U.S. and the European countries refuse to protect their own citizens against these abuses by Israeli authorities.

The draconian and discriminating procedures at the borders of Israel have but one aim: to further isolate Palestinians and reinforce their inferior status; to trap them, away from any outside witnesses, in an increasingly constrictive maze of bantustans, separated by checkpoints and walls. By failing to insist that Israel allow travel to Palestine, our western governments support Israel’s apartheid policies. In fact, occupied territory is not sovereign territory and Israel’s authority over the occupied Palestinian territories is subject to international humanitarian law. This authority does not include the right to arbitrarily deny entry of foreign passport holders wishing to visit, reside, or work in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT — Seehttp://www.righttoenter.ps/etemplate.php?id=146.)

We are flying to Ben Gurion on July 8th to visit friends in Palestine, and we insist that our own governments support us in doing so. Supporting our visit to Palestine will be one small step towards bringing about the freedom of movement for all the peoples of Israel/Palestine that is essential for peace and justice in the Middle East.

English articles and stories on the event:
Dissident Voice
AlterNet

Other related websites/links:

http://www.righttoenter.ps

http://www.palestinejn.org

http://bienvenuepalestine.com (French and English)
http://www.kopi-online.de/8juli2011/ (German)

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Israel to expel pro-Palestinian airport protesters

Published today 17:00

Passengers wait at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport in May. Israel's
public security minister on Tuesday slammed the hundreds of pro-Palestinian
activists who plan to flood Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport this week as "hooligans"
who would be barred entry. [AFP/Jack Guez]

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israel's public security minister on Tuesday slammed the hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists who plan to flood Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport this week as "hooligans" who would be barred entry.

Israel will not tolerate mass protests at its international airport, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch told a ceremony in the north of the country.

"These hooligans who try to break our laws will not be allowed into the country and will be returned immediately to their home countries," he said.

Israeli media reported that flights landing on Friday from Europe would be taken to a separate terminal and all passengers carefully screened.

Pro-Palestinian activists have said they plan to arrive in their hundreds at Ben Gurion airport on July 8 to protest Israeli restrictions on the movements of Palestinians and their supporters.

"We have responded to a call from Palestinian associations and about 500 of us -- women, men and children -- will leave on July 8 to show them the world hasn't forgotten them," organizers said on the website www.bienvenuepalestine.com.

The group is said to include about 300 French nationals and others from Belgium, Germany, Italy and the United States.

"We are not going to hide the fact that we are coming to visit our Palestinian friends," they said on the website. "The Israeli government has no right to refuse us entry to the occupied Palestinian territories."

The move comes as a flotilla of international activists who planned to try to breach Israel's blockade of Gaza by sea failed to get permission to set sail from Greece, apparently as a result of Israeli diplomatic pressure.

"Hundreds of internationals on their way to visit Palestinians in Gaza have been prevented from departing from the ports in Greece," Elsa Rassbach, one of the activists, wrote in a statement received by AFP on Sunday.

"However, we hope that hundreds of others of us from many countries will succeed in reaching Palestine by flying to Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv.

"Supporting our visit to Palestine will be one small step towards bringing about the freedom of movement for all the peoples of Israel/Palestine that is essential for peace and justice in the Middle East," she said.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said "this planned event is a continuation of the attempts to undermine Israel's right to exist and to attempt to breach its borders and sovereignty by sea, land and by air."

UK medical journal the Lancet: Checkpoints & Health

Born at a checkpoint

Published today (updated) 05/07/2011 18:19

A Palestinian ambulance worker opens his jacket as he is checked by Israeli
soldiers at a checkpoint in the West Bank city of Jenin on December 11, 2005.
[MaanImages/Mohamad Torkoman]

LONDON (IRIN) -- For three years now a UK medical journal, the Lancet, has been working with Palestinian health professionals and researchers to document the effects of stressful living - coping with economic difficulties and shortages, restrictions on movement, political tensions and fear of outside attack - and has just published its latest findings.

Restrictions on movement are an everyday irritant in the occupied Palestinian territories. Apart from tedious and humiliating searches at checkpoints, residents never know for sure how long their journeys will take, or whether, indeed, they can be made at all. But in a medical emergency these restrictions can be a matter of life or death.

Last year the Lancet's collaborators described vividly the terror of women waiting to give birth during Israeli bombing raids on Gaza in early 2009: They knew they might need urgent medical care at a time when they were trapped in their homes during the attacks. This year another of their researchers has looked at what happens to women already in labor who are caught at checkpoints.

Halla Shoaibi of Ann Arbor University in the USA estimates that in the period she studied (2000-2007) 10 percent of pregnant Palestinian women were delayed at checkpoints while traveling to hospital to give birth. One result has been a dramatic increase in the number of home births, with women preferring to avoid road trips while in labor for fear of not being able to reach the hospital in time.

Their fears are well founded. Ms Shoaibi says 69 babies were born at checkpoints during those seven years. Thirty-five babies and five of the mothers died, an outcome which she considers to amount to a crime against humanity.

When the Lancet group held their first meeting in March 2009, Gaza was still reeling from the Israeli attacks known as Operation Cast Lead, which led to the deaths of over 1,400 people. In the latest publication, researchers return to that period, with further analysis of survey material about the effects of the attack on the civilian population.

The disruption to normal life was great. Forty-five percent of those surveyed had to leave their homes and move in with other people for at least 24 hours; 48 percent had other people moving in with them; 48 percent of homes were damaged. Nearly everyone had power cuts all or part of the time, and many also suffered disruption to other services - telephone, water supply and rubbish collection.

Psychological effects

In terms of psychological effects, over 80 percent reported a family member screaming or crying or having nightmares. Loss of appetite was also commonly reported.

But although Gaza is a relatively small area, the effects varied considerably according to where the respondents lived, with the governorates of Gaza and North Gaza the most, and Khan Younis and Rafah (near the border with Egypt) the least affected.

Another study looked at the feelings of insecurity which remained, even six months after the end of the attacks. Women felt more nervous and insecure than men. The groups who reported lower levels of insecurity were those who were better educated, and had a better standard of living, and also older people, those over 65.

Not all the studies published are directly linked to the Palestinian political situation; topics include smoking among teenagers, the number of pharmacists working in the territories (rather high, as it turns out) and the use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine.

The Lancet's editor, Richard Horton, stresses the importance of encouraging academic research into all aspects of health, as part of the process of rebuilding Palestinian society and strengthening its academic institutions.

He says he sees two immediate priorities: "First, while the collaboration between scientists in Gaza and their colleagues in the West Bank is encouraging, even more effort needs to be invested to create productive alliances between Palestinian academic institutions. And second, while there is much strength in public health research, there is a gap in the clinical sciences. More attention needs to be paid to strengthening research in the many excellent clinical facilities in the region."