Israeli military training exercises in the West Bank unethical and amounting to harassing of Palestinian civilians inside their homes, says an Israeli reservist

Human rights group condemns Israeli military training exercises in the West Bank 

Thursday July 05, 2007 11:05 by R. P. - IMEMC Editorial Group

The Palestinian human rights organization, Al-Haq, has written a public letter to diplomatic representatives protesting a number of recent military training exercises carried out by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank.

Israeli occupation forces have been training in the Toulkarem area of the northern West Bank, reported Shawan Jabarin, Al-Haq General Director. Four exercises were carried out in March 2007 in the village of Beit Lid, usually between the hours of 2:00 and 7:00 a.m., he said. These incursions comprised 400 to 500 soldiers entering the village on foot and training with cardboard cutouts of people, as well as simulations of the evacuation and transfer of injured persons. Similar exercises in the villages of Beit Lid and Safarin in February 2007 were reported by Israeli media. Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organization, reported the testimony of an Israeli reservist who characterized the exercise as unethical and amounting to harassing of civilians.

Al-Haq has also documented cases of using private Palestinian homes in the Salfit area of the northern West Bank for Israeli military training maneuvers. In one case, in May 2007 in the village of Kufr al-Dik, approximately 18 soldiers entered the home of 'Abir Wasef Ahmad. The soldiers took over the first floor of their home for almost 24 hours, confiscating her mobile phone, disconnecting her land line, and confining her and her extended family to the ground floor.

Al-Haq's legal analysis found that such incursions into the private homes of Palestinians violate a number of international human rights laws to which Israel is bound, such as the right to home and family life free of arbitrary interference and the right to private property. The organization called on the international community to ensure that such violations of the human rights of Palestinians are prevented, stating that "allowing occurrences such as those described above to go unchecked contributes to an atmosphere of impunity, and weakens the credibility of international law as a means of protection for Palestinian civilians."

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