-Caveat Lector- "Easing the Siege" - an Israeli fairy tale LAW Society Press Release, 19 June 2001 http://www.lawsociety.org/Press/Preleases/2001/June/Jun19.html Sharon and his government's claim to have eased the tight military siege over the Palestinian territories is entirely inaccurate, as Israeli military roadblocks are still in place and preventing Palestinians from moving between one town and another. LAW Society�s researchers have stated that military barriers are still severing the different parts of the West Bank by blocking the major roads that connect them. The Israeli troops positioned at these roadblocks only allow Palestinians to pass in extreme cases and for a short period of time before re-blocking the roads. People are made to wait for long hours before being allowed to pass after having been thoroughly checked, provoked and humiliated. In any case, private cars are not allowed to pass through roadblocks. LAW Society�s researchers have also noted that the roadblocks claimed to be partially opened are under surveillance by closed circuit cameras. According to our researchers, since reaching a ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian Authority (PNA) the Israeli authorities have allowed taxis and ambulances to pass through Qalandia roadblock, Nablus-Qalqilya roadblock, Qalqilya-Tulkarem roadblock, Hebron-Al Aroub roadblock and Gaza�s Salah Eddin roadblock. However, the concrete blocks are still in place. Israeli authorities have reopened Rafah and Al Karama border crossings, but do not allow Palestinian officers to be there. LAW Society�s researchers have monitored the following changes on the ground: 1. On June 14, Israeli bulldozers bulldozed Dura-Dir Samit road in Hebron and blocked it with sand barriers 2. On June 16, Israeli bulldozers bulldozed Betin-Al Bireh road 3. On June 17, Jaba-Sanur road in the district of Jenin was bulldozed and blocked 4. On June, 18, Israeli troops closed Ramallah-Birzeit road 5. On June 18, Israeli troops blocked Tulkarem-Al Kafriyat road with sand barriers 6. On June 18, Israeli troops blocked the roads to Bardala, Kardala, and al Baki�a in the Jordan Valley by digging trenches in them. 7. On June 18, Israeli bulldozers bulldozed and blocked the roads to Aboud, Dura Al Kari�a, Ain Areek, Dier Nitham, Ain Yabroud, Burham, and Dier Jarir in Ramallah district. They also bulldozed the road connecting Burham and Um Safa 8. On June 18, Bani Na�im road in Hebron was blocked with sand barriers 9. On June 19, Israeli troops placed sand barriers on Surif-Hebron road Moreover, the roads leading to Biet Ta�mar, Za�tara, Marah Rabah, and Al Asakra in Bethlehem district are still blocked. Hebron-Bethlehem road is still closed and the roads connecting Hebron with Sa�ir, al Shuyukh, Yata, and Bani Na�im are still closed. LAW researchers in Nablus stated that the Israeli occupation authorities did open the eastern entrance to Nablus, but it was only for a very short while and the Israeli soldiers stationed there intentionally delayed Palestinian commuters for long hours before either letting them through or forcing them to turn back. The entrance was completely blocked again on June 18, preventing residents of Biet Fureek and Biet Dajan from returning home. When people took the long unpaved mountainous track, Israeli troops brought bulldozers to block it off. At 5:30 pm on June 18, residents of Biet Dajan attempted to open the road to their village but Israeli soldiers stopped and verbally abused them. People stated later that they had seen a bomb next to the roadblock. On Tuesday June 19, Israeli soldiers stopped residents of the villages around Nablus from reaching the town. LAW Society�s researcher stated that he had seen Israeli soldiers assaulting and beating Palestinians attempting to reach Nablus on foot. Israeli troops have also prevented water tankards from reaching Biet Dajan and Biet Fureek, although the two Palestinian villages are not connected to a water network. Israeli soldiers also frequently chase Palestinian farmers in the two villages and fire teargas at them. Israeli troops are still blocking the western entrance to Nablus, forcing commuters to take long mountainous detours. According to LAW�s researcher, the road to the Palestinian village of Al Nakura has been blocked off with sand; this road was used by commuters from Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarem and Qalqilya as a detour to Nablus. To make things worse, Palestinian high school students, who are currently sitting their final exams, have been facing great difficulty reaching the examination centers. 18-year-old Shadi Al Khatib, a high school student from Atara, was stopped at an Israeli army roadblock near Birzeit and forced to return home. However, Shadi took a mountainous track and arrived at the exam center thirty minutes late for his exam and in bad shape. LAW re-emphasises that Israel�s claim of easing the siege is false and reiterates the following: The Israeli siege violates the right to freedom of movement The international conventions and treaties on human rights consider movement a basic human right. Article 23 of the 1949 IV Geneva Convention states, �Each High Contracting Party shall allow the free passage of all consignments of medical and hospital stores and objects necessary for religious worship intended only for civilians of another High Contracting Party, even if the later is its adversary.� Article 55 of the same Convention stipulates, �To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular, bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the sources of the occupied territory are inadequate.� Article 13 of the International Declaration of Human Rights confirms �(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.� Article 12 of the 1966 International Convention on Civil and Political Rights states: �1. Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence. 2. Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own. 3. The above-mentioned rights shall not be subject to any restrictions except those which are provided by law, are necessary to protect national security, public order (ordre public), public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others and are consistent with the other rights recognized in the present Covenant. 4. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.� Violating the right to freedom of movement is one of the collective punishments imposed by the occupation authority over Palestinian civilians. 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