Press Releases

 For Immediate Release

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. (download & read the whole study - pdf version)

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, [email protected].

(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