[NYTr] HRW: Israel's Fuel and Power Cuts Violate Laws of War

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

[This is not exactly news, and HRW is not exactly a flaming good group,
but they've now gone on the record, too.  For what it's worth. -NYTr]

Human Rights Watch - Oct 29, 2007
http://hrw.org

Gaza: Israel's Fuel and Power Cuts Violate Laws of War

Civilians Should Not Be Penalized for Rocket Attacks by Armed Groups

(New York, October 29, 2007) - Israel's decision to limit fuel and
electricity to the Gaza Strip in retaliation for unlawful rocket
attacks by armed groups amounts to collective punishment against the
civilian population of Gaza, in violation of international law, and
will worsen the humanitarian crisis there, Human Rights Watch said
today.

"Israel may respond to rocket attacks by armed groups to protect its
population, but only in lawful ways," said Sarah Leah Whitson, director
of Human Rights Watch's Middle East division. "Because Israel remains an
occupying power, in light of its continuing restrictions on Gaza, Israel
must not take measures that harm the civilian population - yet that is
precisely what cutting fuel or electricity for even short periods will
do."

On Sunday, the Israeli Defense Ministry ordered the reduction of fuel
shipments from Israel to Gaza. A government spokesman said the plan was
to cut the amount of fuel by 5 to 11 percent without affecting the
supply of industrial fuel for Gaza's only power plant.

According to Palestinian officials, fuel shipments into Gaza yesterday
fell by more than 30 percent.

In response to the government's decision, a group of 10 Palestinian and
Israeli human rights groups petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court on
Sunday, seeking an immediate injunction against the fuel and
electricity cuts. The court gave the government five days to respond
but did not issue a temporary injunction. On Monday, the groups
requested an urgent hearing before the five days expire.

Last Thursday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak approved cutting electricity
to Gaza for increasing periods in response to ongoing rocket attacks
against civilian areas in Israel, but the government has not yet
implemented the order.

The rockets fired by Palestinian armed groups violate the international
legal prohibition on indiscriminate attacks because they are highly
inaccurate and cannot be directed at a specific target. Because Hamas
exercises power inside Gaza, it is responsible for stopping
indiscriminate attacks even when carried out by other groups, Human
Rights Watch said.

On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israel would
respond strongly to the ongoing attacks without allowing a humanitarian
crisis. But the UN's top humanitarian official, UN Deputy Secretary-
General John Holmes, said that a "serious humanitarian crisis" in Gaza
already exists, and called on Israel to lift the economic blockade that
it tightened after Hamas seized power in June.

Israel's decision to cut fuel and electricity is the latest move aimed
ostensibly against Hamas that is affecting the entire population of
Gaza. In September, the Israeli cabinet declared Gaza "hostile
territory" and voted to "restrict the passage of various goods to the
Gaza Strip and reduce the supply of fuel and electricity." Since then,
Israel has increasingly blocked supplies into Gaza, letting in limited
amounts of essential foodstuffs, medicine and humanitarian supplies.
According to Holmes, the number of humanitarian convoys entering Gaza
had dropped to 1,500 in September from 3,000 in July.

"Cutting fuel and electricity obstructs vital services," Whitson said.
"Operating rooms, sewage pumps, and water well pumps all need
electricity to run."

Israel sells to Gaza roughly 60 percent of the electricity consumed by
the territory's 1.5 million inhabitants. In June 2006, six Israeli
missiles struck Gaza's only power plant; today, for most residents,
electricity is available during only limited hours.

Israeli officials said they would cut electricity for 15 minutes after
each rocket attack and then for increasingly longer periods if the
attacks persist. Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai said Israel would
"dramatically reduce" the power it supplied to Gaza over a period of
weeks.

Cutting fuel or electricity to the civilian population violates a basic
principle of international humanitarian law, or the laws of war, which
prohibit a government that has effective control over a territory from
attacking or withholding objects that are essential to the survival of
the civilian population. Such an act would also violate Israel's duty
as an occupying power to safeguard the health and welfare of the
population under occupation.

Israel withdrew its military forces and settlers from the Gaza Strip in
2005. Nonetheless, Israel remains responsible for ensuring the
well-being of Gaza's population for as long as, and to the extent that,
it retains effective control over the area. Israel still exercises
control over Gaza's airspace, sea space and land borders, as well as
its electricity, water, sewage and telecommunications networks and
population registry. Israel can and has also reentered Gaza for
security operations at will.

Israeli officials state that by declaring Gaza "hostile territory," it
is no longer obliged under international law to supply utilities to the
civilian population, but that is a misstatement of the law.

"A mere declaration does not change the facts on the ground that impose
on Israel the status and obligations of an occupying power," said
Whitson.

For more of Human Rights Watch's work on Israel and the Occupied
Palestinian Territories, please visit:
http://hrw.org/doc?t=mideast&c=isrlpa