HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Eighth session
Agenda item 7
HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN PALESTINE AND OTHER OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES
Human rights violations emanating from Israeli military attacks and incursions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the recent ones in the occupied Gaza Strip
Introduction
1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 7/1 of 6 March 2008 on human rights violations emanating from Israeli military attacks and incursions, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the recent ones in the occupied Gaza Strip, in which the Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to report to the Council, at its eighth session, on the progress made in the implementation of that resolution.
2. In its resolution 7/1, the Council 'condemns the persistent Israeli military attacks and incursions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the recent ones in the occupied Gaza Strip, which resulted in the loss of more than 125 lives and hundreds of injuries among Palestinian civilians, including women, children and infants; expresses its shock at the Israeli bombardment of Palestinian homes and the killing of civilians therein and at the Israeli policy of inflicting collective punishment against the civilian population, which is contrary to international humanitarian law, and calls for bringing the perpetrators to justice; calls for the immediate cessation of all Israeli military attacks throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the firing of crude rockets, which resulted in the loss of two civilian lives and some injuries in southern Israel; also calls for urgent international action to put an immediate end to the grave violations committed by the occupying Power, Israel, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the series of incessant and repeated Israeli military attacks and incursions therein and the siege of the occupied Gaza Strip; reiterates its calls for immediate protection of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in compliance with international human rights law and international humanitarian law'; and 'urges all parties concerned to respect the rules of international human rights law and international humanitarian law and to refrain from violence against civilian populations'.
3. The present report assesses the progress made in the implementation of the resolution for a two-month period (25 February to 25 April 2008), from the end of the reporting period of the previous report on human rights violations emanating from Israeli military attacks and incursions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip (A/HRC/7/76). In accordance with Council resolution 7/1, the present report primarily focuses on the situation in and around Gaza (particularly in the context of its closure) and on violence against the civilian populations. It also addresses other actions taken by the parties during the reporting period which affect the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), sets out briefly the legal obligations of all parties under international human rights law and international humanitarian law and provides recommendations to the Council.
* Late submission. The footnotes to the present report are circulated as received, in the language of submission only.