22 July 2007: Military breaches promise and closes gate to 'Azzun 'Atmah at night

The village of ‘Azzun 'Atmah is isolated from the rest of the West Bank by the Separation Barrier. The main reason for turning the village into an enclave has been stated explicitly: to place the settlement Sha'are Tikva on the “Israeli” side of the barrier. The only road through which the village's residents can access the rest of the West Bank is a gate in the Barrier. The gate is open only part of the day. When it is closed, the soldiers stay in a nearby observation tower. When villagers need to cross for urgent medical treatment, or any other reason, they call up to the soldiers and beg them to open the gate.

On 17 February 2007, a young Palestinian, ‘Adel ‘Omer, was injured in an accident in the village. The soldiers in the tower delayed opening the gate and it took over an hour to get him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. B'Tselem wrote to the chief military prosecutor and demanded that he order an investigation into the incident. The case was reported in the press by Israeli journalist Gideon Levy. In response to B'Tselem's demand, the judge advocate for the Central Command, Lt. Col. Ehud Ben Eliezer, wrote that, following the incident, it was decided to keep the gate open around the clock.

The ‘Azzun 'Atmah gate in the Separation Barrier. The guard tower where soldiers are posted at night is visible in the background. Photo: Miki Kratzman.

B'Tselem's research indicates that this change was not implemented. For a few days after Levy's article was published, soldiers were indeed stationed at the gate throughout the night. However, after a few days, the soldiers resumed the previous pattern and at night left the gate and went to stay in the tower.

Now, because of the danger they will be left without access to medical treatment at night, women in their ninth month of pregnancy frequently leave the village and move to live elsewhere in the West Bank . According to a report in the press, of thirty-three children born to ‘Azzun 'Atmah villagers from January to the beginning of June, twenty were born outside the village. The others were born at home without the assistance of a doctor or registered midwife.

The decision to run the barrier's route inside the West Bank – so that Israeli settlements would be situated on the “Israeli” side and to ensure their future – violates international humanitarian law and is, therefore, illegal. The illegality of the route in certain sections, like that near ‘Azzun 'Atmah, is greatly aggravated in that the barrier is not only routed through the West Bank, but also infringes Palestinians human rights.

Furthermore, even if the argument is accepted that placing the settlements on the “Israeli” side results from legitimate security reasons, international law and decisions of the High Court of Justice state that it is forbidden to accomplish this goal in a way that causes disproportionate harm to Palestinians.

It is perfectly clear that the decision not to keep the gate open all day and night causes disproportionate harm. First, opening the gate at night does not endanger the security of Israeli civilians or of residents of the neighboring settlement, given that the crossing of Palestinians through the gate is controlled. Second, even if opening the gate at night places the soldiers at greater risk, the army has an obligation to find a military solution, and it is forbidden to collectively punish all the village's residents.

The illegality of the barrier and the infringement of Palestinians' rights require Israel to dismantle every section of the barrier that is located within the West Bank . If Israel decides that a physical barrier is needed, it may construct one along the Green Line, or on Israeli soil. Until it does so, B'Tselem calls on the government of Israel to dismantle the section of the Separation Barrier surrounding ‘Azzun 'Atmah, enable the residents free access to their land, and return the land that was taken from them in building the barrier.

Until the situation is returned to its previous condition, Israel must open the ‘Azzun 'Atmah gate twenty-four hours a day and allow the residents to access the rest of the West Bank, at any time of day they wish, and to conduct a normal life.