RECOMMENDED REPORTS

R1. UN CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT, REPORT ON UNCTAD ASSISTANCE TO THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE, GENEVA, 6 JULY 2015

In preparation for a meeting of the Trade and Development Board in September, the UN Conference on Trade and Development released its report on the economy of the occupied Palestinian territories. The 18-page report warns that Gaza could be uninhabitable by 2020 as a result of continued de-development, the eight-year blockade, and the destruction caused by three Israeli military assaults in the six years since 2009. It concludes that current trends in the health, education, energy, and water and sanitation sectors must be reversed in order to ensure that Gaza is livable in the next five years, a requirement which necessitates ending the blockade. The report is available at www.unctad.org.

R2. THE STATE OF ISRAEL, THE 2014 GAZA CONFLICT: FACTUAL AND LEGAL ASPECTS, JERUSALEM, 14 JUNE 2015

In response to allegations of war crimes committed during Operation Protective Edge, Israel commissioned various internal investigations into its military conduct in Gaza (see Doc. C1). Rather than investigating specific incidents, this 275-page report outlines Israel’s reasoning for its military operation against Gaza in summer 2014, focusing on the effects of rocket fire from Gaza into Israel. In contrast to reports by the UN Commission of Inquiry and other international groups (see Docs. A2 and A3), the Israeli report defines 44% of the 2,125 Palestinians killed as combatants and concludes that Israeli forces used a highly regulated process to approve targets. The full report is available at protectiveedge.gov.il.

R3. THE WORLD BANK, ECONOMIC MONITORING REPORT TO THE AD HOC LIAISON COMMITTEE, WASHINGTON, 27 MAY 2015

In its annual report to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, the World Bank’s West Bank and Gaza team focuses on two issues: macroeconomic and fiscal developments in the West Bank and Gaza; and, the human impact of Gaza’s economic decline over the past 20 years. The 40-page report attributes Gaza’s dire economic situation to Israel’s ongoing blockade and repeated military assaults and concludes that in order to rebuild Gaza’s economy, reduce human hardship, and increase the prospects for peace, the blockade on the movement of goods and people must be lifted. The report is available at documents. worldbank.org.

R4. EUROPEAN COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, EU DIFFERENTIATION AND ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS, LONDON, 22 JULY 2015

In its 11-page report, the European Council on Foreign Relations argues that the European Union (EU) should further develop its policy of differentiating between Israel-based and settlement-based activities. The report calls upon the EU to review its current economic interactions with Israel to assess whether they include dealings with Israeli businesses in the settlements, and to implement a clear differentiation policy across the EU. The report and an interview with the authors are available at www.ecfr.eu.

R5. ANERA, REBUILDING GAZA: AN OVERVIEW OF HUMANITARIAN AND RECONSTRUCTION NEEDS, WASHINGTON, 3 AUGUST 2015

In this 12-page report, American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) provides a summary of reconstruction needs in Gaza one year after Operation Protective Edge. The assessment is based on data gathered by ANERA’s field staff in Gaza. It outlines the status of the health, educational, agricultural, economic, and water and sanitation sectors. Additionally, it addresses the reconstruction process and the limited capabilities of aid organizations in the process given the Israeli blockade and lack of international funding. ANERA’s report is available at www.anera.org.

R6. INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP (ICG), THE STATUS OF THE STATUS QUO AT JERUSALEM’S HOLY ESPLANADE, BRUSSELS, 30 JUNE 2015

In its 32-page report on Jerusalem, the ICG concludes that four issues must be addressed to ensure stability at Haram al-Sharif: access, prayer, archaeology and public works, and Palestinian participation. While it refutes claims that Israeli archaeological activities are aimed at destroying al-Aqsa Mosque, it favors the regulation of large organized visits by Jews to the area and upholding what is known as the historical status quo disallowing Jews to pray at the compound. The report is available at www.crisisgroup.org.

R7. B’TSELEM, PRESUMED GUILTY: REMAND IN CUSTODY BY MILITARY COURTS IN THE WEST BANK, JERUSALEM, JUNE 2015

B’Tselem’s 44-page report discusses the remand-in-custody policy of Israeli military courts in the West Bank, which enables the detainment of an indicted individual until the end of their trial or sentencing. Although military courts claim to implement the same standards as Israeli civil courts to determine whether remand in custody is appropriate in any given case, in practice the military courts detain Palestinian defendants for the duration of their lengthy proceedings until they are sentenced. This practice often leads defendants to accept plea bargains, even if innocent, rather than serving the duration of their proceedings. The report is available at www.btselem.org.

R8. YESH DIN, MOCK ENFORCEMENT: THE FAILURE TO ENFORCE THE LAW ON ISRAELI CIVILIANS IN THE WEST BANK, TEL AVIV, 17 MAY 2015

In this 154-page report, Yesh Din examines the lack of punitive action against Israeli citizens who commit ideologically-motivated crimes against Palestinians in the West Bank. It concludes that: 85.3% of investigative files are closed due to police investigators’ failure to locate suspects or to find sufficient evidence; only 7.4% of investigations yield indictments against suspects; and, there is only a 1.9% chance that a complaint submitted to the Israel Police by a Palestinian will lead to an effective investigation, the location of a suspect, prosecution, and ultimate conviction. The report is available at www.yesh-din.org.

R9. YESH DIN, STANDING IDLY BY: IDF SOLDIERS’ INACTION IN THE FACE OF OFFENSES PERPETRATED BY ISRAELIS AGAINST PALESTINIANS IN THE WEST BANK, TEL AVIV, 21 JUNE 2015

Based upon Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) testimonies collected by the NGO Breaking the Silence, this 94-page report by Yesh Din analyzes the inaction of IDF soldiers witnessing violence against Palestinians. It argues that soldiers generally do nothing to prevent the action as it is happening, and that they refrain from arresting the perpetrators, fail to collect evidence at the scene, and abstain from testifying about the incidents to the police. The report concludes that the IDF fails to provide soldiers with proper training on this issue, and that Military Justice Law does not consider inaction a crime. The report is available at www.yesh-din.org.