Dear Sirs,

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) is extremely dismayed by the September 3 decision of the Israeli Supreme Court, allowing for the transfer on September 4 of two Palestinians, Intisar and Kifah Ajuri from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip.

The FIDH fears that this decision may serve as a dangerous precedent legitimising the future transfer of other civilians.

The Israeli Supreme Court justified its decision under article 78 of the IV Geneva Convention of 1949 relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war, which allows "assigned residence" of protected persons if "the Occupying Power considers it necessary, for imperative reasons of security."

However, this Supreme Court decision does not respect the IV Geneva Convention. First, according to article 33 of the Convention, "no protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed." Second, the Convention forbids the "deportation or transfer of a protected person" (article 147) and "individual or mass transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any country, occupied or not, regardless of their motive" (article 49).

Furthermore, the Israeli Supreme Court decision also constitutes a grave breach of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (not ratified by Israel, but considered as customary international law), which forbids, the "deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied territory within or outside this territory" by the Occupying Power [article 8(2)(b)(viii)]. The Rome Statute defines deportation or forcible transfer of population as "forced displacement of the persons concerned by expulsion or other coercive acts from the area in which they are lawfully present, without grounds permitted under international law".

Moreover, the FIDH is concerned with the fact that these two persons were not charged and were not brought to trial after they were held in administrative detention since July 4 and 18, 2002, respectively, which constitutes a violation of the right to a fair trial guaranteed notably by article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The FIDH recalls that such disregard for the principles of the IV Geneva Convention and of the Rome Statute, committed against protected persons, constitute war crimes.

By virtue of article 1 of the IV Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a High Contracting Party, we urge you "to respect and to ensure respect" for the Convention.

We thank you in advance for your careful consideration in this matter, and remain,

Sincerely yours,

Sidiki Kaba
President of the FIDH