New Delhi, Sept 08: Hours before the arrival of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to India, the Amnesty International (AI) today asked Indian government to take up the issue of alleged human rights violation of Palestinian citizens and "illegal" occupation of its territories by Israel. "India should seek explanation from Sharon about the illegal occupation and the incidents of alleged human rights violation in Palestinian territories," AI's India head Vijay Nagraj said while attending a release function of AI's report on "Israel/occupied territories: Surviving under siege".
"Israel has the right to take reasonable, necessary and proportionate measures to protect the security of its citizens and its borders from attacks by Palestinian armed groups, including by restricting access to its territory. However, it does not have the right to impose arbitrary, discriminatory or collective measures and punishment on the entire Palestinian population," the report said.
"Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians cannot be made to pay for the crimes of a handful of individuals. Any restrictions on the movement of people and goods should be imposed only in relation to a specific security threat and if they are non-discriminatory, necessary and proportionate in scope and duration," the report, which was prepared after making assessment of the situation during last two years, said.
Prof Gulshan Ditel of Jawaharlal Nehru University, who released the report, said the "occupation" was unjustified and unacceptable and Israel must withdraw from the Palestinian territories.
Bureau Report