Annual Report - Palestinian Center for Human Rights

International Unit
Introduction
As the history of the OPT in 2005 goes to press, it will undoubtedly include three
significant events. The first of these would be the Palestinian presidential election.
The second the unilateral redeployment (‘disengagement’) plan – one of the major
challenges faced by the International Unit, and PCHR, in 2005. The third, and in
many ways most significant for PCHR, was the escape of Major General Doron
Almog from the Anti-Terror unit of the Metropolitan Police in the United Kingdom.
The International Unit played a central role in the PCHR response to the first two
issues. The unit’s staff not only monitored elections across the Gaza Strip but also
organised, facilitated and played host to the international monitoring delegations
which visited the Centre.
During the unilateral redeployment of Israeli soldiers from the Gaza Strip, the
International Unit had already been responsible for the development and formulation
of the PCHR strategy. The unit was then a key element in producing the daily field
reports, written in conjunction with the Fieldwork Unit, as well as responding to the
varied requests of the media, which as anticipated, came after the implementation of
the redeployment rather then during.
Finally, the biggest event of the year for the International Unit, and for PCHR, was
the decision by Judge Timothy Workman, in England, to issue an arrest warrant for
the suspect in a number of war crimes cases, Major General Doron Almog. It was the
first time an arrest warrant has been issued for an Israeli soldier. This immense legal
precedent was combined with the dramatic decision of high ranking Israeli diplomats
to participate in perverting the court of justice (a serious offence in the UK system) by
warning Almog not to disembark from the airplane he was traveling in, when it had
landed on British soil, in order to prevent his arrest.
As illustrated in this Annual Report, the incident received international media
attention and shook the Israeli authorities to the core. The International Unit was at
the centre of the initial negotiations with British law firm Hickman and Rose and the
staff in the unit was heavily involved in day-to-day communications. Of course, the
final congratulations go to Raji Sourani, Iyad Alami, Kate Maynard and Daniel
Machover.
Overall, the year posed an even bigger set of challenges than usually faced in Gaza.
The continued isolation of the Strip was combined with the ongoing Israeli onslaught
– despite the Hudna (cease-fire) by the Palestinian resistance. Combined with this,
the deterioration in the internal security situation placed international staff members
under considerable risk. This hit very close to home when one of the seven
kidnappings actually involved a former PCHR staff member, who had spent that day
visiting the Centre. The Centre’s efforts to intervene in this, and all kidnappings, bore
some fruit but the threat level remained high for staff members, particularly given the
decision of the UN to evacuate its international staff.
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