Israeli practices.

• Position: Report of Special Political Committee

Israeli Practices

The Committee considered several reports regarding the work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories. The body was established by the General Assembly in 1968. Its mandate has been renewed annually.

The main report (document A/38/409) reviewed was that of the Special Committee itself, whose members are from Sri Lanka, Senegal and Yugoslavia. Covering the period 27 August 1982 to 19 August 1983, it contains information on annexation and settlements, treatment of civilians and detainees, judicial remedies sought by the civilian population, and measures affecting freedom of education and activities of Israeli settlers, as well as a series of conclusions and a map showing Israeli settlements established, planned or under construction in the territories occupied in June 1967.

The report draws attention to what it terms the general policy of the Government of Israel as reflected in a statement made by the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs in March, which specified that the occupied territories were part of "Yeretz Israel' and in that sense their annexation was not necessary since they formed part of the Israeli "homeland'. In the view of the Special Committee, such statements "confirm that the Government of Israel continues to follow a policy aimed at the annexation of these territories in violation of its obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention'.

The imposition of "civil administration' had caused serious problems of maintenance of public order and it would be desirable to restore a military government, the Special Committee reports. It cites some 140 incidents "indicating that hardly a day goes by in the occupied territories without some incident involving violence being reported'. The dissolution of properly elected municipal councils in the principal towns of the West Bank and their replacement by military governors had further complicated life for the civilian population. The Special Committee notes a distinct tendency in measures taken by the occupation authorities to put pressure on Arab civilians to leave their homes and emigrate, parallel to a policy of expulsion on other pretexts.

Regarding the activities of Israeli settlers, the Special Committee report states that in the period covered there had been "unprecedented violence and acts of aggression by Israeli settlers to the detriment of the civilians in the occupied...