Jerusalem: member of Palestinian Legislative Council arrested
26-09-2011 News Release 11/200
Geneva/Jerusalem (ICRC) – In connection with the arrest of Ahmed Attoun, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, in Jerusalem today, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is calling upon the Israeli authorities to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law.
Mr Attoun, together with another member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Mohammed Totah, and a former Minister for Jerusalem Affairs, Khaled Abu Arafeh, had been staging a sit-in on the premises of the ICRC since 1 July 2010 to protest against a decision taken by the Israeli authorities to deport them.
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 prohibits Israel, regardless of its motive, from forcibly transferring Palestinians.
Under international humanitarian law, East Jerusalem is an occupied territory, and its Palestinian residents are protected persons within the meaning of Article 4 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
For further information, please contact:
Hicham Hassan (Arabic/English/French), ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 25 41 or +41 79 536 92 57
Cecilia Goin (English/Spanish), ICRC Jerusalem, tel: +972 52 601 91 50
Nadia Dibsy (Arabic/English/French), ICRC Jerusalem, tel: +972 2 582 88 45 or +972 52 601 91 48
Ran Goldstein (Hebrew), ICRC Tel Aviv, +972 52 27 57 517