Israel imposes curfew on six Palestinians in Jerusalem

Six Palestinians from the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Issawiya have been slapped with curfews.

2 min read

02 January, 2020

Issawiya has been subjected to a rise in Israeli attacks [Getty]

Six Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem have been banned from leaving their houses at night by Israel.

According to Palestinian Authority news agency WAFA, Israel imposed curfews ranging from between two to four months on six Palestinian youths in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Issawiya.

They were identified as Anwar Sami Obeid, Muhammad Elayyan Elayyan, Fayez Muhammad Mheisen, Muhammad Musa Mustafa, Adam Kayed Mahmoud and Mahmoud Ramadan Obeid.

The six were previously arrested and were released on 24 December. Israeli police justified the arrest by saying they were "disrupting public order", without elaborating.

Issawiyeh has become an increased target of Israeli police.

Its residents face a rise in police raids and home demolitions.

British colonial legacy

Palestinians have been subjected to curfews since before the creation of Israel.

Under the British Mandate, Palestinians were forced to adhere to them. In 1945, the British Mandate codified curfews when they enacted the Defence Regulations.

Under the regulations, they imposed curfews, established military tribunals where civilians were not allowed a right to appeal a ruling against them, allowed extensive searches, confiscated civilian property and censored Palestinian literature.

The regulations paved the way for legalising administrative detentions.

In 1948, Israel incorporated the Defense Regulations into its legal system but was voted by the Knesset to be dissolved in 1951.

Since then, the regulations were not abolished because they serve as a legal basis for military occupation and can be legally used against Palestinian citizens of Israel.

Half a century of illegal occupation

Israel has illegally occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem since a war with neighbouring Arab countries in 1967. It later annexed East Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community.

Israeli forces and settlers routinely attack Palestinians in the occupied territories, demolishing their homes, poisoning their livestock and vandalising properties.

The Israeli occupation routinely uses barriers and checkpoints to restrict Palestinian freedom of movement, as it expands its occupation of the West Bank via settlements.

All Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank are classed as illegal under international law, particularly Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which asserts that "the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies".