Human Rights Violations as an Obstacle to Economic Development

Throughout the Israeli occupation, reporting on human rights violations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip has focused primarily on violent methods of repression and the denial of fundamental rights such as free expression and due process. The suppression of these rights, both by Israel as the occupying power and by the Palestinian Authority (PA) since the implementation of self-rule in May 1994, indicates a disregard for international law and for the notion of individual rights and dignity. ¹ Other human rights violations, however, such as long-standing restrictions on movement, have received less attention internationally, although they have been painstakingly documented by local groups and activists. Yet these restrictions, which are inescapable for residents of the West Bank and Gaza, have had an equally profound impact on the occupied territories and their residents. In addition, the debate on obstacles to economic development in the West Bank and Gaza – which has focused on issues such as flaws in the Oslo Accords, insufficient international assistance to the PA, and corruption in the Palestinian leadership – has often ignored one of the primary impediments to economic development in the territories: continued Israeli control over the movement of individuals and goods in and out of the territories. ²