Post-1967 Palestinian & Israeli deaths from occupation & violence

As of late APRIL 2006, how many Israelis and Palestinians, respectively, have died from Palestinian non-state violence and Israeli state violence?

SHORT ANSWER: 1,133 Israelis and an estimated 5,144 Palestinians (including 952 children) have been killed since September 2000. From UN data, the post-1967 avoidable mortality (excess mortality) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories totals 300,000 and the post-1967 under-5 infant mortality 183,000 (of which 90% has been avoidable) - as compared to 2,178 post-1967 Israeli terrorism deaths (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs figures).

CAREFULLY DOCUMENTED ANALYSIS:

1. Terrorism deaths in Israel1920-1999 total 2,580 (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April 2006; see: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2000/1/Terrorism+deaths+in+Israel+-+1920-1999.htm ).

Quote: “From 1920 through 1999, a total of 2,580 residents of Mandatory Palestine and, since 1948, the State of Israel fell victims to hostile enemy action; in most cases, terrorist attacks. The last terrorism-related death in 1999 was recorded on August 30, 1999. The first death in 2000 was recorded on September 27, 2000, with the outbreak of the current wave of Palestinian violence and terror” (“Terrorism deaths in Israel: 1920-1999”, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April 2006; see: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2000/1/Terrorism+deaths+in+Israel+-+1920-1999.htm ).

2. Terrorism deaths in Israel 1967-1999 total 1,065 (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April 2006; see: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2000/1/Terrorism+deaths+in+Israel+-+1920-1999.htm ).

3. Terrorism deaths in Israel since 2000 total 1,113

Quote: “ 1,113 people have been killed by Palestinian violence and terrorism since September 2000” (specifically 27 September 2000 – 17 April 2006; “Victims of Palestinian violence and terrorism since September 2000”, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April 2006; see: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+since+2000/Victims+of+Palestinian+Violence+and+Terrorism+sinc.htm ).

4. From the above information, all derived from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we can calculate that as of April 2006 there have been 4,758 terrorism deaths in Israel since 1920 and 2,178 since the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza (the Occupied Palestinian Territories) and the Golan Heights (Syria) in 1967.

5. Palestinians killed from September 2000-February 2005 total 4,009

Quote: “Since the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising (Intifada) in September 2000, through February 2005, 4,009 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupation forces” (“4,009 Palestinians killed and more than 44,500 wounded by Israelis from September 2000 to February 2005, PNIC [Palestinian National Information Centre] Report”, Al-Jazeerah, March 2005; see: http://www.aljazeerah.info/Human%20price%20of%20the%20occupation/human_price_of_the_israeli_occup.htm )

6. Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation forces from September 2000 total 5,144

From the above information, we can that estimate that, as of April 2006, a further 1,135 Palestinians have been killed and 12,594 wounded since February 2005 and that a total of 5,144 Palestinians have been killed (including an estimated 952 children) and 57,100 have been wounded since September 2000

7. Post-1967 avoidable mortality and under-5 infant mortality in the Occupied Palestinian Territories total 0.3 and 0.2 million, respectively

Avoidable mortality (technically, excess mortality) is the difference between the actual deaths in a country and the deaths expected for a peaceful, decently-run country with the same demographics (see: http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ ). Post-1967 avoidable mortality (excess mortality) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories totals 300,000 and the post-1967 under-5 infant mortality 183,000 (of which about 90% was avoidable) (estimated from UN Population Division data; see: http://esa.un.org/unpp/ ). The “annual under-5 infant mortality” (expressed as a percentage of the under-5 infant population) is 0.51% (Occupied Palestinian Territories) as compared to 0.12% (Israel) (2003 figures; see: http://esa.un.org/unpp/ and the latest UNICEF reports: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html ).

Professor Peter Singer, formerly at Monash University Melbourne, and now Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University in the US, has been widely acclaimed as the most influential living philosopher (see: http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/323/7318/940 ) and has generated enormous controversy over his advocacy of “active”, painless, non-voluntary euthanasia for severely disabled infants. However his comments over “passive euthanasia” are relevant to “passive genocide” by Occupiers such as the Israelis in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the US-led Coalition in Occupied Iraq and Afghanistan: “Doctors who deliberately leave a baby to die when they have the awareness, the ability, and the opportunity to save the baby’s life, are just as morally responsible for the death as they would be if they had brought it about by a deliberate positive action” (H. Kuhse & P. Singer, Should the Baby Live? The Problem of Handicapped Infants, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1985, pp84-85).

Professor Peter Singer has further stated the following moral generality “We are responsible not only for what we do but also for what we could have prevented … We could consider the consequences of what we do and what we decide not to do” (P. Singer, Writings on an Ethical Life, Ecco Press, New York, 2000, ppxv-xvi; see: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ockham/stories/s1445960.htm ).

The 1949 Geneva Conventions relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (see: (http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm )
are explicit in demanding that the Occupier does everything “to the fullest extent of the means available to it” to preserve the health and life of its conquered subjects:

“Article 55. To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular, bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate …

Article 56. To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring and maintaining , with the cooperation of the national and local authorities, the medical and hospital establishments and services, public health and hygiene in the occupied territory, with particular reference to the adoption and application of the prophylactic and preventive measures necessary to combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics. Medical personnel of all categories shall be allowed to carry out their duties …”

Whether a child dies violently (from bombs or bullets) or dies non-violently (from deprivation or malnourishmnet-exacerbated disease), the end result is the same and the culpability the same. The Ruler is responsible for the Ruled, the Occupier is responsible for the Occupied subjects.

Israel - a prosperous, liberal democracy with a population extremely well aware from the Jewish Holocaust of the horrendous consequences of racism and human rights abuse - has FAILED to meet its obligations under the 1949 Geneva Conventions (see: (http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm ) and has also FAILED near-comprehensively in relation to the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (see: http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/pdf/crc.pdf ), most notably and fundamentally with respect to Article #6: “1. States Parties recognize that every child has the inherent right to life. 2. States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child.”

This awful situation does NOT have to continue. All sensible, humane Jews and Arabs want peace. Thus IMMEDIATE implementation of an Interim Peace Plan can effect Peace with Justice NOW . Such an Interim Peace Plan for IMMEDIATE implementation could involve the following: 2 states; 1967 borders; joint provision of airport-style total security throughout the Holy Land; interim defence provision by Israel alone (Israel would probably accept nothing less); bigotry, racism and incitement made illegal; reconciliation; all human rights guaranteed for all; and secure access for ALL to ALL of the Holy Land.