Ottawa-The National Council on Canada-Arab Relations (NCCAR) is praising the release of a new report "Israel and the Occupied Territories: Surviving under Siege," by the London-based human rights organization Amnesty International.

The Amnesty report released September 8, identifies Israeli violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. However, the report's central focus is on the impact of mobility restrictions on the rights of Palestinians to work. According to Amnesty International, some 60 percent of Palestinians currently live below the poverty line of $2 per day with unemployment near 50 percent.

This report confirms the findings of several prominent human rights organizations with regards to the paralyzing effect of Israeli policies, such as the expansion of Israeli settlements, military closures and curfews, extra-judicial killings and security force brutality, on Palestinian life and the economy.

Further, the Amnesty Report condemns Israel's West Bank “Separation Barrier/Fence/Wall.” At almost 400 km long and 30 to 100 meters wide, what Palestinians refer to as the “Apartheid Wall” is deepening an already crippled economy and society in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).

Full Report Available at: http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde150012003