Palestine
Key Developments
In 2023, The HALO Trust completed Phase 1 of its operations in the West Bank, clearing the two remaining high-priority mixed anti-personnel (AP) mine and anti-vehicle (AV) mined areas at Qabatiya and Yabad in Jenin. HALO also cleared two AV minefields in the Jordan Valley, completing clearance at Taysir in 2023 and at Sokot in early 2024. Since the events of 7 October 2023, there have been unconfirmed reports of new use of AP and AV mines in the Gaza Strip, which was not previously known to be mined.
Recommendation for Action
- Israel should allow survey and clearance of all mined areas on Palestinian territory to proceed as a matter of urgency.
Download the full "Clearing the Mines 2023" report for Palestine
Click here to download the "Clearing the Mines 2023" report for Palestine.
Five-Year Overview
The precise extent of AP mined area in Palestine is not known. All mined areas are in territory under Israeli control;Initial Article 7 Report, dated 26 November 2018, Form D and Annex 2. Israel has not to date authorised the Palestinian Mine Action Centre (PMAC) to conduct demining, and Israel must approve all demining operations in the West Bank.Ibid. HALO has conducted mine clearance under the auspices of PMAC and the Israel Mine Action Authority (INMAA) since 2014, and by the middle of 2023, had cleared nine high-priority minefields under Phase 1 of its operations in the West Bank, including three mixed AP and AV sites in Jenin and another in Tul Kareem since July 2019.Emails from Ronen Shimoni, Programme Manager, HALO, 10 April and 21 August 2019. Work in Phase 1 was affected by a lack of funding, and operations paused completely in 2021 for this reason.Email from Ronen Shimoni, HALO, 17 May 2022. Between 2018 and 2020, HALO also completed clearance of a mixed AP and AV mine site at Qaser al-Yahud (the Baptism Site project) in the Jordan Valley.Email from Michael Heiman, formerly of INMAA, 26 May 2018.
INMAA has also overseen demining activities in the West Bank, undertaken by private companies,Email from Ronen Shimoni, HALO, 10 April 2019. and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) conducts their own clearance operations, as reported in Israel’s annual Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) Amended Protocol II Article 13 reports.See the CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 Reports (covering 2019–23), Form B. However, Israel has not generally disaggregated mines from other explosive remnants of war (ERW), or indicated if any clearance is conducted in the West Bank, so progress is unclear.