Regarding closures, the Secretary-General says that Israel’s closures have had serious consequences, including economic ones, on Palestinians. “The restrictions continue to undermine the enjoyment of other rights guaranteed under international human rights law by effectively impeding access to health care, education and employment.” In the West Bank, restrictions have blocked access to such services as health and education, while “approximately 1.4 million Palestinians are forcibly confined in the Gaza Strip, where social and economic conditions are deteriorating rapidly,” he writes. The wall erected in June 2002 by Israel to separate it from the West Bank further impedes access for Palestinians, the report says. “In addition to its immediate impact on freedom of movement, the wall and the associated restrictions of movement significantly undermine the enjoyment of a host of other fundamental human rights.” It calls on the Assembly and the international community to take measures to further the implementation of the decisions, resolutions and recommendations of the Security Council, ICJ and UN human rights mechanisms. The Secretary-General also says the Assembly should ask for the Council’s help in putting into practice the ICJ’s 2004 advisory opinion that said that the building of a barrier in the occupied Palestinian territory is illegal, called for an end to construction and said Israel should make reparations for any damage caused. --SPA www.spa.gov.sa/605473