A/HRC/10/8/Add.2 page 9 B. Issues of concern 24. The Special Rapporteur would like to highlight selected aspects of the status of freedom of religion or belief in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. She is well aware of the complex situation and the heightened atmosphere of tension and militancy. The Special Rapporteur will focus on the following issues of concern: (1) restricted access to places of worship; (2) preservation and protection of religious sites; (3) indication of religious affiliation on official identity cards; (4) matters of personal status; (5) preferential treatment of Orthodox Judaism; (6) religious rights of persons deprived of their liberty; (7) advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence; (8) conversions and missionary activities; and (9) further concerns within the Occupied Palestinian Territory. 1. Restricted access to places of worship 25. A major issue of concern for the Special Rapporteur’s mandate are restrictions on the access of believers to places of worship in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Many of their shrines are located next to each other and some are sacred to believers from different religions. (a) Situation of Muslims and Christians 26. The Israeli authorities control and restrict Palestinian movement through a system of permits, checkpoints, curfews, visas and the Barrier.5 Due to this elaborate system, millions of Muslims and Christians have reportedly been impeded since 1993 from worshipping at some of the sites they consider to be their most holy places in the world, especially in Jerusalem.6 This applies, for example, to Palestinians who want to attend religious services at the Al-Aqsa mosque or the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Their movement is also restricted within the Occupied Palestinian Territory, e.g. concerning access to the Ibrahimi mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron or the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that in April 2008 there were a total of 607 closure obstacles in the West Bank, such as checkpoints, earth mounds, road blocks, trenches and road gates.7 27. The closure regime caused difficulties especially during the religious holiday of Ramadan in 2007, when due to the long queues at checkpoints many Muslims could not observe their prayers and break the fast at the mosque of their choice. There may also be an adverse social and psychological impact, for example when Palestinian applicants do not receive travel permits for the celebration of religious festivals, marriages or funeral ceremonies with their family members who live in different cities. 5 See the Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the implementation of Human Rights Council resolution 6/19 (A/HRC/8/18, paras. 14-39). 6 OCHA, The Humanitarian Impact of the West Bank Barrier on Palestinian Communities – East Jerusalem, Update No. 7, p. 37 (www.ochaopt.org/documents/Jerusalem-30July2007.pdf). 7 OCHA, Closure Update May 2008 (www.ochaopt.org/documents/UpdateMay2008.pdf).