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PCHR
http://www.pchrgaza.org
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Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
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No. 45/2008
06 – 12 Nov. 2008
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Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)
IOF killed 4 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
7 Palestinian civilians, including a child, and an international human rights defender were wounded by the IOF gunfire.
IOF conducted 31 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and 3 others into the Gaza Strip.
IOF arrested 29 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children, in the West Bank.
IOF transformed a house in Nablus into a military site.
IOF undercover unit arrested 3 Palestinians in the north of the West Bank.
IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT and have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
IOF have continued to close all commercial crossings and Erez crossing in the Gaza Strip.
IOF troops positioned at military checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 5 Palestinian civilians.
IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
Summary
Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law escalated in the OPT during the reporting period (6 – 12 November 2008):
Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed 4 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and wounded 7 others and an international human rights defender in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
On 2 November 2008, 4 members of the Palestinian resistance were killed when IOF aircrafts fired 3 missiles at the east of al-Qarara village, east of Khan Yunis, as an IOF infantry unit moved into the area and clashes with members of the Palestinian resistance. IOF did not allow ambulances to enter the area while the incursion was still ongoing.
On 6 November 2008, a member of the Palestinian resistance was wounded when an IOF aircraft fired a missile at a resistance group that was about to launch home-made rockets at Israeli towns from Jabalya town in the northern Gaza Strip.
In the West Bank, 6 Palestinian civilians, including a child, and an international human rights defender, were wounded by IOF gunfire.
On 9 November 2008, a Palestinian child was wounded in ‘Anabta village, east of Tulkarm, when IOF moved into the village and fired at a number of Palestinian civilians who threw stones at military vehicles.
On 11 November 2008, 4 Palestinian civilians were wounded in Hebron during clashes with IOF.
On Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, 4 and 5 November 2008, IOF killed 6 members of the ‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas), and wounded 5 others in the southern and central Gaza Strip. All victims were hit by missiles fired by IOF aircrafts during Israeli incursions into some areas in the Gaza Strip. IOF also arrested a wounded woman. On Wednesday evening, IOF killed using missiles a member of al-Quds Brigades (the armed wing of Islamic Jihad) and wounded 2 civilian bystanders.
During the reporting period, a Palestinian civilian and an international human rights defender were wounded when IOF used force against peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to the construction of the Annexation Wall west of Ramallah.
Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 31 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF arrested 29 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children. Thus, the number of Palestinian civilians arrested by IOF in the West Bank since the beginning of 2008 has mounted to 2,140. IOF also transformed a house in Nablus into a military site.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 3 incursions into Palestinian communities.
Restrictions on Movement: IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. During the reporting period, IOF imposed a comprehensive closure on the OPT for the the Jewish Sukkot.
Gaza Strip
IOF have continued to close all border crossings to the Gaza Strip for more than two years. The IOF siege of Gaza, which has steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.
1.5 million people are being denied their basic rights, including freedom of movement, and their rights to appropriate living conditions, work, health and education.
The Egypt-brokered ‘Tahdiya’ or truce between Palestinian resistance groups and Israel began on 19 June; however, there have been no major changes regarding the movements of civilians and goods through the six Gaza Strip border crossings.
Rafah International Crossing Point, the only border crossing from the Gaza Strip to the outside world via a country other than Israel, remains closed.
Health services continue to be severely affected by the siege, with healthcare facilities also registering a 25% drop in clients due to continuing chronic fuel shortages. Critically ill patients are still being denied permits to access vital health services in the West Bank, Israel and abroad. .
Water facilities, including access to clean drinking water, and the treatment of raw sewage continue to be severely disrupted by fuel shortages. 50-60 million liters of untreated and partially treated sewage are being dumped into the Gaza Strip Mediterranean Sea daily, posing a public health risk.
Hundreds of Gazan students are currently unable to resume their university studies abroad as they cannot exit the Gaza Strip. In addition, up to 1,200 school leavers are in the process of applying to study at foreign universities, and are dependent on being issued exit permits by the IOF.
There are at least 900 Palestinian prisoners incarcerated in jails in Israel who have been denied all visitation rights since 6 June 2007.
Continuing chronic shortages of construction materials, including cement, aggregate and iron, have led to the collapse of the Gaza construction industry. Thousands of construction workers have been laid off, and vital infrastructure projects have been forcibly suspended.
IOF have repeatedly closed border crossings of the Gaza Strip claiming that home-made rockets were launched at Israeli towns.
During the reporting period, IOF closed all border crossings of the Gaza Strip.
West Bank
IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians throughout the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip continue to be denied access to Jerusalem.
IOF have established checkpoints in and around Jerusalem, severely restricting Palestinian access to the city. Civilians are frequently prevented from praying at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
There are approximately permanent 630 roadblocks, manned and unmanned checkpoints across the West Bank. In addition, there are some 60-80 ‘flying’ or temporary checkpoints erected across the West Bank by IOF every week.
When complete, the illegal Annexation Wall will stretch for 724 kilometers around the West Bank, further isolating the entire population. 350 kilometers of the Wall has already been constructed. Approximately 99% of the Wall has been constructed inside the West Bank itself, further confiscating Palestinian land.
At least 65% of the main roads that leads to 18 Palestinian communities in the West Bank are closed or fully controlled by IOF (47 out of 72 roads).
There are around 500 kilometers of restricted roads across the West Bank. In addition, approximately one third of the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, is inaccessible to Palestinians without a permit issued by the IOF. These permits are extremely difficult to obtain.
IOF continue to harass, and assault demonstrators who hold peaceful protests against the construction of the Annexation Wall.
Palestinian civilians continue to be harassed by IOF in Jerusalem, and across the West Bank, including being regularly stopped and searched in the streets by IOF.
During the reporting period, IOF arrested 5 Palestinian civilians at al-Karama International Crossing Point on the Jordanian border.
Settlement Activities: IOF have continued settlement activities and Israeli settlers living in the OPT in violation of international humanitarian law have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. On Friday evening, 7 November 2008, Israeli settlers from “Kiryat Arab” settlement, southeast of Hebron, destroyed an iron fence separating the settlement from a tract of land belonging to Younis ‘Abdul Hafiz Da’na. They also threw garbage on the land. On Saturday, 8 November 2008, Israeli settlers from “Kiryat Arba” settlement, southeast of Hebron, attacked 6-year-old Bilal Fadel Da’naThe child was injured in the head. Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (6 – 12 November 2008)
The full report is available online at:
html format:
http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/W_report/English/2008/13-11-2008.htm
pdf format:
http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/W_report/English/2008/pdf/weekly%20report%2045.pdf
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Public Document
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