Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF)
Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and Continue to Impose a Total Siege on
the Gaza Strip

· A Palestinian farmer was killed by IOF, and two civilians,
including a child, died of previous injuries.  

· 17 Palestinian civilians, including four children and two
international journalists were wounded by IOF in the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip.

· IOF conducted 32 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank.

· IOF arrested 64 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank,
including 15 children.

· IOF transformed a house in Battir village near Bethlehem
into a military site.

· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT.

· The Gaza Strip is completely isolated from the outside world.

· IOF troops positioned at various checkpoints in the West
Bank arrested 4 Palestinian civilians, including a child.

· IOF have continued to take measures towards the Judaization
of Jerusalem.

· IOF demolished two houses in Jerusalem, making 53 people
homeless.

Summary

Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting
period (22 – 28 January 2009):

Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed
a Palestinian civilian and wounded 17 others, including four children, and two
international journalists in the West Bank. Two Palestinian civilians,
including a child, also died of injuries they had sustained during the IOF
offensive on the Gaza Strip.

On 27 January, IOF
opened fire at a number of Palestinian farmers east of Khan Yunis, killing one
of them.

On 22 and 23 January, medical
sources confirmed that two Palestinian civilians, including a child, had died
of injuries sustained during the IOF offensive on the Gaza Strip.

During the reporting
period, seven Palestinians were injured by IOF gunfire in the Gaza Strip.

In the West Bank, ten Palestinian
civilians, including two children, and two international journalists, were injured
by IOF gunfire.

Two Palestinian civilians were injured
by IOF during an IOF incursion into al-Fara’a refugee camp, south of Tubas.

During the reporting period, eight Palestinian
civilians, including two children, and two international journalists, were
injured when IOF used force against peaceful demonstrations organized in
protest at the construction of the Annexation Wall.  

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 32 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. IOF arrested 64 Palestinian civilians, including 15 children. IOF
also transformed a house in Battir village near Bethlehem into a military site.

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.

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..

· Hundreds of thousands
of civilians in the Gaza Strip are facing power cuts for 8-12 hours per day,
which is severly affecting their quality of life and access to basic facilities
incuding light and heat, and also impacts on their access to drinking water, as
electric pumps are frequently not working.

· The UN Relief and
Works Agency (UNRWA) has been repeatedly forced to suspend it humanitarian aid
program for at least 750,000 Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, due to consistent
obstructions in aid delivery and the risks facing its staff.

· Rafah International
Crossing Point has been opened for only a few days for a limited number of
patients who were permitted to receive medical treatment abroad and subsequently
needed to return home to Gaza. The corssing remains closed for all other
Palestinians.

· IOF have continued to
close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to all Palestinian civilians wishing to
travel to the West Bank and Israeli for medical treatment, trade or to visit
family, relatives and friends.  

· IOF have imposed
additional restrictions on access to Gaza for international diplomats,
journalists and humanitarian workers. They have prevented representatives of
international humanitarian organizations from entering the Gaza Strip to carry
out humanitarian work.

· Health conditions in
the Gaza Strip have deteriorated, and all medical facilities are being affected
by the chronic power shortages.

· The lives of premature
babies continue to be at risk as they depend on medical equipment in neonatal
units that are electrically powered.

· Standards of living
arcoss Gaza have seriously deteriorated, whilst poverty and unemployment levels
have sharply increased.  

· At least 900
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails continue to be deprived of all family
visits. The viist were first suspended sixteen months ago, in June 2007.  

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 have 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 4 Palestinian
civilians, including one child, at various checkpoints in the West Bank.

· IOF have escalated arbitrary measures against Palestinian
civilians in East Jerusalem aimed at forcing them to leave the city. During the
reporting period, IOF demolished two houses in Jerusalem, making fifty three
Palestinians homeless.  

Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (22- 28 January
2009):

The full report is available PDF format.