Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue
Systematic Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (OPT)
· 3 Palestinian civilians (2 children and a doctor) were killed
by IOF in the Gaza Strip.
· 2 Palestinian civilians, including a woman, were wounded by
IOF in the Gaza Strip.
· IOF conducted 30 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank and one into the Gaza Strip.
· IOF arrested 66 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children
and 2 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, in the West Bank.
· IOF arrested a Palestinian civilian and damaged the
infrastructure in Um al-Nasser village near Beit Lahia.
· IOF transformed a house in ‘Allar village near Tulkarm into
a military site.
· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT.
· IOF have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world and
a humanitarian crisis has emerged.
· IOF troops positioned at checkpoints in the West Bank
arrested 5 Palestinian civilians.
· IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank
and Israeli settlers have continued to attacks Palestinian civilians and
property.
· IOF demolished 2 under-construction houses in Bethlehem.
Summary
Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting
period (8 – 14 November 2007):
Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed
3 Palestinian civilians ( 2 children and a doctor) and wounded 2 others,
including a woman, in the Gaza Strip.
On Friday, 19 November
2007, IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel,
east of al-Boreij refugee camp, shot dead 2 Palestinian children. On Saturday,
10 November 2007, IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip
and Israel, east of Gaza City, fired a surface-to-surface missile at a
home-made rocket launcher at Sha’sha’a intersection to the east of Jablaya
town. The missile fell near a civilian vehicle, in which Waheed Rabee’ Saleh,
46, a doctor, and his family were traveling. Rabee’ was seriously wounded by
shrapnel throughout the body and the vehicle collided with an electricity
tower. He was evacuated to Shifa Hospital where he received medical treatment,
but he died from his wound on Monday, 12 November 2007. Additionally, a passing
civilian wounded. On Tuesday, 13 November 2007, IOF troops positioned at the
border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Deir al-Balah, wounded a
Palestinian woman who was on her family’s land.
Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 30 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. During those incursions, IOF arrested 68 Palestinian civilians,
including 3 children and 2 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council from
Hamas. Thus, the number of members of the Palestinian Legislative Council
detained by IOF has increased to 45, and the number of Palestinians arrested by
IOF in the West Bank since the beginning of this year has mounted to 2,395. During
the reporting period, IOF transformed a house in ‘Allar village, north of
Tulkarm, into a military site.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted one incursion into Um
al-Nasser village in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, 8 November 2007. During
this incursion, at least 15 journalists were trapped under the IOF gunfire for
nearly an hour. One of them sustained bruises to the leg as he fell when he was
attempting to flee. During this incursion, IOF troops arrested 67 Palestinian
civilians and moved them to a military site at the border between the Gaza
Strip and Israel. They then interrogated the detainees and released them in the
evening, excluding one. Also during the incursion, IOF troops damaged the
infrastructure of the village.
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 of
the Gaza Strip for nearly 17 months. The total siege imposed by IOF on the Gaza
Strip has left disastrous impacts on the humanitarian situation and has
violated the economic and social rights of the Palestinian civilian population,
particularly the rights to appropriate living conditions, health and education.
It has also paralyzed most economic sectors. Furthermore, severe restrictions
have been imposed on the movement of the Palestinian civilian population.
Moreover, the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip has severely impacted the flow of
food, medical supplies and other necessities such as fuel, construction
materials and raw materials for various economic sectors. IOF have further
tightened the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip since Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza
Strip, and the living and economic conditions of Palestinian civilians have
further deteriorated. During the reporting period, the Israeli government
declared the Gaza Strip as “an enemy entity,” which implies imposing more
restrictions and measures of collective punishment against the Palestinian civilian
population. On 19 September 2007, the
Israeli government declared the Gaza Strip as “an enemy entity” and accordingly
measures of collective punishment against Gaza escalated. Since that time, IOF
have limited the goods exported to the Gaza Strip to only 9 basic materials. As
a consequence, local markets ran out of many goods, which caused a sharp
increase in prices, which mounted to 500% for some goods. Israeli occupation
forces have banned the flow of some medicines, furniture, electrical appliances,
cows and cigarettes into the Gaza Strip, and have decreased the amounts of some
goods allowed into the Gaza Strip, such as fruits, milk and some dairy
products. IOF have also continued to impose severe restrictions on fishing in
the Gaza Strip.
West Bank
IOF have continued to
impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians to and from
Jerusalem. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip have been denied access to the city. IOF have established many checkpoints
around and inside the city. Restrictions of the movement of Palestinian
civilians often escalate on Fridays to prevent them from praying at the al-Aqsa
Mosque. IOF often violently beat Palestinian civilians who attempt to bypass
checkpoints and enter the city. IOF have also tightened the siege imposed on
Palestinian communities in the West Bank. IOF positioned at various
checkpoints in the West Bank have continued to impose severe restrictions on
the movement of Palestinian civilians. IOF also erected more checkpoints on the
main roads and intersections in the West Bank. During the reporting period, IOF
troops positioned at checkpoints and border crossings in the West Bank arrested
at least 5 Palestinian civilians.
Settlement Activities: Israeli settlers living in the OPT
in violation of international humanitarian law have continued to attack
Palestinian civilians and property. During the reporting period, IOF demolished
2 houses in al-Fraidees village, southeast of Bethlehem, and a shop in Hares village,
west of Salfit, claiming that they were built without licenses.
Israeli Violations Documented
during the Reporting Period (8 – 14 November 2007)
The
full report is available PDF format.
