Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Escalate
Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT)

· 4 Palestinian were killed by IOF in the West Bank.

· 3 of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF in
Jenin.

· 28 Palestinian civilians, including two journalists, 4
children and 4 women, were wounded by IOF gunfire.

· IOF attacked an Italian cinema crew in Hebron.

· IOF conducted 43 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank.

· IOF launched a wide scale military campaign on Nablus.

· IOF arrested 55 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children.

· IOF arrested a member of the Palestinian Legislative
Council in Hebron.

· Israeli settlers have continued attacks Palestinian
civilians and property in the OPT.

· IOF demolished 3 agricultural facilities in Hebron.

· IOF confiscated 199 donums[1]
of agricultural land in Jenin to establish a settler road

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

· IOF have operated Erez crossing as an international
crossing point.

· IOF positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank
arrested 5 Palestinian civilians, including two children.

· The Gaza Strip has suffered from shortages in fuels and
basic goods.

Summary

Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting
period (22 – 28 February 2007):

Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF
killed 4 Palestinians and wounded 28 others in the West Bank.

On Monday, 26 February
2007, an IOF sniper shot dead ‘Anan Mohammed al-Teebi, 42, with a bullet to the
neck, and wounded his son, 24-year-old Ashraf, with a bullet to the hand, when
he attempted to offer help to his father. The victim was on the roof of his
house in the old town, when the IOF sniper shot him. IOF prevented ambulances
from entering the area and arrested the son. On Wednesday morning, 28 February
2007, an IOF undercover unit extra-judicially executed 3 Palestinians in Jenin
refugee camp in the northern West Bank. The victims are members of the Islamic Jihad,
and one of them is the leader of the al-Quds Brigades (the armed wing of the
Islamic Jihad) in the northern West Bank. In addition, 28 Palestinian
civilians, including 4 children, 4 women and two journalists, were wounded by
the IOF gunfire.

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 43 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. During the reporting period, launched a wide scale military
operation against Nablus and neighboring refugee camps. During this operation,
which continued for two days, IOF killed a Palestinian civilian and wounded 8
others, including a child and two children. IOF also arrested at least 150
civilians, transformed a number of houses and two schools into military sites,
raided a number of television and radio stations and obstructed the movement of
medical crews. IOF withdrew from the city without declaring an end to their
operation. During other incursions, IOF raided houses and arrested 55
Palestinian civilians, including 6 children and a member of the Palestinian
Legislative Council. Thus, the number of Palestinians arrested by IOF in the
West Bank since the beginning of this year has mounted to 564.

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 imposed a strict siege on the Gaza Strip. They have closed its border
crossings as a form of collective punishment against Palestinian civilians.

IOF have
closed Rafah International Crossing Point since 25 June 2006, even though they
do not directly control it. During the reporting period, IOF partially reopened
the crossing point for one day only. IOF have partially reopened
commercial crossings, especially al-Mentar (Karni) crossing, but many goods and
medical supplies have been lacked in markets in the Gaza Strip. IOF have also
continued to close Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. Hundreds of thousands of
Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have been prevented from traveling through
this crossing. IOF have allowed international workers to pass through the
crossing.  With this closure, only few Palestinian patients have been able
to travel to hospitals in Israel and the West Bank.  On Friday, 16 February 2007, IOF
opened the new Erez International Crossing Point under new procedures.
Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have to obtain permits from
the IOF Civil Administration as it was the case before. However, Palestinians
living in East Jerusalem have to hand their identity cards the Israeli Ministry
of Interior to get travel documents. In the past, they had to hand identity
cards to IOF at Erez crossing. This includes 800-1000 women from East Jerusalem
married to men in the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinians who traveled
through the new crossing point, IOF imposed the same restrictions on their
movement as in the past. In addition, IOF have continued to
prevent Palestinian fishermen from fishing for more than 8 months.

West Bank

IOF have tightened the
siege imposed on Palestinian communities in the West Bank. They have
isolated Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. Contrary to Israeli claims, IOF
positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank have continued to impose
severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. During the reporting
period, IOF soldiers positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank
arrested 5 Palestinian civilians, including two children.

Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct
the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank. During the reporting period, IOF
issued demolished 6 under-constructions houses in Far’oun village, south of
Tulkarm which are located near the Wall. IOF also used force against a peaceful
demonstration organized by Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli
solidarity activists in protest to the construction of the Wall in Bal’ein
village, West of Ramallah. As a result, 13 Palestinian civilians, including two
journalists and two children, were wounded.

Settlement Activities: During the reporting period, Israeli settlers living in
the West Bank in violation of international law continued their systematic
attacks on Palestinian civilians and property. During the reporting period, IOF
issued a military order seizing 199 donums of land in Ya’bad village, southwest
of Jenin, until the end of 2014 to establish a new settler road in the area.
The order gave the owners 7 days to appeal against it. According to a report
published by the Israeli Peace Now on Monday 26 February 2007, 21 settlements
and 10 settlement outposts expanded to incorporate at least 1900 donums of land
that are classified as protected natural areas.

Israeli Violations
Documented during the Reporting Period (22 – 28 February 2007)

The
full report is available PDF format.