Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF)
Launch Attacks in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)

· 10 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children, were wounded
by IOF.

· Construction of the “annexation wall” in the West Bank has
continued; more areas of Palestinian land were confiscated for this purpose and
Bethlehem has been separated from East Jerusalem.

· Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian
civilians and property in the West Bank; the Israeli government approved a plan
to build 3500 housing unit in “Ma’ale Adomim” settlement, east of
Jerusalem. 

· IOF conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas.

· Houses were raided and at least 20 Palestinian civilians
were arrested.

· A number of houses were transformed by IOF into military
sites.

· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF
have imposed a comprehensive closure on the OPT for the Jewish Purim; IOF have
continued to close a number of roads since the beginning of the current
Intifada, IOF have used a new checking set at Rafah International Crossing
Point, IOF positioned at checkpoints arrested a number of Palestinian civilians
and 2 Palestinian civilians were seriously wounded by IOF positioned at
checkpoints.

Introduction

Despite the Palestinian commitment
to cease hostilities, which was further emphasized by Palestinian resistance
groups in Cairo last week, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have disregarded
understandings concluded with the Palestinian side and launched more attacks
against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). This
week, human rights violations perpetrated by IOF included shooting at
Palestinian civilians, incursions into Palestinian areas, house raids and
arbitrary arrests. In violation of international law and humanitarian law, IOF
have also continued to construct the annexation wall inside the West Bank
territory and confiscated more areas of Palestinian land for this purpose. They
have continued to expand existing settlements at the expense of Palestinian
land, in an attempt to create irreversible facts on the ground that will
complicate negotiations on the final status of the OPT. Contrary to Israeli
official claims, IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the
movement of Palestinian civilians. 

This week,
IOF conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank, during
which they opened fire at residential areas and raided and searched houses.  Seven
Palestinian civilians, including 6 children, were wounded, and 16 others were
arrested by IOF. A house was also burnt and a foreign journalist was injured in
Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah.  In
the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 3 military incursions into Khan Yunis, Gaza City
and Wadi al-Salqa village.  They arrested
3 Palestinian children who apparently attempted to infiltrate into Israel to
search for jobs.  On 18 March 2005, IOF
moved into the Israeli- controlled al-Mawasi area in Khan Yunis and arrested a
Palestinian civilian. 

IOF have continued to construct the
annexation wall inside the West Bank territory. IOF resumed land leveling in
the vicinity of Bilal Ben Rabah Mosque at the northern entrance to Bethlehem,
for the purpose of the construction of a section of the wall, which will close
the main entrance to the town and separate it from Jerusalem. According to
local sources, the construction of this section of the wall will isolate the
northern part of the town and will restrict the movement of its residents. They
also started to raze more areas of Palestinian agricultural land in Sourif
village, northwest of Hebron, for the purpose of the construction of a section
of the wall. On 22 March 2005, IOF moved into Dahiat al-Barid area, north of
East Jerusalem, and resumed placing signs that determine the route of the wall. 

Israeli settlers living in the OPT
in violation of international humanitarian law have launched a series of
attacks against Palestinian civilians and property. IOF have continued to
confiscate areas of Palestinian land for settlement activities. This week,
Israeli sources revealed that the Israeli government approved two plans to
build 3500 housing units between East Jerusalem and “Ma’ale Adomim”
settlement to the east. These plans will
practically expand the aforementioned settlement towards East Jerusalem and
will prevent geographical contiguity of the future Palestinian state. On 17 and 18 March 2005, Israeli settlers
attacked Palestinian civilians and injured 4 of them, including 3 workers. 

Contrary to Israeli claims, IOF have
continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT, including Jerusalem. Since
Wednesday morning, 23 March 2005, IOF have imposed a comprehensive closure on
the OPT for the Jewish Purim. This closure will continue until Monday morning,
28 March 2005. 

In the Gaza Strip, IOF
have continued to completely or partially close all border crossings of the
Gaza Strip, and impose severe restrictions on the internal movement of
Palestinian civilians. They have also continued to close a number of roads
and crossings in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the current Intifada.
IOF have continued to impose a strict siege on Palestinian communities near
Israeli settlements, causing more suffering to Palestinian civilians. On 19
March 2005, IOF informed 16 Palestinian families living near
“Kissufim” settler road, northeast of Khan Yunis, that they would
establish an electronic gate in the area to control the movement of these
families. Since the beginning of this month, IOF has used a special checking machine,
which causes health problems, particularly for pregnant women. Although the
Palestinian side rejected the use of this machine, IOF have continued to use
it. On 22 March 2005, the Palestinian Ministry of Health issued a statement
warning of health impacts of this checking set. 

In
the West Bank, IOF have
continued to impose a strict siege on Palestinian communities. They have also
imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. This
week, they erected a number of sudden military checkpoints. They stopped and
checked Palestinian civilians and arrested 3 of them. Two Palestinian
civilians, including a woman, were also injured by IOF positioned at military
checkpoints.

The full report is available PDF format.