Press Release

Deir El-Balah house and Qalqilya civil facilities shelled:

Three martyrs in the occupied Palestinian territories

The Israeli occupation forces continued to shoot at Palestinian civilians today, killing two in Tulkarm and Deir El-Balah and wounding a number of people during clashes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This afternoon, a young man from Rafah died from a previous injury in the head with a live bullet shot by the Israeli occupation forces on October 28, 2000. During the past 24 hours, the Israeli occupation forces shelled more houses and neighborhoods in the occupied Palestinian territories, endangering the lives and safety of Palestinian civilians.

Today, the Israeli occupation forces shot at some young men and boys demonstrating near Khadouri College in Tulkarm, and killed the child Wajdi A’llam Hattab, 15 years old, with a live bullet in the heart.

In the vicinity of Kfar Darom settlement, the Israeli occupation forces shot at Palestinian demonstrators and killed Mohammed Nawwaf El-Ta’ban, 17 years old, from Deir El-Balah, with a live bullet in the back.

This afternoon, Mohammed Mustafa El-Jazzar, 19 years old, from Rafah, was pronounced dead at a hospital in Morocco. The martyr El-Jazzar was wounded with a live bullet shot by the Israeli occupation forces on October 28, 2000. In his testimony to PCHR on October 29, 2000, an eyewitness said the following:

“On Sunday, October 28, 2000, at about 11:30 (local time), I went to Salah El-Din Gate, where about 50 young men and children were present near a post of (Palestinian) military intelligence opposite to an Israeli military post inside the borderline. Some young men were shouting without Israeli troops in the post seeing them. In the road adjacent to the Gate leading to Al-Barazil neighborhood, fewer than ten young men threw stones from behind deserted commercial stores to the northeast of the Israeli military post. Some young men moved to a wall about 40 meters away from the mentioned post, shouting and swearing at two Israeli soldiers in the post. Mohammed and I stood behind the wall. Mohammed darted forward from time to time making provocative gestures at the two (Israeli) soldiers. At about 11:45 (local time), I warned Mohammed that he was within the range of shooting, especially when darting out from the edge of the wall. Five minutes later, although there were no young men throwing stones from our side, I noted silenced shooting. I thought it was a rubber-coated metal bullet. In the meanwhile, I saw Mohammed lying down on the ground beside me. He was holding his head with his two hands and was bleeding. I shouted at a number of young men 20 meters away from us, asking for their help in carrying him…”

This testimony provides further evidence of the crimes and cold-blooded killings perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians. It is clear from the testimony that there was not any kind of threat posed by the martyr El-Jazzar or his companion to the lives of the Israeli occupation troops when an Israeli sniper shot him with a silenced weapon.

Since the morning, dozens of Palestinians have gathered 200 meters to the southwest of an Israeli military post at Al-Shuhada’ junction (the junction leading to Netzarim settlement), where two tanks and a number of jeeps of the Israeli occupation forces are stationed on the branch road of the junction leading to Netzarim settlement to the west. The Israeli occupation forces started to shoot at Palestinian demonstrators from a distance of about 150 meters, wounding four with live ammunition. Among the wounded is the child Wajdi Ismail Abu Jarbou’, 15 years old, from Al-Boreij refugee camp, who was seriously wounded with a live bullet in the head.

In Khan Yunis, clashes have broken out since the morning between Palestinian demonstrators and the Israeli occupation forces near Al-Tuffah roadblock between Khan Yunis city and Al-Mawasi (agricultural) area, under the security control of the Israeli occupation forces. The Israeli occupation forces shot at Palestinian demonstrators from a distance of about 100 meters and wounded 13 civilians with live ammunition and another two with rubber-coated metal bullets. Among the wounded are:

1. The child Shadi Mhammed Abu Shab, 12 years old;
2. Mohammed Hamad Omran, 23 years old; and
3. Ayman Ibrahim Abu Mustafa, 22 years old.

The three were wounded with live bullets in the abdomen. Additionally, dozens of civilians suffered from suffocation due to inhaling tear gas excessively used by the Israeli occupation forces in the area of clashes. Residents of nearby houses were also affected by the tear gas.

This afternoon, dozens of Palestinians gathered to the east of Al-Shojaeya neighborhood at a distance of more than 100 meters from the Israeli occupation forces and their post at Al-Mentar (Karni) Oulet. PCHR’s field officer in the area reported that 11 Palestinian young men were wounded with live ammunition shot by the Israeli occupation forces.

In the area near Beith Hanoun (Erez) checkpoint, on the north of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation forces shot at Palestinian demonstrators. PCHR’s field officer reported that one civilian was wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet, and dozens suffered from suffocation due to inhaling tear gas.

Yesterday evening, the Israeli occupation forces fired a shell and a hail of live ammunition from inside Kfar Darom settlement near Deir El-Balah at a house owned by Khali Salman Bashir, 49 years old, from Deir El-Balah. The house is 30 meters away from the settlement. In his testimony to PCHR, Bashir stated that at about 19:00 local time, when he was at home with his 15-member family, he suddenly heard the sound of shelling and shooting near his house. Quickly, he and his family moved to a room on the ground floor that does not face the settlement. Shelling and shooting lasted for 45 minutes. The house was directly hit with a shell and several bullets. As a result, the second and third floors of the house were severely damaged. It is worth mentioning that this same house was shelled twice in October. The settlement of Kfar Darom poses a permanent threat to the lives and safety of Palestinian civilians in the adjacent areas.

Also yesterday evening, the Israeli occupation forces shelled civil facilities in the city of Qalqilya. An electricity generator was directly shelled and destroyed. Consequently, electricity was cut to the entire city.

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1. Establishing without delay an independent commission of inquiry, in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1322 (2000), to carry out a thorough and comprehensive investigation into the abuses and killings perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians.
2. Convening a conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to ensure Israel’s compliance with its obligations under the Convention.
3. Immediately providing international protection for Palestinian civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories in the face of the killings and criminal acts perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces and groups of Jewish settlers who move under the protection of these forces.
4. Use by the EU of effective political and economic means with reference to Article 2 of the Euro-Israel Association Agreement, which calls for the respect of human rights.
5. Providing humanitarian and medical assistance for the Palestinian people whose living conditions are increasingly deteriorating because of the continued total siege imposed by the Israeli occupation forces on the entire occupied Palestinian territories.

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