Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

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

· 7 Palestinians, including 2 children, were killed by IOF.

· 3 of the victims, including a civilian, were extra-judicially
executed by IOF.

· A Palestinian worker was run down to death by an Israeli
settler.

· 16 Palestinians, including 3 children, a woman and a
journalist, were wounded by IOF.

· IOF conducted 27 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank and 3 ones into the Gaza Strip.

· IOF arrested 37 Palestinian civilians, including 4
children, in the West Bank and 4 others in the Gaza Strip.

· IOF razed at least 150 donums[1]
of agricultural land Beit Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip.

· 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.

· A patient died due to the obstruction by IOF troops at Erez
crossing of his access to an Israeli hospital.

Summary

Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting
period (18 – 24 October 2007):

Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed
5 Palestinians and wounded 31 others, including 8 children, a woman and a
journalists, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  

In the Gaza Strip, IOF
killed 5 Palestinians, including 2 children, and wounded 11 others, including a
child and a woman.

Three Palestinians
were killed and 7 others were wounded in 4 extra-judicial execution attempts
carried out by IOF on 20, 21 and 23 October 2007. Two children were killed and
2 civilians, including a woman, were wounded when IOF fired a
surface-to-surface missile at a launcher of home-made rockets in Beit Lahia
town in the northern Gaza Strip. On 10 October 2007, 2 Palestinian were wounded
during an incursion by IOF into al-Shouka village, east of Rafah.

In the West Bank, on
23 October 2007, 2 members of the Palestinian resistance were killed during an
exchange of fire by IOF that besieged them. Additinally, 5 Palestinian
civilians, including 2 children and a journalist, were wounded when IOF used
force to disperse a peaceful demonstration organized by Palestinian civilians
and international and Israeli human rights defenders in protest to the
construction of the Wall in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah.

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 27 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. During those incursions, IOF arrested 37 Palestinian civilians,
including 4 children. Thus, the number of Palestinians arrested by IOF in the
West Bank since the beginning of this year has mounted to 2,183.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF
conducted 3 incursions into Palestinian communities. During those incursions,
IOF troops transformed a number of houses into military sites, temporarily
arrested 4 Palestinian civilians, wounded 2 civilians and razed 150 donums of
agricultural land.

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, even though they do not directly control it. They
have prevented European observers working at the crossing point form reaching
it. IOF had already closed Rafah International Crossing Point following an
armed attack against an IOF military post in Kerem Shalom area, southeast of
Rafah, on 25 June 2006. The crossing point had been partially reopened for
short, sporadic periods to allow few numbers of Palestinian to travel through
it. The crossing point has been completely closed since Hamas’ takeover of the
Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of Palestinian security forces from the crossing
point. There are approximately 6,000 Palestinians held at the Egyptian side of
the border awaiting to return to their homes in the Gaza Strip. Most of them
have run out of money and are living on assistance. In addition, 19 of them
have died in Egypt. The bodies were returned to Gaza through the Karm Abu Salem
(Kerem Shalom) crossing. In addition, thousands of travelers were allowed to
return to the Gaza Strip through al-Ojah crossing, 8 kilometers southeast of
Rafah. From there, they were transported to Erez Checkpoint to enter the Gaza
Strip.  IOF have also
closed commercial crossings, especially al-Mentar (Karni) crossing. IOF have
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. 

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 imposed additional
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the city during the
Eid al-Futr. IOF have also tightened the siege imposed on Palestinian
communities in the West Bank. They have isolated Jerusalem from the rest
of 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.

Settlement Activities: Israeli settlers living in the OPT
in violation of international humanitarian law have continued to attack
Palestinian civilians and property. On 21 October 2007, an Israeli settler ran
down a Palestinian worker to death. On
18 October 2007, Israeli settlers who have been seizing a Palestinian building
in al-Ras neighborhood to the west of “Kiryat Arba” settlement, southeast of
Hebron, since 19 March 2007, closed a dirt road used by Palestinian civilians
near the building with stones. On 19 October 2007, IOF started to raze and
level large areas of agricultural land in the north of Bourqin village, west of
Salfit. The affected lands had been already confiscated by IOF to establish new
factories for Burkan industrial zone. On 20 October 2007, Israeli settlers from
“Shavi Shomron” settlement, northwest of Nablus, attacked a number of
Palestinian farmers while they were cultivating olives in Deir Sharaf village
near the aforementioned settlement. On 21 October 2007, a number of Israeli
settlers from “Beitar” settlement, west of Bethlehem, attacked Ameen Ahmed
Hamamra, 33, from the nearby Housan village. He sustained bruises and cuts in
the upper part of the body.

Israeli Violations Documented
during the Reporting Period (18 – 24 October 2007)

The
full report is available PDF format.