Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue
Systematic Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (OPT)
· 14 Palestinians, including 5 children, were killed by IOF
in the OPT.
· One of the victims was extra-judicially executed by IOF in
Tulkarm.
· 5 children were killed in al-Shouka village in the southern
Gaza Strip when they played with an object left by IOF.
· 31 civilians, including 11 children, 2 women and an
American journalist, were wounded by IOF gunfire in the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip.
· IOF conducted 32 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank, and 2 incursions into the Gaza Strip.
· IOF arrested 50 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and
2 others in the Gaza Strip.
· IOF transformed 2 houses into military sites in ‘Azzoun
village, east of Qalqilya.
· 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 is likely to emerge.
· IOF positioned at various checkpoints and border crossings in
the West Bank arrested 3 Palestinian civilians.
· IOF have continued settlement activities and Israeli
settlers have continued to attacks Palestinian civilians and property in the
West Bank.
· IOF demolished a house in Jerusalem.
· Israeli settlers burnt dozens of olive trees in the south
of Tulkarm.
Summary
Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting
period (14 – 20 June 2007):
Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF
killed 14 Palestinians, including 5 children, and wounded 31 civilians,
including 11 children and an American journalist, in the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip.
In the Gaza Strip, 10
Palestinians, including 5 children, were killed. On 14 June 2007, 5 children
were killed and 3 others were seriously wounded when they played with an object
left by IOF in al-Shouka village to the east of the southern Gaza Strip town of
Rafah. On 18 June 2007, IOF killed a Palestinian civilian and wounded 3 others
at Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. On 20 June
2007, IOF killed 4 members of the Palestinian resistance and wounded 5 others
during an incursion into al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis. During the
same incursion, a child was also wounded by shrapnel. On 19 June 2007, 2
Palestinian civilians were wounded by the IOF gunfire at Erez crossing.
In the West Bank, IOF
killed 4 Palestinians in 3 separate attacks. On 14 June 2007, IOF killed a
member of the Palestinian resistance and wounded 13 civilians, including 5
children and a woman, in Qalqilya. On the same day, IOF extra-judicially
executed a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (an armed wing of Fatah
movement) and wounded 2 civilian bystanders, including a child, in Saida
village, north of Tulkarm. On 20 June 20 June 2007, IOF killed 2 members of the
Palestinian resistance in Kufor Dan village, west of Jenin, in an exchange of
fire. Additionally, on 15 June 2007, a Palestinian child was wounded during an
IOF incursion into Kufor Dan village, west of Jenin. On the same day, a
Palestinian civilian and an American journalist were wounded when IOF used
force against a peaceful demonstration organized by Palestinian civilians and
international and Israeli human rights defenders against the construction of
the Annexation Wall in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah.
Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 32 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. During those incursions, IOF arrested 50 Palestinian civilians. Thus,
the number of Palestinians arrested by IOF in the West Bank since the beginning
of this year has mounted to 1,408. IOF also transformed 2 houses in ‘Azzoun
village, east of Qalqilya, into military sites.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF
conducted 2 incursions into Palestinian communities. On 16 June 2007, IOF moved
nearly 1,000 meters into Wadi al-Salqa village, east of Deir al-Balah town in
the central Gaza Strip. On 20 June 2007, IOF moved into al-Qarara village,
northeast of Khan Yunis. They killed 4 members of the Palestinian resistance
and wounded 5 others.
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 imposed severe
restrictions at 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, the crossing point was completely closed after Hamas’
takeover in the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of Palestinian security forces
from the crossing point. On 18 June 2007, the Egyptian side allowed
approximately 160 persons, who do not have visas to stay in Egypt, to travel
back to the Gaza Strip.
IOF have also closed commercial crossings, especially
al-Mentar (Karni) crossing. If this closure continues, a humanitarian crisis is
likely to emerge 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. During the
reporting period, IOF completely closed the crossing. They prevented traders
and patients from passing through. They only allowed dozens of members of
Palestinian security services and their families to travel the West Bank. On 19
June 2007, IOF allowed 9 patients only to travel to Israel to receive medical
treatment.
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. 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
soldiers positioned at various checkpoints and border crossings in the West
Bank arrested at least 3 Palestinian civilians.
Settlement Activities: IOF have continued settlement
activities and Israeli settlers living in the OPT in violation of international
humanitarian law have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. On
19 June 2007, IOF demolished a under-construction house in the Olive Mountain
neighborhood in the east of Jerusalem, claiming that it was being built without
a license. On 14 June 2006, a number of Israeli settlers burnt dozens of olive
trees in Far’oun village, south of Tulkarm.
On 8 June 2007, Israeli settlers moved into Kufor
Hares village, north of Salfit. They destroyed headstones of a number of graves
and sanctuaries and threw stones at houses. On 9 June 2007, a number of Israeli
settlers living in settlement outposts in the center and south of Hebron
attacked 16-year-old Sa’id Nafez al-Atrash when was passing near the Ibrahimi
Mosque. He was injured in the face. The settlers and the Israeli police
prevented a Palestinian ambulance from evacuating the child to the hospital.
They even threw stones at the ambulance damaging it. Later, the Israeli police
took al-Atrash to an unknown destination. On the same day, a number of Israeli
settlers violently beat 9-year-old Shareef Tayseer Abu ‘Eisha in Hebron. On 10
June 2007, a number of Israeli settlers from “Harish” and “Maysar” settlements
near Tulkarm burnt at least 200 donums of agricultural land in ‘Akaba village,
north of the town. The affected areas of land are sealed off by the Annexation
Wall. On 12 June 2007, a number of Israeli settlers, escorted by IOF, moved
into the evacuated “Homesh” settlement near Nablus – Jenin road.
Israeli Violations
Documented during the Reporting Period (14 – 20 June 2007)
The
full report is available PDF format.
