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

·                   IOF killed a Palestinian civilian in Ne’lin village, west of
Ramallah.

· 2 Palestinian civilians were wounded by the IOF gunfire.

· IOF conducted 38 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank.

· IOF arrested 49 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children.

· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT and
have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.

· IOF troops positioned at various checkpoints in the West
Bank arrested at least 4 Palestinian civilians.

· IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank
and Israeli settlers have continued to attacks Palestinian civilians and
property.

· Israeli settlers launched 10 attacks against Palestinian
civilians and property.

· 13 Palestinian civilians, including 3 old men, 4 women and 4
children, were injured.

Summary

Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law escalated in the OPT during the reporting
period (30 July – 6 August 2008):

Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed
a Palestinian civilian and wounded 2 others in the West Bank.

On 30 July 2008,
following the funeral procession of a Palestinian child who had been killed by
IOF on the preceding day, dozens of Palestinian civilian demonstrated and threw
stones at IOF military vehicles. IOF fired at those civilians. As a result,
Yousef Ahmed ‘Amira, 18, was seriously wounded by 2 gunshots to the head. He
died of his wound on 4 August 2008. Another civilian was also wounded.

On 31 July 2008, a
Palestinian civilian was wounded in ‘Anabta village, east of Tulkarm, when IOF
troops fired at a number of Palestinian boys who threw stones at military vehicles.

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 38 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. During these incursions, IOF arrested 49 Palestinian civilians,
including 3 children. Thus, the number of Palestinian civilians arrested by IOF
in the West Bank since the beginning of 2008 has mounted to 1,718.

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 continued to close all
border crossings of the Gaza Strip for more than one year and a half. The total
siege imposed by IOF on the Gaza Strip has left disastrous impacts on the
humanitarian situation and has violated the economic and social rights of the
nearly 1.5 million Palestinian civilian population, particularly the rights to
appropriate living conditions, health and education. It has also paralyzed most
economic sectors. Furthermore, severe restrictions have been imposed on the
movement of the Palestinian civilian population. The siege imposed on the Gaza
Strip has severely impacted the flow of food, medical supplies and other
necessities such as fuel, construction materials and raw materials for various
economic sectors. IOF have continued to prevent the entry of raw materials into
the Gaza Strip, and subsequently many factories have stopped their industrial
activities. Concerning the movement of persons, IOF allow a few Palestinian
civilians to pass through Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to travel to the West
Bank. Rafah International Crossing Point on the Egyptian border is the sole outlet
for the Gaza Strip to the outside world. 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.
Even though the Egypt-brokered truce between Palestinian resistance groups and
Israel entered into force, no major change has been noticed with regard to the
movement of persons and goods through border crossings of the Gaza Strip. 

The closure of border crossings deprives the
Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip of their right to freedom of
movement, education and health. IOF have continued to impose severe
restrictions on fishing in the Gaza Strip. Fishermen have been subjected to
intensive monitoring by IOF, which use helicopter gunships and gunboats to
monitor the fishermen. The Oslo Accords allow Palestinian fishermen to go
fishing up to 20 nautical miles away from the Gaza seashore.

West Bank

IOF have continued to
impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians throughout
the West Bank. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip have been denied access to Jerusalem. 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 also tightened the siege
imposed on Palestinian communities in 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 troops positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank
arrested 4 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. During the reporting period, IOF launched
10 attacks against Palestinian civilians and property in the West Bank. As a
result of those attacked, 13 Palestinian civilians, including 4 women, 4
children and 3 old men, were injured.

Israeli Violations Documented during
the Reporting Period (30 July – 6 August 2008)

The full report is available PDF format.