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

· IOF killed 2 Palestinians, including a child, in the West
Bank.

· 17 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children, and 2
international journalists were wounded by the IOF gunfire in the West Bank.

· IOF conducted 33 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank.

· IOF arrested 41 Palestinian civilians.

· IOF shelled and destroyed a house in Hebron.

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

· IOF imposed severe restrictions on the movement of
Palestinian civilians to and from Nablus.

· A Palestinian woman gave birth at an IOF military checkpoint
in Hebron.

· 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 authorities demolished a Palestinian apartment
building in Jerusalem rendering at least 70 people homeless.

· Israeli settlers burnt olive fields in Eamatin village,
northeast of Qalqilya.

Summary

Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law escalated in the OPT during the reporting
period (24 – 29 July 2008):

Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed
2 Palestinians, including a child, and wounded 17 civilians, including 2 children,
in the West Bank.

On Saturday, 26 July
2008, IOF killed a member the ‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of
Hamas) in Hebron. IOF shelled the house where the victim was hiding and then
demolished it over him. During this operation, IOF troops used the victim’s parents
as human shields. IOF troops also wounded a Palestinian child in the same area.

On Tuesday, 29 July
2008, IOF shot dead a Palestinian child in Ne’in village, west of Ramallah,
when he and other children got closed to the area where Israeli bulldozers were
leveling land in the village for the purpose of the construction of a section
of the Annexation Wall. IOF troops fired at the child without warning.

On 24 and 26 July 2008,
IOF wounded 5 Palestinian civilians in Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron.

On 17 July 2008, IOF
wounded 2 Palestinian civilians, including a child, during an incursion into
Nablus and neighboring refugee camps. On 23 July 2008, IOF wounded a
Palestinian civilian in Beit Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip, when he
was collecting metals nearly 300 meters away from the border between the Gaza
Strip and Israel.  

During the reporting period, 11 Palestinian civilians,
including a child, and 2 international journalists, were wounded when IOF used
force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to the
construction of the Annexation Wall in Bal’ein and Ne’lin villages, west of
Ramallah.

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 33 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. During these incursions, IOF arrested 42 Palestinian civilians. Thus,
the number of Palestinian civilians arrested by IOF in the West Bank since the
beginning of 2008 has mounted to 1,669.

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. On Thursday, 24 July 2008, the Israeli
radio in Arabic reported that the Israeli Parliament Foreign and Defense Committee
approved the construction of 20 new housing units in “Maskiot” settlement in
the northern Jordan Valley in spite of a promise to the United States in 2007
to stop settlement activities in this settlement. On Sunday morning, 27 July
2008, a number of Israeli settlers set fire to olive fields in Ematin village,
northeast of Qalqilya. Dozens of olive trees standing on at least 50 donums of
agricultural land were burnt. On Monday, 28 July 2008, IOF demolished a
4-storey apartment building belonging to Majed Abu ‘Eisha in Beit Hanina
village, north of Jerusalem. The building, which was partially licensed, was a
home for at least 70 people.

Israeli Violations Documented during
the Reporting Period (24 – 29 July 2008)

The full report is available PDF format.