Press Release

Four martyrs in Gaza, one in the West Bank, and CNN Cairo Bureau Chief Ben Wedeman injured

Ref: 151/2000

Date: October 31, 2000

Time: 16:00 GMT

18:00 Palestine Time

This morning, the Israeli occupation forces opened fire on Palestinian demonstrators near Karni Outlet to the east of Gaza City and killed four of them with bullets in the head and chest. A fifth Palestinian was pronounced dead in Ramallah this evening. Additionally, a CNN reporter was wounded with a bullet that entered his side and exited near his armpit.

Clashes broke out in the morning between Palestinian demonstrators and the Israeli occupation forces throughout the occupied Palestinian Territories. The Israeli occupation forces fired at Palestinian civilians. The last 24 hours have witnessed an increase in victims among Palestinian civilians. The day also witnessed an escalation in shelling of the cities of Khan Yunis, Rafah, Nablus and Ramallah. The number of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli occupation forces has increased to 139 martyrs, including 41 children and more than 4,300 wounded, some of whom are in serious condition.

Since the morning, clashes have broken out between Palestinian demonstrators and the Israeli occupation forces in the area of Karni Outlet near an Israeli military post on a road between Netzarim junction and Karni Outlet used by Jewish settlers. The Israeli occupation forces opened fire on Palestinian demonstrators. As a result, Shadi Awadh Oudeh, 22 years old, and Hazem Yousef Abu Daf, from Al-Zaytoon neighborhood in Gaza, were killed with bullets in the head. This afternoon, Mohammed Khaza’ Helles, 23 years old, from Gaza City, was shot dead by the Israeli occupation forces with a bullet in the chest, and Mahmoud Ahmed Abu Al-Kheir, 20 years old, from Gaza City was shot dead with a live bullet in the head.

PCHR’s field officer in the area of Al-Mentar reported that the Israeli occupation forces opened fire and apparently targeted journalists. As a result, CNN Cairo Bureau Chief Ben Wedeman, 41 years old, from the USA, was wounded with a live bullet in the side that exited near the armpit and was evacuated to Shifa’ hospital in Gaza. Wedeman was wearing a bullet-proof jacket. His colleague, Bruce Conover, also reported that Israeli tanks were “walking” shells in their immediate direction despite the fact that there were no Palestinians around them. Two hours before this incident, the Israeli occupation forces fired at a cameraman of Reuters, Shams Oudetallah who was not hurt. Oudetallah left his equipment behind and escaped. PCHR’s field officer also reported that 15 Palestinian civilians wounded with live ammunition in the same area, including Mohammed Hassan El-Ayyoubi, 27 years old, from Gaza City, who was wounded in the head and was evacuated to the intensive care unit of Shifa’ hospital. Additionally, eight Palestinian civilians were wounded with rubber-coated metal bullets.

In Khan Yunis, clashes broke out between Palestinian demonstrators and the Israeli occupation forces near an Israeli military post to the west of the refugee camp of Khan Yunis and near Al-Tuffah roadblock between Khan Yunis city and Al-Mawasi (agricultural) area. The Israeli occupation forces opened fire on Palestinian demonstrators wounding 19 civilians with live ammunition and 18 with rubber-coated metal bullets. PCHR’s field officer in Khan Yunis reported that Fayez Abu Moa’mmar, 16 years old, was seriously wounded in the chest and was evacuated to the intensive care unit at Shifa’ hospital in Gaza. The PCHR’s field officer added that seven of the wounded are in serious or moderate condition as they received bullets in the upper part of the body. They are:

1. Moheeb Jebril Qudeih, 23 years old, wounded with a live bullet in the chest,
2. Mohammed Omar Al-Najjar, 15 years old, wounded with a live bullet in the abdomen,
3. Ahmed Atallah Abdel-Hadi, 19 years old, wounded with a live bullet in the chest,
4. Mohammed Lutfi Abu Rouk, 15 years old, wounded with a live bullet in the head,
5. E’mad Humeid El-A’rjani, 15 years old, wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the face,
6. Bilal Subhi E’dwan, 9 years old, , wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the head, and
7. Amin Abdel-Qader Shorrab, 16 years old, wounded with two live bullets in the abdomen and hand.

In Rafah, clashes have broken out since the morning between Palestinian demonstrators and the Israeli occupation forces near Salah El-Din Gate on the Palestinian-Egyptian border. Three boys under 18 were wounded with live ammunition.

In the vicinity of Kfar Darom settlement near Deir El-Balah, clashes broke out this afternoon between Palestinian demonstrators and the Israeli occupation forces. These forces opened fire, but no injuries were reported

PCHR has learned that similar clashes broke out today in several areas of the West Bank, especially in Bethlehem, Ramallah and Jenin. The Israeli occupation forces fired at Palestinian demonstrators in Bethlehem and wounded ten, four of whom are in serious condition. Among the wounded was Salim Harbi Matarya, 34 years old, who was wounded with a live bullet in the head in clashes that broke out in the village of Al-Khader near Bethlehem. He is receiving treatment at Beit Jala hospital. More than ten Palestinian civilians were also wounded in Ramallah and Jenin. In Nablus, Jewish settlers attacked a number of Palestinian civilians wounding eight of them with stones.

In Khan Yunis, combat helicopters of the Israeli occupation forces shelled a post of Force 17 (Guards of the President) in the village of Ma’n to the east of Khan Yunis. PCHR’s field officer in Khan Yunis reported that shelling also damaged a number of civil buildings and facilities near the mentioned post such as the following:

1. A wall of an UNRWA clinic cracked and the windows of the building broke.
2. A wall of Ma’n elementary school cracked and the windows of the building broke.
3. Windows of Ammar Ben Yasser preparatory school broke.
4. Windows of a number of nearby houses broke.

In Rafah, gunfire exchange was heard at 11:30 local time last night. Immediately, tanks of the Israeli occupation forces shelled houses near Salah El-Din Gate on the Palestinian-Egyptian borders with rockets and heavy machine guns. PCHR’s field officer in Rafah reported that three houses were damaged:

1. A shell penetrated the wall surrounding the roof of a three-story residential building owned by Mahmoud Abdel-Nabi and Yousef Mustafa El-Dam and exploded causing severe damage to water reservoirs on the roof. When the 20 residents of the building heard the sound of the explosion they moved to the ground floor. No injuries were reported.
2. A shell penetrated the roof of an asbestos-roofed house owned by Abdel-Qader Mohammed Awaja causing severe damage to one room and its furniture. No injuries were reported.
3. The northern and eastern façades of a three-story house owned by Mustafa Mahmoud Hassan were hit with heavy bullets. Water reservoirs on the roof were severely damaged, but no injuries were reported.

This evening, the Israeli occupation forces fired medium caliber bullets at a house owned by Mohammed Daud El-Shae’r while the 15 members of his family were in the house. The bullets hit the walls of the house. No injuries were reported.

Yesterday, the Israeli occupation forces swept more areas of agricultural land adjacent to the Palestinian-Egyptian border at Rafah. In addition to sweeping a strip of land 2km long and 30-50m wide as mentioned in PCHR’s last press release, PCHR’s field officer in Rafah reported that the Israeli occupation forces swept:

1. A three-donum area of agricultural land planted with olives owned by Mahmoud Ahmed El-Shae’r,
2. A two-donum area of agricultural land planted with olives owned by Samir Hassan El-Shae’r, and
3. An under-construction fuel station established on a five-donum area adjacent to the Palestinian-Egyptian border owned by E’id A’yyad El-Nahhal.

In the area near Al-Mentar (Karni) Outlet, the Israeli occupation forces’ bulldozers swept:

1. A five-donum area of agricultural land planted with olives owned by Fawzi Shehada Erhim; an irrigation network was completely destroyed.
2. An under-construction 120-square meter house also owned by Fawzi Shehada Erhim.
3. A seven-donum area planted with olives owned by Sa’dallah Darwish El-Haj.
4. A one-donum area of agricultural land planted with vegetables owned by Fawzi Erhim.
5. A post of the Palestinian National Security Service.

Yesterday evening, the Israeli occupation forces re-closed Gaza International Airport for no clear reason. The have recently closed the airport several times. They closed it on October 16 and reopened it on October 19 but with limited capacity allowing work until 16:00 local time only. As a result of the closure, hundreds of passengers, including 30 who were wounded with bullets fired by the Israeli occupation forces and expecting to travel to Morocco for treatment were prevented from travel.

1. There is a significant escalation of shooting at Palestinian demonstrators by the Israeli occupation forces with the aim to kill, especially in the area of Al-Mentar (Karni) Outlet. Today, four Palestinian civilians were killed there with live ammunition.
2. Thirty-seven Palestinian civilians were wounded with live ammunition and 26 wounded with rubber-coated metal bullets.
3. One of the wounded is in a very critical condition and eight are in serious or moderate condition as they were wounded in the head, chest, back and abdomen. Six of these are under 16 years of age.
4. Journalists were apparently targeted to hide facts about the crimes and killings perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians.
5. Helicopters and tanks shelled civil facilities causing severe damage.
6. More areas of agricultural land were swept. Agricultural facilities and a house were also destroyed.
7. The Israeli occupation forces re-closed Gaza International Airport preventing patients from travel for treatment. They also continued to restrict the movement inside and outside the Gaza Strip.
8. Late in the day Thae’r Ibrahim El-Zeid, 17 years old, from Jalazon refugee camp near Ramallah was killed by a live bullet in the abdomen. He was involved in a clash at the northern entrance of Al-Bireh in the West Bank.