Ref: 86/2011

In the past 24 hours, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have launched
a series of air strikes against civilian-populated areas in the Gaza
Strip. These attacks began with
extra-judicially executing Kamal al-Nairab, Secretary General of the Popular
Resistance Committees (PRC), 4 PRC leaders and a two-year-old child of one of
them in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. Other air strikes lightly injured 23 Palestinians, including 7 children,
6 women and 3 police officers.

According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Center for
Human Rights (PCHR), the air strikes were as follows:

At approximately 16:50 on Thursday, 18 August 2011, Israeli
warplanes fired two missiles targeting a number of leaders of the PRC and its
armed wing, Nasser Saladin Brigades, who were in the garden of a house
belonging to Khaled Hamad Sha’at opposite to Ali Ben Abi Taleb Mosque in Block
J (al-Sho’ut) area in Rafah refugee camp. As a result of the attack, 5 PRC leaders and a child of one of them were
killed:

1- Kamal
‘Awadh Mohammed al-Nairab (Abu ‘Awadh), 43, PRC Secretary General;

2- ‘Emad
‘Abdul Karim ‘Abdul Khaliq Hammad, 40, the leader of Nasser Saladin Brigades;

3- ‘Emad
al-Din Na’im Sayed Nasser, 46, a member of Nasser Saladin Brigades;

4- Khaled
Ibrahim Salman al-Masri, 26, a member of Nasser Saladin Brigades;

5- Khaled
Hamad Sha’at, 32, the leader of manufacturing unit of Nasser Saladin Brigades;
and

6- Malek
Khaled Hamad Sha’at, 2.

This
attack came a few hours following armed attacks in the southern Israeli city of
Eilat near the Egyptian border, which left 8 Israelis and 7 attackers killed,
and injured a number of other Israelis, according to Israeli media
reports. IOF admitted responsibility of
the extra-judicial execution; Avichai Adraee, IOF spokesman, stated the IOF
targeted senior PRC leaders “as a first step in response to the attack in
Eilat.” The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated in a press
conference he held to comment on Eilat attack that “the leaders of the
organization responsible for the attack are no longer alive.” He appreciated Israeli military commanders
and the Internal Security Services (ISS) who “liquidated senior leaders of
the organization responsible for the attack in Eilat,” as he claimed. 

At
approximately 01:00 on Friday, 19 August 2011, an Israeli warplane fired a
missile at an 800-square-meter, 6-storey vacant governmental building to the
west of al-Katiba Yard in the west of Gaza City. As a result, the western part of the building
was destroyed and at least 23 Palestinians, including 7 children, 6 women and 3
police officers were lightly injured. A
number of nearby apartment buildings were also damaged. Additionally, buildings of 4 governmental
institutions were damaged: Ministry of Justice; General Personnel Council; Police
Command of Gaza City; and the Governmental Media Office. Offices of seven civil organizations were
damaged as well: Coastal Municipalities Water Utility; Jawaharlal Nehru Library
of al-Azhar University; Future Palestine for Children; Arts Village of the
Municipality of Gaza; al-Dameer Association for Human Rights; Palestinian
Center for Human Communication; and Applied Future Polytechnic. Moreover, Sheikh Zayed Mosque, 8 shops and
Tarazi Fuel Company were damaged.

At
approximately 01:30, an Israeli helicopter gunships fired two missiles at a
training site of the ‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas) in
the northeast of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip. Fire broke out in the site, but no casualties
were reported.

Also
at approximately 01:30, Israeli warplanes bombarded a space area in al-Najjar
quarter in Khuza’a village, east of the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan
Yunis. The bombardment me a large crater
in the area and damaged two tin-made rooms belonging to the al-Najjar
family. Additionally, glass of a mosque
and a number of houses was broken, and a number of water tanks were damaged.

At
approximately 02:05, Israeli warplanes fired at least ones missile at a tunnel
in al-Salam neighborhood at the Palestinian-Egyptian border, south of
Rafah. Nearly 10 minutes later, they
fired a missile at another tunnel in Yibna refugee camp in the south of
Rafah. No casualties were reported.

Also
at approximately 02:05, Israeli warplanes bombarded al-Qadisiya site of the
‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas) in the west of Khan
Yunis. No casualties were reported.

At
approximately 11:20, an Israeli warplane fired two missiles at the sewage
treatment plant of the Municipality of al-Nussairat near Gaza Power Plant in
the north of al-Nussairat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. The plant was destroyed, two civilian
bystanders were wounded and electricity supplies were cut from al-Nasser
Street, al-Mughraqa village and al-Nussairat refugee camp.

At
approximated 11:30, an Israeli warplane fired a missile at a deserted house in
the northeast of al-Zawaida village in the central Gaza Strip. The house was destroyed and dozens of nearby
houses, but no casualties were reported.

Also
at approximately 11:30, Israeli warplanes bombarded a site of the ‘Izziddin
al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas) in Ermadia area in Bani Suhaila
village, east of Khan Yunis. No
casualties were reported.

At
approximately 07:00, an Israeli drone fired two missiles at al-Zaytoun Clinic
road in al-Zaytoun neighborhood in the east of Gaza City. One of the missiles hit the southeastern
fence of the roof of a 250-square-meter, 5-storey house belonging to sons of
the late Hussein Nemes Sbaih. Thirty
five individuals, including 25 children, live in the house. As a result of the attack, the fence was
partially destroyed and Bilal Hassan Sbaih, 35; Anas Khaled Sbaih, 4; and Ramez
Bilal Sbaih, 5, were shocked. The other
missile hit the roof of a 200-square-meter, 3-storey house belonging to Zuhair
Khalil al-Ayoubi, 67, in which 25 individuals, including 10 children,
live. Two water boilers, 3 water tanks
and the roof of the house were damaged.

PCHR strongly condemns these crimes, and:

1- Emphasizes that the extra-judicial execution constitutes a war
crime, and views Netanyahu’s admission of the attack and appreciation for those
who carried it out as an evidence of the involvement of the head of the Israeli
government in violations of the international law, making him legally
accountable;

2- Stresses that targeting houses, densely-populated areas and
civilian targets reflects IOF’s disregard for the lives of Palestinian
civilians, and warns of more escalation of crimes against Palestinian civilians
and their property in light of statements and threats launched by Israeli political
and military leaders, which will bring about more victims in the Gaza Strip;

3- Points out that crimes committed by IOF constitutes acts or
reprisal and collective punishment in violation of Article 33 of the 1949
Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time
of War; and

4- Believes that the failure of the international community,
particularly the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to
effectively act to stop crimes committed by IOF serves to encourage Israel and
IOF to commit more crimes against Palestinian civilians and their
property. The legal protection provided
by the United States to Israel, and deliberate obstruction of the application
of international humanitarian law, in addition to the conspiracy of silence
practiced by European States towards crimes committed against Palestinian
civilians do not only place Israel above the international humanitarian law,
but also encourage it to unrestrictedly commit more crimes against Palestinian
civilians.