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Press Release

Israeli Forces Kill 10 Palestinians in Raid on Village

Ref: 62/2001

Date: 24 Oct.-2001

In a major attack, Israeli occupation forces have killed 10 Palestinians and wounded dozens of others today in the village of Beit Rima, northwest of Ramallah, in the West Bank.  Attacks on the civilian population also continued elsewhere in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).

According to preliminary information received by PCHR, Israeli occupation forces, including helicopter gunships, tanks, and armoured vehicles, raided the village of Beit Rima at approximately 0200 today, under the cover of intensive shooting and use of rockets against residential areas.  Beit Rima is part of “Area A” and is under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).  All of the residents of Beit Rima, including children, were gathered in the middle of the village by Israeli soldiers.  Dozens are reported to have been arrested.

Israeli occupation forces continue to maintain a complete siege on the village. Palestinian medical teams and ambulances have been denied access to the area, as have been representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and members of the media.  The Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz has quoted Israeli military sources that said 10 Palestinians had been killed.  According to information relayed from the village by phone to PCHR and LAW (The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights), more than 50 people have been injured.  Hospital officials have said that Israeli soldiers have handed over the bodies of five of those killed to Palestinian authorities, although their identities have not yet been revealed.

This attack is part of a continued escalation and widespread campaign of revenge pursued by Israeli forces in the OPT in the aftermath of the recent assassination of right-wing Israeli cabinet minister Rehavam Ze’evi in occupied east Jerusalem.  During the past week, approximately 50 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including children, women, and elderly, have been killed by Israeli occupation forces, and dozens more injured in indiscriminate shooting and shelling of Palestinian cities.  Israeli troops have invaded the cities of Jenin, Tulkarm, Qalqilya, Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Ramallah, and Al-Bireh, all of which are designated as “Area A” and under the jurisdiction of the PNA.

PCHR condemns the attacks on civilians on Beit Rima, and calls for urgent intervention by the world community to stop war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law perpetrated by Israeli occupation forces in the OPT, and to provide immediate and effective international protection to the Palestinian people.  As a first step, PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to break their conspiracy of silence and enforce Israel’s respect for the convention in the OPT.