Press Release

New escalation by the Israeli occupation forces:
A third crime of assassination in less than 48 hours;
Israeli occupation forces break into Khan Yunis:
Four Palestinians killed and another 28 wounded

Ref: 200/2000
Date: December 13, 2000
Time: 13:00 GMT
           15:00 Palestine Time

After weeks of shelling and shooting at houses in the west of the refugee camp of Khan Yunis, this morning, four members of the Palestinian National Security forces were killed and 28 Palestinian civilians were wounded with live bullets and shrapnel of artillery shells, when residents of Khan Yunis responded to a military assault by the Israeli occupation forces.  The occupation forces were confronted when they started to demolish a number of houses in the refugee camp of Khan Yunis.  PCHR s field officers reported that this morning, at approximately 1:45, a bulldozer, some tanks and dozens of troops of the Israeli occupation forces moved from Al-Tuffah roadblock towards the refugee camp of Khan Yunis in order to demolish a number of Palestinian houses, 150 meters away from military posts of these forces.  Hundreds of Palestinian citizens confronted the Israeli occupation forces, which fired artillery shells and heavy and medium bullets at Palestinian civilians and houses.  The incident developed into an armed confrontation in which some members of the Palestinian National Security Forces participated.  Fighting lasted until 8:00 local time this morning.  The bulldozer of the Israeli occupation forces was able to reach a number of houses and partially demolished them.  Artillery shells also hit other houses.

Four Palestinians from the Palestinian National Security Forces were killed during the attack launched by the Israeli occupation forces.  They are:
 1) Mahdi Ahmed A kkileh, 27 years old, from Khan Yunis, who was hit by a live bullet in the abdomen;
 2) Mohammed Jamal Abu El-O la, 25 years old, from Khan Yunis, who was hit by a live bullet in the chest;
 3) Ahmed Ismail Mottair, 30 years old, from Rafah, who was hit by a live bullet in the head; and
 4) Jaber El-Sabe , 32 years old, from Beit Hanoun, who was hit by a live bullet in the head.

Additionally, 28 Palestinian civilians were wounded with live bullets and shrapnel of artillery shells, including a number of children, a number of whom were seriously wounded.  They are:
 1) Yasser Abdel-Rahman Al-Najjar, wounded with a live bullet and evacuated to the intensive care unit at Shifa hospital in Gaza City in critical condition;
 2) Ossama Hassan Abu Khoreis, 30 years old, wounded with shrapnel in the head, the chest and the legs, and evacuated to the intensive care unit at Shifa hospital in Gaza City in critical condition;
 3) Eihab Fathi Abu Samra, 30 years old, wounded with a live bullet in the right eye and evacuated to the optical hospital in Gaza City;
 4) Mohammed Kamel Safi, 15 years old, wounded with a live bullet in the left shoulder;
 5) Mohammed Khaled Boreis, 14 years old, wounded with shrapnel in the head;
 6) Bader Subhi Abu E lwan, 12 years old, wounded with a live bullet in the abdomen;
 7) Mohammed Bashir Barbakh, 18 years old, wounded with shrapnel in the face and the hand;
 8) Ali Suleiman Jowe d, 16 years old, wounded with shrapnel throughout the body;
 9) Taleb Abed Rabbo Abu Mustafa, 27 years old, wounded with a live bullet in the head;
 10) Ali Hassan Honeideq, 40 years old, wounded with live bullets in the head and the back;
 11) Khaled Ali Abu Zayed, 32 years old, wounded with a live bullet in the chest;
 12) Bassam A ayesh Shloul, 26 years old, wounded with a live bullet in the chest;
 13) Ibrahim Khalil El-Bardawil, 20 years old, wounded with a live bullet in the chest;
 14) Marwan Yousef Abu Setteh, 27 years old, wounded with a live bullet in the chest;
 15) Khaled Ahmed Qannan, 35 years old, wounded with two live bullets in the the foot and the hand;
 16) Hamdan El-Dabbas, 31 years old, wounded with a live bullet in the hand;
 17) Yousef Sahloul, 28 years old, wounded with a live bullet in the foot;
 18) Maso ud El-Mobasher, 31 years old, wounded with shrapnel in the head;
 19) Eyad Hammad, 25 years old, wounded with shrapnel in the head;
 20) Jehad Oudeh Abu A ker, 21 years old, wounded with shrapnel in the head;
 21) Yousef Qassem Abdel-Ghafour, 39 years old, wounded with shrapnel in the head;
 22) Hamed Kamel Zourob, 18 years old, wounded with shrapnel in the head;
 23) Hani El-Hieleh, 25 years old, wounded with shrapnel in the shoulder and the thigh;
 24) Bassam Suleiman Abu Sahloul, 28 years old, wounded with shrapnel in the shoulder;
 25) Jawad Abu Obeida, 28 years old, wounded with shrapnel in the hand and the right side;
 26) Awadh Ahmed Shahin, 38 years old, wounded with shrapnel in the leg;
 27) Yousef Abu El-E inein, 38 years old, wounded with shrapnel in the leg; and
 28) Mohammed Ali Abu Obeida, 33 years old, wounded with shrapnel in the foot.

Panic spread among Palestinian civilians, especially in the areas near military posts of the Israeli occupation forces.  These civilians were forced to spend the night with their children outside their houses, fearing that these houses might be shelled by the Israeli occupation forces.  PCHR s field officers reported that Mrs. Rania Ahmed Abu Sahloul, 48 years old, was evacuated to Nasser hospital, suffering from a nervous breakdown.  PCHR s field officers could not reach all the demolished or shelled houses, but initial information gathered indicates the following:
 1) The house of Suleiman Mohammed Abu Obeida, a 340-square-meter, asbestos-roofed house in which 15 people live was partially demolished by the bulldozer.
 2) The house of Amin Suleiman Abu Obeida, a 190-square-meter, asbestos-roofed house in which eight people live was partially demolished by the bulldozer.
 3)  The house of Suleiman Mousa Abu Mousa, a 170-square-meter, asbestos-roofed house in which seven people live was partially demolished by the bulldozer.
 4) The house of Safeya Mosallam Abu Obeida, a 200-square-meter, asbestos-roofed house in which three people live was partially demolished by the bulldozer.
 5) The house of Hussein Ahmed Abu Khoreis, a 140-square-meter, one-story house in which 20 people live was partially demolished by the bulldozer.
 6) The house of A adel Ali Abu Obeida, a 130-square-meter, two-story house in which 11 people live was partially demolished and was hit with artillery shells and heavy and medium bullets that made large holes in walls.
 7)  The house of Abdullah Hassan Abu Obeida, a 250-square-meter, five-story house in which 18 people live was partially demolished and was hit with artillery shells and heavy and medium bullets that made large holes in walls.
 8) The house of Khaled Ali Abu Louz, a 260-square-meter, two-story house in which 11 people live was partially demolished and was hit with artillery shells and heavy and medium bullets that made large holes in walls.
 9) The house of A wni Ibrahim Abu Seif, a 150-square-meter, two-story house in which eight people live was partially demolished and was hit with artillery shells and heavy and medium bullets that made large holes in walls.
 10) The three-story house of Fayeq Oudeh Abu A ker was hit by shells that made holes 10 centimeters in diameter in walls of the second floor.

This afternoon in Hebron, at approximately 13:00, the Israeli occupation forces shot at A bbas Ahmed El-E wiwi, 26 years old, killing him with three bullets in the head and the chest.  Eyewitnesses stated that the incident was a crime of willful killing and assassination of El-E wiwi who was in front of his commercial store in Wadi Al-Tuffah Street in the center of Hebron.  The commercial store is 250 meters away from military posts of the Israeli occupation forces in the part of Hebron under the control of the Israeli occupation forces.  Snipers of these forces shot at the martyr when there were no clashes in the area.

This crime is the third of its kind in the past 48 hours.  Yesterday afternoon, in the village of Al-Khader in Bethlehem, the Israeli occupation forces shot dead Yousef Ahmed Abu Sawi, 28 years old.  Abu Sawi was exiting the door of his house at approximately 15:00 local time when the Israeli occupation forces shot a hail of bullets at him from military posts of these forces located on hills near the village of Al-Khader.  The posts are 200 meters away from the house of the victim.  Abu Sawi was hit by 17 live bullets throughout the body and immediately died.  The day before yesterday, the Israeli occupation forces opened fire from a military post on Jerzim Mount at  Anwar Mahmoud  Hamran, 28 years old, from the village of A rrabeh in Jenin, killing him with 19 bullets throughout the body.  Hamran, a student at the Al-Quds Open University, was near the campus, which is 1,000 meters to the west of the military posts of the Israeli occupation forces, when he was shot dead.

In yesterday s press release, PCHR condemned the crime of assassinating Hamran and warned of a possible recurrence of assassinations and willful and ultra-judicial killings committed by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians.  In light of the new crimes of assassination, it is clear that the abuses by the Israeli occupation forces have taken on a new dimension, targeting and extra-judicially killing Palestinian civilians in areas under the control of the Palestinian National Authority, exploiting the fact that their military posts are adjacent to Palestinian cities and villages.  Palestinian citizens do not feel safe even inside these areas.

More Sweeping and Demolition

Yesterday evening, at about 23:00, the Israeli occupation forces swept more areas of agricultural land and demolished three houses and civilian facilities in Deir El-Balah, 50 meters to the west of Kfar Darom settlement. The sweeping and demolition lasted until this morning, 5:00 local time.  The destruction included:
 1) The house of Salem Abu Samra, a 280-square-meter, two-story house in which ten people live.  It was completely demolished.
 2) The house of Omar and A mmar Bashir, a 260-square-meter, one-story house in which six people live.  It was completely demolished.
 3) The house of Yousef Bashir, a 220-square-meter, one-story house. The family had left the house because of the frequent shelling and shooting.  It was completely demolished.
 4) An eight-donum area of agricultural land, owned by Khalil Bashir, on which eight greenhouses were planted with vegetables.  In addition, an irrigation network was destroyed.
 5) A five-donum area of agricultural land, three of which were planted with olives and palms, and on the other two, two greenhouses planted with vegetables.  The land is owned by Baschar El-Tawasi.
 6) A two-donum area of agricultural land planted with olives, owned by Rushdi Abu Samra.  In addition, the fence of his house was demolished.
 7) An agricultural pool and a room inside which there was a water pump used for irrigation, owned Dhiab Bashir.
 

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PCHR reiterates its call for the international community to immediately intervene to stop the killings and criminal acts perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians. PCHR calls in particular for:

1. Establishing without delay an independent commission of inquiry, in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1322 (2000), to carry out a thorough and comprehensive investigation into the abuses and killings perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians.
2. Convening a conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to ensure Israel s compliance with its obligations under the Convention.
3. Immediately providing international protection for Palestinian civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories in the face of the killings and criminal acts perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces and groups of Jewish settlers who move under the protection of these forces.
4. Use by the EU of effective political and economic measures with reference to Article 2 of the Euro-Israel Association Agreement, which calls for the respect of human rights.
5. Providing humanitarian and medical assistance for the Palestinian people whose living conditions are increasingly deteriorating because of the continued total siege imposed by the Israeli occupation forces on the entire occupied Palestinian territories.
6. Use by the international community and relevant bodies, including ICRC, of necessary measures to ensure the access of medical supplies and equipment and other humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians. The Israeli occupation forces have continued to deny entry of this material through Rafah Border Crossing (into the Gaza Strip).
 

End