Press Release

The Israeli occupation forces and Jewish settlers continue their crimes against Palestinian civilians:

A Palestinian farmer is killed by Jewish settlers

Ref: 134/2000

Date: October 17, 2000

Time: 12:30 GMT

Tension spread throughout the occupied Palestinian territories, and the Israeli occupying forces and Jewish settlers escalated their criminal actions against Palestinian civilians.

This morning, one of the Jewish settlers of the settlement of Eitamar near the Palestinian city of Nablus, shot fire at some Palestinian farmers in the village of Beit Fourik near Nablus while they were cultivating olive, and killed Mousa Eissa Nasasra, 28 years old, by a bullet in the abdomen. Some Palestinians were wounded in the incident, including Majdi Mahmoud Eissa, who was wounded in the back, and Khaled Nasasra, who was wounded in the chest.

In the northern area of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupying forces shot live ammunition and rubber-coated metal bullets at Palestinian laborers in Erez Industrial Zone, and wounded some of them. Eyewitnesses stated that clashes had broken out since 16:00 GMT this morning, when the Israeli occupation soldiers provoked the laborers who were going to their work in Erez Industrial Zone, and beat some of them. The Israeli occupation forces also denied access of Palestinian laborers, whose number is 3,000, to Erez Industrial Zone. The Israeli occupation forces responded to the protest of the laborers and some boys who assembled in the area, using excessive force. These forces shot fire at the protesters and used tear gas against them. As a result, two of the protesters were wounded by live ammunition and were evacuated to Shifa’ Hospital in Gaza. Some other 13 people were wounded by rubber-coated metal bullets, and dozens were hurt due to inhaling tear gas. PCHR’s field officer in the area of clashes reported that clashes between Palestinian laborers and boys on one side, and the Israeli occupying forces on the other side are still continuous until the time of issuing this press release.

Several areas of the Gaza Strip are still witnessing clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and the Israeli occupation forces. These clashes are concentrated in the area adjacent to Salah El-Din Gate on the borders with Egypt in Rafah, and near an Israeli military outpost, known as Al-Nouria Outpost, to the west of the refugee camp of Khan Yunis. PCHR’s field officers reported that some Palestinian civilians were

wounded by rubber-coated metal bullets, and dozens were evacuated to hospitals as a result of inhaling tear gas used by the Israeli occupation forces, most of them were children.

PCHR’s field officer in Rafah reported that the Israeli occupation forces shot lighting bombs last night towards the refugee camp of Al-Shaboura which is at least 1km away from the Israeli military outpost at Salah El-Din Gate. The bombs fell onto two asbestos-roofed houses in the camp and damaged them, burning parts of their furniture.

As PCHR monitors the deteriorating situation in the occupied Palestinian territories as a result of the crimes perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces and Jewish settlers against Palestinian civilians, it warns of more deterioration in the situation and more killings of Palestinian civilians. The number of Palestinians who were killed by the Israeli occupation forces and Jewish settlers has increased to 95 martyrs, and 2,500 were wounded. PCHR reiterates its call for immediate international intervention to halt these criminal actions, establishing an international commission of inquiry to investigate them, and providing immediate international protection for Palestinian civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories.