Press Release

The Israeli occupation forces carry out an assassination:
Occupation forces shell Deir El-Balah and Khan Yunis and sweep more areas of agricultural land

Ref: 199/2000
Date: December 12, 2000
Time: 13:00 GMT
           15:00 Palestine Time

This morning, at about 8:30 local time, the Israeli occupation forces opened fire from their tanks at the Palestinian-Egyptian border in Rafah.  They shot at a number of children who were near their houses in Al-Salam neighborhood, adjacent to the borderline.  PCHR s field officer in Rafah reported that the child Mohammed El-Satari, 13 years old, was wounded with shrapnel in the leg.  He added that the area was not witnessing any clashes when the Israeli occupation forces shot at these children.

Yesterday afternoon, the Israeli occupation forces shot dead Anwar Mahmoud  Hamran, 28 years old, from the village of A rrabeh in Jenin.  Hamran, a student at the Al-Quds Open University, was near the campus at about 13:30 local time when the Israeli occupation forces opened sniper fire at him from a military post of these forces on Jerzim Mount, 1000 meters away from the campus.  Nineteen bullets hit him throughout his body.  Field information asserts that the incident was a cold-blooded assassination of Hamran.

PCHR condemns this crime of assassination and regards the recurrent assassinations and extra-judicial killings committed by the Israeli occupation forces as highly dangerous.

More Sweeping of Agricultural Land

Yesterday evening, at about 21:00, the Israeli occupation forces swept more areas of agricultural land to the north of a road branching from Salah El-Din Street (the main road between the north and south of the Gaza Strip) leading to Gush Qatif settlement bloc.  The affected areas are 800 meters away from Al-Matahen junction in the middle area of the Gaza Strip.  The sweeping lasted until 2:00 local time this morning.  It included:
 1) A 40-donum area of agricultural land planted with palms and guavas, owned by Salem Mohammed Abu Shmas.  In addition, an irrigation network was destroyed.
 2) A 10-donum area of agricultural land planted with vegetables, owned by Jehad Abu Madhi.
 3) A three-donum area of agricultural land on which three greenhouses planted with vegetables were established, owned by Mohammed Abu Nahyeh.  In addition, an irrigation network, a well and a water pump were destroyed.

Also yesterday evening, the Israeli occupation forces swept more areas of agricultural land to the south of Dogit settlement in the north of Beit Lahia.  The sweeping included:
 1) A five-donum area of agricultural land planted with citrus, owned by Ahmed Hassan El-Shanti.
 2) A two-donum area of agricultural land on which two greenhouses planted with vegetables were established, owned by the above citizen.
 3) A three-donum area of agricultural land planted with olives, palms and citrus, owned by brothers Suhail and Nasri Shukri El-Souri.  In addition, an 80-square-meter building that included a well and an agricultural equipment store was destroyed.

Shelling of Deir El-Balah and Khan Yunis

Yesterday, at approximately 20:00 local time, the Israeli occupation forces positioned in a military post in the western part of Kfar Darom fired heavy and medium bullets at houses in Deir El-Balah.  The firing lasted until midnight.  The houses that were hit are 250-300 meters to the west of military posts of the Israeli occupation forces.  This attack caused severe damages to the following houses:
 1) The house of Ali Mohammed Abu Qassem, a 400-square-meter, two-story house in which six people live: Bullets made holes in walls and windows were broken.
 2) The house of Ibrahim Abdel-Rahman Bashir, a 240-square-meter, two-story house in which six people live: Bullets made holes in walls.
 3) The house of Yahia Abdel-Rahman Bashir, a 220-square-meter, two-story house in which nine people live: Bullets made holes in walls and windows were broken.
 4) The house of A zzam Mohammed Bashir, a 300-square-meter, two-story house in which 12 people live: Bullets made holes in the asbestos roof of the second floor.
 5) The house of Ali Mohammed Abu A mra, a 240-square-meter, three-story house in which six people live: Bullets made holes in walls and the eastern and southern verandas.

Yesterday afternoon, at approximately 16:00 local time, the Israeli occupation forces positioned at Al-Tuffah roadblock fired a number of artillery shells at houses in the west of the refugee camp of Khan Yunis.  These houses are always shelled and so their residents had left them in recent weeks.  The Israeli occupation forces also fired heavy and medium bullets at Palestinian civilians and houses.  As a result, Salem Ali Salem Abu Obeida, 25 years old, was wounded with a live bullet in the right leg, and Khalil Mohammed Al-Najjar, 37 years old, was wounded with shrapnel from a shell in the back.  PCHR s field officer in Khan Yunis reported that the two were passing the area.  In addition, a number of houses were severely damaged as follows:
 1) The house of Suleiman Mousa Abu Mousa, a 170-square-meter one-story house in which seven people live was shelled by tanks: The house was hit with three shells that made holes 20 centimeters in diameter in walls and destroyed the asbestos roof.
 2) The house of Suleiman Mohammed Abu Obeida, a 340-square-meter house in which 15 people live: The house was hit with a shell and heavy and medium bullets that made holes in walls and destroyed the asbestos roof and water storage tanks.
 3) The house of Hussein Ahmed Abu Khoreis, a 140-square-meter house in which 20 people live: Shells made holes in walls and the asbestos roof was broken.
 4) The house of Safeya Mosallam Abu Obeida, a 200-square-meter house in which three people live: Three shells hit the houses, making holes 20-40 centimeters in diameter in walls and the asbestos roof was destroyed.
 5) The house of Amin Suleiman Abu Obeida, a 190-square-meter house in which eight people live: The shelling broke the asbestos roof and damaged water storage tanks.
 6) The house of Mohammed Ali Salem Abu Obeida, a 260-square-meter house in which 25 people live: The asbestos roof was broken.
 7) The house of Salem Ali Abu Mousa, a 300-square-meter house in which 13 people live: The shelling made holes in walls, destroyed the asbestos roof, and damaged a satellite television receiver and the furniture inside the house.
 8) The house of Mohammed Ibrahim Abu A wadh, a 120-square-meter house in which eight people live: The shelling made holes in walls and destroyed the asbestos roof.
 9) The house of Jehad Khalil Mohammed Abu Louz, a 150-square-meter house in which 11 people live: The house was hit with shells that made holes 10-15 centimeters in diameter in walls and destroyed windows and internal doors.
 10) The house of Khaled Mohammed Abu Louz, a 260-square-meter house in which 11 people live: The house was hit with shells and heavy and medium bullets that made holes in walls.
 

***

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