Press Release

The Israeli Occupying Forces reinforce their presence in a way that portends a more deteriorating situation

Ref: 115/2000

Date: October 4, 2000

Time: 11:00 GMT

Since yesterday evening, the Israeli Occupying Forces have been reinforcing their presence throughout the Gaza Strip. Moreover, they plunged into areas under full Palestinian sovereignty according to the Israeli-Palestinian agreements. In another act of escalation, yesterday evening, Israeli combating helicopters dropped shells on some Palestinian houses.

PCHR’s field officers has informed that yesterday evening and today morning, operations of paratroops airdrop were noticed at Tal Zeidan in Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis. The Israeli Occupying Forces reinforced their military outposts with more than 1500 troops in the area of Gush Qattif settlements. In addition, since today dawn, Israeli military patrols and vehicles have been deployed Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis. In Eritz area, north of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Occupying Forces reinforced their military outpost there with hundreds of troops and military equipment. Tanks and armored vehicles were also seen moving along the east borders of the Gaza Strip.

At about 8:00 p.m. yesterday, the Israeli Occupying Forces launched missiles and shot fire at 3 Palestinian houses near the junction leading to Morag Settlement at the northeast of Rafah. This resulted in partial destruction and losses of properties in these houses; PCHR’s field officers reported that one of these houses was directly hit by two missiles. No injuries were reported among families who sheltered in lower floors of the houses during bombarding.

Since today morning, tens of Israeli soldiers have been deployed in the farms north of Al-Qarara, between Deir El-Balah and Khan Younis, which are under the Palestinian sovereignty according to Israeli-Palestinian interim agreements.

PCHR is deeply worried about the Israeli military reinforcements, and would like to assert the following:

1. These reinforcements portend more deteriorating situation, bloodshed and killings committed by the Israeli Occupying Forces against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. They also confirm the intention of the Israeli Occupying Forces and the Israeli Government to escalate their reppression against the Palestinian people.

 

2. These fears are enhanced by the frequency of Israeli statements on ceasing fire misleadingly, which give the impression that there is a war between two armies which resulted in the death of civilians and soldiers. This picture contradicts reality on the ground, which provides concrete proofs that the Israeli Occupying Forces are committing flagrant violations to the international humanitarian law, through their excessive use of force and intentional killing against unarmed civilians while repressing demonstrations. Until now, this led to the death of 54 Palestinians and injuring some other 1500.

 

3. There is no justification for the Israeli Occupying Forces’ resort to combating helicopters equipped with shells and 500mm-bullets to repress demonstrators and to bomb civil buildings. Yesterday, 5 Palestinians were killed, one of them was injured by a shell in the head and another one was injured by a 500-mm bullet (the two are Palestinian civilians); in the two cases the source of fire was a combating helicopter.