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Press Release
A US political cover for Israel in its violations of the international humanitarian law
The largest campaign since the outbreak of the Intifada:
More than 100 Palestinian families become homeless in Rafah after their houses were demolished
Ref: 4/2001
Date: 12 January 2002
The Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) are witnessing a serious escalation in Israeli violations against Palestinian civilians. For the third consecutive day, Israeli occupation forces have attacked Palestinian property in Rafah refugee camp on a massive scale. According to PCHR’s investigations, on Thursday morning, 10 January, Israeli occupation forces encroached into Block “O” area in Rafah refugee camp under the cover of intensive shelling and demolished 59 Palestinian houses. This morning, the Israeli forces also encroached into Al-Barahma area in Rafah refugee camp and again demolished 18 houses. They also fired shaking shell that damaged more than 200 houses, which are now threatened to fall.
Hundreds of civilians, including children, women and old people, who were sleeping, were forced to escape from their houses under intensive shelling by Israeli tanks. Many civilians from nearby areas came to offer help for the afflicted families.
Israeli occupation forces perpetrated a grave breech of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 1949, which the international community recognizes its applicability to the OPT, when they launched massive attacks on Palestinian civilians and their property in Block “O” and Al-Barahma areas in Rafah refugee camp. These attacks left disastrous impacts at the humanitarian level, since it violated the right of these civilians to life and personal security and safety. These civilians are now living under very tragic conditions in the very cold weather, after Israeli tanks and bulldozers had demolished 77 house, in which more than 100 families, comprised of 750 persons, mostly women and children, used to live.
Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers have completely isolated Rafah from the rest of the Gaza Strip. More than 140,000 people in the city are now living in an isolated prison. The Israeli forces have even denied the passage of ambulances. They have also tightened the siege already imposed on Al-Mawasi area in the west of the city. There are fears that the living conditions of civilians living in the area will further deteriorate.
The past 72 hours witnessed the most violent attacks on the OPT since the outbreak of the Intifada. Israeli military operations against Rafah have included imposing a very strict siege on the city. Palestinian security sources talked about unprecedented reinforcements of the Israeli forces deployed around Rafah. More than 100 tanks and armored personnel carriers and more than 1500 soldiers were seen surrounding the city. Israeli fighter jets and combat helicopters were also seen flying over the city. In a later development, the Israeli forces violated the understanding concluded with the Palestinian National Authority regarding the reparation of Gaza International Airport in Rafah. They attacked the airport and completely destroyed its runway.
In the past two days, the Israeli forces destroyed or seized a number of sites of the Palestinian National Security Forces in Rafah and Khan Yunis.
The Israeli forces also seized the fishing harbor in Rafah, confiscated a number of Palestinian boats and damaged fishing equipment. This morning, the Israeli forces fired missiles at a Palestinian boat and maintenance workshops at Gaza seashore. A number of nearby buildings were damaged. At approximately 02:30, Israeli marine forces also planted a bomb on the side of a fishing boat that belongs to the Palestinian Marine Police. Then, they destroyed it. The boat was severely damaged.
PCHR calls upon the international community to fulfill its international obligations and stop Israeli war crimes against the Palestinian people:
PCHR sees that the destruction of Palestinian houses took place under a US political cover, which considered the policy of house demolition as one of self-defense, according to a recent statement of the US Secretary of State.
Israeli claims that the Israeli forces demolished a number of houses that were used for military purposes is refuted by the fact that all they demolished civilian houses, whose residents were forced to leave them under intensive shelling.
PCHR calls upon the UN bodies to send missions to the region to check the impacts of Israeli crimes on the ground and to take necessary measures to stop these crimes.
PCHR calls upon the international community to contribute to the efforts made to provide housing for the families that became homeless and to express solidarity with the declaration of Rafah as an afflicted area.
