Israeli Troops Continue to
Perpetrate Human Rights Violations in the OPT
· 10
Palestinians, including 5 civilians, were killed by Israeli troops.
· 6
of the victims were killed during the Israeli offensive on the northern Gaza
Strip.
· Israeli
troops conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip.
· 38
houses were destroyed in Rafah and Beit Hanoun.
· Houses
were raided and dozens of Palestinian civilians were arrested.
· One
house was destroyed in the West Bank in the context of retaliatory measures
against families of Palestinian militants.
· Continued
shelling of residential areas and civilian facilities, and a number of
Palestinian civilians were injured.
· Construction
of the “Annexation wall” in the West Bank has continued.
· Israeli
troops have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; Israeli troops at
military checkpoints fired at Palestinian civilians, seriously wounding a
woman.
Introduction
On Friday, 15 October 2004, Israeli Occupying Forces
(IOF) were redeployed in the northern Gaza Strip following a 17-day long wide
scale offensive on the area, whose outcome was:
· 103
Palestinians[1]
were killed, nearly half of them were civilians, including 28 children
· 442
Palestinians, including 177 children, were wounded, many of whom are in a
serious condition
· 87
houses were totally destroyed: 53 in Jabalya refugee camp; 4 to the east of
Jabalya; 24 in Beit Lahia; and 6 in Beit Hanoun. As a result, 854 people (128 families) have
become homeless. Dozens of houses were
also severely damaged.
· 11
shops, 3 brick factories and 3 workshops for car maintenance were destroyed.
· 19
public facilities were destroyed, including 6 schools, 3 mosques and 2
kindergartens.
· 839
donums[2] of
agricultural were razed: 332 donumns in Beit Hanoun; 447 donums in Beit Lahia;
and 60 donums in Jabalya.
· The
civilian infrastructures of the area were largely destroyed.
· Education
was suspended
IOF have perpetrated more violations of human rights
against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
This week, 10 Palestinians, 5 of whom were civilians, including 2 elderly
people, were killed, and at least 20 civilians were wounded by Israeli
troops. Human rights violations
perpetrated by IOF included willful killings, incursions into Palestinian
areas, indiscriminate shelling, land leveling and total closure imposed on
Palestinian communities.
In the Gaza Strip, this week, 10 Palestinians, 5 of
whom were civilians, including 2 elderly people, were killed by Israeli
troops. Four of the victims, including
an elderly woman, were killed by Israeli troops in Jabalya refugee camp on 15
October 2004, the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, and the last
day of the Israeli offensive on the northern Gaza Strip. On 16 and 20 October, 2 Palestinians died
from previous injuries they had sustained in Jabalya refugee camp during the
Israeli offensive on the northern Gaza Strip. On 14 October 2004, 3 Palestinian civilians, including an elderly man, were
killed in Rafah by shrapnel from a missile fired by the Israeli air force. On 20 October 2004, a Palestinian civilian
was killed in when Israeli troops opened fire at his area, when he was going to
the mosque for the dawn prayer.
This week, Israeli troops conducted 3 incursions into
Palestinian areas in the Gaza Strip, 2 of which were in Rafah. On 14 October 2004, Israeli troops moved into
Block J in Rafah refugee camp. They
destroyed 35 houses, in which 402 people (70 families) lived, and killed the
aforementioned 3 civilians.
In the West Bank, Israeli troops launched a series of
attacks against Palestinian civilians and their properties. They moved into
various areas throughout the West Bank, injured a number of Palestinian
civilians, and arrested dozens of others. They also destroyed one house in
Hebron in the context of retaliatory measures against families of Palestinian
militant. In addition, Israeli settlers escalated attacks against Palestinian
civilians. This week, settlers, who were fully supported by Israeli troops,
attacked Palestinian farmers, who have started to cultivate their olives, and
prevented many of these farmers from reaching their agricultural land. In some areas, the settlers stole the olive
products.
IOF have continued to construct the annexation wall
inside the West Bank territory. This week, this construction took place mainly
in East Jerusalem and Hebron. Israeli
troops razed large areas of Palestinian agricultural land and uprooted hundreds
of olive trees. They also prevented Palestinian farmers in some areas from
reaching their agricultural land to cultivate olives.
IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the
OPT and have imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian
civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem. In the Gaza
Strip, Israeli troops positioned at military checkpoints imposed restrictions
on the movement of Palestinian civilians. They also fired at Palestinian civilians. As a result, a Palestinian woman was
seriously wounded. Israeli troops have also continued to close most border
crossings of the Gaza Strip. In the West
Bank, Israeli troops have continued to impose a strict siege on Palestinian
communities. They have continued to impose a tightened siege on Hebron for the
2nd consecutive month. They have also imposed severe restrictions on
the movement of Palestinian civilians and arrested some of them while crossing
military checkpoints. Israeli troops imposed curfews on a number of Palestinian
communities.
Shelling of, and Encroachment into Palestinian Areas
and Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property
Thursday, 14 October 2004
In the morning, Israeli
troops killed 3 Palestinian civilians, including an elderly man, and destroyed
35 houses during an incursion into Rafah refugee camp. Each time, IOF try to
justify such house demolitions in Rafah by claiming that they are searching for
tunnels, but in fact, such attacks aim at creating a buffer zone along the
Egyptian border, south of the town, and expel local inhabitants.
According to investigations
conducted by PCHR, late at night on Wednesday, 13 October 2004, Israeli heavy
military vehicles moved into Block J in Rafah refugee camp, adjacent to the
Egyptian border. On Thursday morning, 14 October 2004, more Israeli troops,
reinforced by helicopters, were brought to the area to expand this incursion.
Under the cover of indiscriminate firing, IOF started to demolish Palestinian
houses in the area without any prior warning and without allowing their
inhabitants to remove any of their belongings. At approximately 02:30, an
Israeli helicopter gunship fired a missile at a number of Palestinian civilians
who gathered near their houses. Three civilians were instantly killed:
1. ‘Ali
‘Abdul Karim Sha’at, 20;
2. Ahmed
Saleh al-Tahrawi, 21; and
3. Isma’il
Mohammed Sawalha, 70.
This Israeli military
incursion continued until 05:30, during which time IOF destroyed 30 Palestinian
houses completely and 5 others partially, rendering 402 people (70 families)
homeless.
Rafah town and refugee camp
are areas that have been subject the largest destruction and campaigns of
forcible migration. Since the beginning of the current Intifada, at least 1500
houses have been totally destroyed and 2200 others have been partially
destroyed by Israeli troops in Rafah, 90% of which in the refugee camp. More
than once, Rafah was declared a disaster area.
At approximately 03:40,
Israeli troops positioned in military posts in the vicinity of “Neve
Dekalim” settlement, west of Khan Yunis, opened fire at Palestinian houses
in Khan Yunis refugee camp. A
Palestinian civilian, Younis Mohammed Abu ‘Azzoum, 27, was wounded by a live
bullet in the right shoulder while he was sleeping.
In the hours of the day,
Israeli troops moved into Nablus; Bethlehem; and Jenin refugee camp and the
neighboring al-Yamoun village. They
raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 8 Palestinians, including 2
children.
Friday, 15 October 2004
The Israeli military
offensive on the northern Gaza Strip had continued for the 17th
consecutive day. At approximately 02:30,
the Israeli air force fired a missile at a number of members of the Palestinian
resistance who were near Safi fuel station in the southwest of Jabalya. Three
members of the resistance were killed:
1. Ra’ed
Khalil Abu Saif, 25, from Gaza City;
2. Amin
Khalil Mas’oud, 24, from Gaza City; and
3. Wa’el
Mousa Saleh, 23, from Jabalya refugee camp.
A fourth one was also
seriously injured.
At approximately 17:05,
Israeli troops positioned in al-Kashef hill to the east of Jabalya refugee camp
opened fire at houses in the camp. A
Palestinian woman, Fatema Faraj Hussein ‘Asaliya, 65, was killed by a live
bullet in the head when she was inside her house.
At approximately 21:00,
Israeli troops positioned at the Egyptian border, south of Rafah, opened fire
at the neighboring al-Salam neighborhood. A Palestinian child, 17-year-old ‘Arafat ‘Aamer Abu Ne’ma, was injured
by shrapnel in the chest when he was near his house.
Saturday,
16 October 2004
At
approximately 00:00, Israeli troops moved into the west of the northern Gaza
Strip town of Beit Hanoun. They
surrounded houses of Bedouins in the area. They demolished 3 of these houses,
rendering 13 people homeless, and destroyed 2 stores. They also warned
residents of 31 other houses that their houses would be demolished.
At
approximately 05:00, medical sources at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City declared
that Mohammed Mansour al-‘Eila, 45, from Gaza City, died from an injury he had
sustained on the previous day when the Israeli air force attacked a number of
members of the Palestinian resistance in Jabalya refugee camp.
At
approximately 16:30, 5 Israeli military jeeps moved into Balata refugee camp,
east of Nablus. Israeli troops opened fire at houses. A number of Palestinian
children and young men gathered and threw stones at the military jeeps.
Immediately, Israeli troops fired at the stone throwers, wounding 7, including
6 children:
1. Mohammed
Bilal Abu Zaitoun, 13, seriously wounded by a live bullet in the thigh;
2. Mujahed
Khaled Rayan, 13, seriously wounded by a live bullet that entered the back and
exited the abdomen;
3. Ibrahim
Ibrahim Abu ‘Ayash, 14, wounded by a live bullet in the left thigh;
4. ‘Arafat
Mohammed Hanani, 16, wounded by a live bullet in the left foot;
5. Murad
Rashid Abu Keshek, 17, wounded by a rubber-coated metal bullet in the head;
6. ‘Abdul
Ra’ouf Suleiman Abu al-Rous, 14, wounded by a live bullet in the left shoulder;
and
7. Murad
Jaber Mar’ei, 24, wounded by a live bullet in the left leg.
At
approximately 22:00, Israeli troops, reinforced by heavy military vehicles and
a helicopter, moved nearly 100 meters into Block O in Rafah refugee camp. Under
the cover of indiscriminate shelling, they started to level houses that had
been already demolished. Two Palestinian civilians were injured by the Israeli
shelling:
1. Musheera
‘Abdul Qader Abu Saleh, 18, injured by shrapnel in the chest when she was
inside her house; and
2. Hammm
Suleiman Abu Samhadana, 19, injured by shrapnel in the face when he was in the
neighboring al-Salam neighborhood.
Sunday,
17 October 2004
At
approximately 02:00, Israeli troops moved into Bir al-Basha village, south of
Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 4
Palestinians.
At
approximately 10:00, 3 Israeli military jeeps moved into Balata refugee camp,
east of Nablus. Israeli troops opened fire at houses. A number of Palestinian children and young
men gathered and threw stones at the jeeps. Immediately, Israeli troops fired at the stone throwers, wounding 3:
1. Ahmed
Mousa Qara’an, 19, seriously wounded by a live bullet in the abdomen;
2. Saleh
Muneer al-Titi, 16, wounded by a rubber-coated metal bullet in the left hand;
and
3. Haitham
‘Abdul Fattah Ya’ish, 25, wounded by a live bullet in the left hand.
Monday, 18 October
2004
In the hours of the day,
Israeli troops moved into Bethlhem; Tulkarm; Dura village near Hebron; and
Silwad village near Ramallah. They raided and searched a number of houses and
arrested 9 Palestinians.
At approximately 13:30, 3
Israeli military jeeps moved into Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus. Israeli
troops opened fire at houses. A number of Palestinian children and young men
gathered and threw stones at the jeeps. Immediately, Israeli troops fired at the stone throwers, wounding
15-year-old Eyad Wa’el ‘Edwan with a live bullet in the right leg.
Also at approximately
13:30, 2 Israeli military jeeps moved into Beit Fourik village, east of Nablus.
Israeli troops fired at houses. A number of Palestinian children and young men
gathered and threw stones at the jeeps. Immediately, Israeli troops fired at the stone throwers, wounding
15-year-old Tal’at Yousef Mustafa with a live bullet in the right leg.
Tuesday, 19
October 2004
At approximately 02:00,
Israeli troops positioned in military posts in the vicinity of “Neve
Dekailm” and “Gadid” settlements, west of Khan Yunis, shelled
Palestinian houses in Khan Yunis refugee camp, al-Nimsawi neighborhood and
Baten al-Smin area. An artillery shell
hit the window of Amin Mohammed Shahwan’s house and its shrapnel spread into
the children bedroom. Shahwan’s two
children were injured: Hassan, 3, injured by shrapnel in the right foot; and
Hasnaa’, 6, seriously injured by shrapnel in the head, the abdomen and the limbs.
At approximately 12:00,
Israeli troops, positioned at the Egyptian border, south of Rafah, opened fire
at Palestinian residential areas in the town. Two Palestinians civilians, including a woman, were wounded when they
were in al-Shaboura refugee camp, nearly 1200 meters away from the border:
1. Fadia
‘Abdul ‘Aati Siam, 50, wounded by shrapnel in the left arm; and
2. Ne’mat
Mohammed Abu Samhadana, 19, seriously wounded by a live bullet in the back.
In the hours of the day,
IOF moved into al-Duhaisha refugee camp near Bethlehem; ‘Azzoun village near
Qalqilya; Bourqin village near Jenin; Hebron and the neighboring villages of
Dura and Karma; and Tulkarm. They raided and searched a number of houses and
arrested 20 Palestinians.
Wednesday, 20
October 2004
At approximately 04:30,
Israeli troops positioned in a military post in Tal Zo’rob area in the
southwest of Rafah opened fire at Palestinian houses in Zo’rob neighborhood,
while Palestinian civilians were going to mosques for the dawn prayer. A Palestinian civilian, Ahmed Mohammed Buraika,
29, was seriously wounded by a live bullet in the chest. He died on the way to the hospital. According to eyewitnesses, Buraika was hit by
a live bullet when he was going to a mosque, nearly 300 meters away from the
Israeli military post.
At approximately 12:30,
Israeli troops positioned at the Egyptian border, south of Rafah, opened fire
at Palestinian residential areas in the town. A Palestinian civilian, Baker Khalil Abu al-Khair, 52, was wounded by a
live bullet in the right thigh, when he was near his house in al-Junaina
neighborhood, nearly 700 meters away from the border.
At approximately 16:30,
Israeli troops positioned in military posts in the vicinity of “Gani
Tal” settlement, northwest of Khan Yunis, opened fire at Palestinian
houses in al-Rabwat al-Gharbiya and al-Kateeba areas to the east. A man and his wife were wounded when they
were inside their house, nearly 1000 meters away from the source of fire:
1. Mousa
Mohammed ‘Othman al-Astal, 55, wounded by a live bullet in the right shoulder;
and
2. Hayat
Suleiman al-Astal, 50, wounded by a live bullet in the left foot.
At approximately 22:00,
medical sources at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City declared that Mohammed Zaki Abu
Hulayel, 27, from Beit Lahia, died from an injury he had sustained on 5 October
2004, when the Israeli air force fired a missile at a number of members of the
Palestinian resistance to the east of Jabalya refugee camp, during the Israeli
offensive on the northern Gaza Strip.
Continued Siege on the
OPT
This week, Israeli occupying forces have
continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT and imposed severe
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the
West Bank, including Jerusalem.
Gaza Strip
This week, Israeli occupying troops have
continued to impose a tightened siege on the Gaza Strip. Israeli occupying troops have continued to
close all border crossings of the Gaza Strip either partially or
completely. These measures violate the
Palestinian economic, social and cultural rights.
Although Israeli troops reopened
al-Matahen and Abu Houli checkpoints on Salah al-Din Street (the main road
between the north and south of the Gaza Strip) at 10:30 on Saturday, 15 October
2004, after they had closed it since 30 September 2004, they imposed severe
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. At approximately 11:00 on Sunday, 17 October
2004, Israeli troops closed the two checkpoints and held and searched dozens of
Palestinian vehicles. This closure
continued until the evening of the 3rd day of the holy month of Ramadan,
so Palestinian civilians had to have their Ramadan meals at the two
checkpoints. At approximately 07:30 on
Monday, 18 October 2004, Israeli troops closed the two checkpoints. This closure continued until 10:30. On Tuesday morning, Israeli troops closed the
two checkpoints. They also fired at
Palestinian civilians. A Palestinian
woman, Rowaida Ibrahim Salman Abu Mustafa, 32, was seriously wounded by a live
bullet in the head.
Israeli troops have continued to impose a strict
siege on al-Mawasi area in the southern Gaza Strip. They have continued
to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians to and
from the area. Israeli troops frequently
close al-Tuffah checkpoint at the entrance to the area. They have also continued to prevent female
Palestinians whose ages are between 16 and 25, and male ones whose ages are between
16 and 30 from crossing al-Tuffah checkpoint when it is open, without prior
coordination.
Israeli troops have also continued to impose a
tightened siege on al-Sayafa area in the northern Gaza Strip. They have
also imposed severe restrictions of the movement of Palestinian farmers. In the same context, Israeli troops have
continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian
civilians living in al-Ma’ni area near “Kfar Darom” settlement in the central
Gaza Strip.
Israeli troops have continued to close
Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip for the 2nd consecutive month. Israeli occupying troops partially reopened
al-Mentar (Karni) commercial crossing to the east of Gaza City, but they have imposed
severe restrictions on the flow of goods through the two crossing. As result, the Palestinian market has lacked
several basic goods. Israeli troops
reopened Sofa crossing, northeast of Rafah, and allowed the entry of
construction raw materials, but the crossing has remained closed in the face of
Palestinian workers.
Israeli troops have continued to impose severe
restrictions on traveling through Rafah Terminal, which has been the only
outlet for the Gaza Strip to the outside world since 14 February 2001,
when Israeli occupying troops destroyed the runway of Gaza International
Airport. The number of
Palestinians allowed to travel through the terminal daily is very limited. As a result, many patients who are badly in
need of special medical treatment abroad have not been able to travel. Israeli troops have continued to prevent
Palestinians whose ages are between 16 and 35 from traveling through the
terminal since 16 April 2004, although they claimed that they cancelled these restrictions
on 9 August 2004.
The West Bank
Israeli occupying troops have continued to impose a
strict siege on Palestinian communities. They have also imposed severe restrictions on the movement of
Palestinian civilians.
Jerusalem
On Friday, 15 October 2004, Israeli troops reinforced
their presence around East Jerusalem. These measures coincided with first day of the holy Ramadan. According to eyewitnesses, Israeli troops
imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians at the
entrances of the city and near the old town and the al-Aqsa Mosque. Israeli troops have continued to prohibit
access of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the occupied
East Jerusalem to pray at al-Aqsa Mosque.
Ramallah
Israeli troops imposed more restrictions on the
movement of Palestinian civilians, especially at Qalandya checkpoint, south of
the town. On Thursday, 14 October 2004, Israeli
troops held dozens of Palestinian civilians at the checkpoint. On Saturday, 16 October 2004, Israeli troops
adopted new procedures at the aforementioned checkpoint, including the
prohibition of passage of buses without valid permits. Israeli troops forced buses coming from the
north and central of the West Bank to travel back to these areas.
Bethlehem
Israeli troops imposed more restrictions on the
movement of Palestinian civilians. On
Friday morning, 15 October 2004, Israeli troops positioned at the Container
checkpoint prevented Palestinian civilians from traveling from Bethlehem and
Hebron to East Jerusalem for the Friday prayer at al-Aqsa Mosque. On Saturday evening, 16 October 2004, Israeli
troops positioned at Gilo checkpoint, north of Bethlehem, held Atallah Hanna,
the Spokesman of the Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, and prevented him from
traveling to Jerusalem. On Sunday
morning, 17 October 2004, Israeli troops erected a number of checkpoints at the
main entrances to Bethlehem, and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of
Palestinian civilians.
Hebron
Israeli troops have continued to impose a tightened
siege on Hebron. Israeli troops also
imposed restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians inside the
town. They reinforced their presence
near the old town and stopped and checked dozens of Palestinian civilians in
various areas in the town. This week,
Israeli troops closed the northwestern entrance to Hebron and erected a new
checkpoint to the north of al-‘Aroub refugee camp. On Monday morning, 18 October 2004, Israeli
troops positioned at Beit Kahel checkpoint used tear gas to disperse
Palestinian civilians who gathered at both sides of the checkpoint waiting to
be allowed to travel from and to Hebron. Israeli troops also chased a number of civilians who resorted to dirt
roads.
Nablus
Israeli troops imposed more restrictions on the
movement of Palestinian civilians. On
Saturday morning, 16 October 2004, they erected 5 temporary checkpoints on the
main roads between the city and neighboring villages. They stopped and checked Palestinian
civilians, and held dozens of young men for long hours for no apparent
reason.
Jenin
On Thursday morning, 14 October 2004, Israeli troops
moved into Tubas village, east of the town, and blocked its northern and
southern entrances. On Friday morning,
15 October 2004, Israeli troops declared the villages of the northern Jordan
Valley a closed military zone. They closed
the iron gate at the entrance to Tayaseer village, east of Jenin, prohibiting
the movement of Palestinian civilians. This closure continued until Monday morning, 11 October 2004. They also closed the entrance to Tubas
village, east of the town.
Tulkarm
This week, Israeli troops erected a number of checkpoints
around the town. They stopped and
checked Palestinian civilians. Israeli
troops positioned at al-Kafriyat checkpoint, south of the town, prevented
Palestinian civilians from crossing the checkpoints in their vehicles, but
allow them to cross on foot.
Qalqilya
For the 2nd consecutive week, Israeli
troops have continued to impose a tightened siege on Qalqilya. They have continued to impose severe
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. On Tuesday, 12 October 2004, they closed the
two entrances of the town.
Curfews
On Friday, 15 October 2004, Israeli troops imposed a
curfew on the villages of Nabi Saleh, Beit Reema and Deir Ghassana, northwest
of Ramallah. The curfew remained
effective until Monday morning, 18 October 2004.
On Sunday morning, 17 October 2004, Israeli troops
imposed a curfew on Far’oun village, south of Tulkarm. On the same day evening, they imposed a
curfew on the old town of al-Khader village, south of Bethlehem.
Settlement Activities and Settlers’ Attacks on
Palestinian Civilians and Properties
Israeli troops have pursued settlement activities in
the OPT and settlers who live in the OPT in violation of international
humanitarian law have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and their
properties.
As the season of olive cultivation has begun, armed
groups of Israeli settlers, under protection of Israeli troops in many cases,
launched a series of attacks on Palestinian farmers and prevented them from
cultivating olives. Olives serve as the
main source of income for families in rural communities in the West Bank. Such attacks cause losses to farmers.
On Thursday, 14 October 2004, some Israeli settlers,
coming from “Sucia” settlement, south of Hebron, attacked a number of
Palestinian farmers in the neighboring villages of al-Tawani, Sucia and
Qwaiwais. The settlers prevented the
farmers from cultivating olives. On
Saturday, 16 October 2004, Israeli troops prevented these farmers from reaching
their agricultural land after they had declared the area a closed military zone.
On Saturday morning, 16 October 2004, Israeli troops
prevented dozens of Palestinian farmers in the villages of Yatta, Bani Na’im
and Deir al-‘Asal, south of Hebron, from reaching their agricultural land to
cultivate olives.
On Sunday noon, 17 October 2004, a number of Israeli
settlers from “Bnei Hefer” near Bani Na’im village, east of Hebron,
uprooted dozens o olive treets in Kherbat al-Bwaib area in th south of the
village and stole their fruits.
On the same day afternoon, a number of Israeli
settlers from “Beit ‘Ein” settlement, southwest of Bethlehem, stole
large amounts of the olive production from al-Ja’ba village, south of the
town. According to the farmers, they
were surprised by many settlers, armed with machine guns, raiding their
agricultural land and cultivating olives.
In the early morning of Monday, 18 October 2004,
Israeli troops prevented Palestinian farmers in Beit Jala from cultivating
olives from their agricultural land near bypass road (60) to the west of the
town. According to eyewitnesses, Israeli
troops attacked the farmers while they were cultivating olives. They arrested at least 70 farmers for some
hours and confiscated a tractor.
On Friday morning, 15 October 2004, many Israeli
settlers from “Shilo” settlement, east of Ramallah, attacked
Palestinian farmers in the neighboring al-Mughayar village while they were
cultivating olives. The settler also
stole cultivated olives belonging to Sameeh Mousa Abu ‘Elaya. According to the farmers, these attacks took
place before the eyes of Israeli troops.
Collective Punishment against Families of Wanted
Palestinians and Those Who Have Carried out Armed Attacks against Israeli
Targets
In violation of international humanitarian law, in
particular the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons
in Time of War of 1949, article 33 of which prohibits punishing any protected
person for “an offence he or she has not personally committed,” Israeli forces
took retaliatory measures against the families of Palestinians Israel alleges have ordered,
facilitated, or carried out attacks against Israeli targets.
At approximately 01:00 on Thursday, 14 October 2004,
Israeli troops moved into al-Masharqa neighborhood in the southeast of Hebron. They surrounded a 140-square-meter, 3-storey
house owned by ‘Abdul Fattah ‘Abdul Ghani al-Ja’bari. They forced the 12 residents of the house and
residents of neighboring houses to get out. Then, Israeli troops planted explosives on the third floor of the house,
and destroyed it at approximately 03:30. The first and the second floors were partially destroyed. Three neighboring houses were severely
damaged. The owner is the uncle of Nassim
Mohammed ‘Ali al-Ja’bari, 22, who carried out a bombing in Bir al-Saba’ town on
31 August 2004. Israeli troops had already destroyed a house belonging to
Nassim’s family.
*****
Recommendations
to the International Community
1. PCHR
calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill
their legal and moral obligations under article 1 of the Convention to ensure
Israel’s respect for the Convention in the occupied Palestinian Territory. PCHR calls on the international community to
immediately “ensure respect” for the Convention.
2. PCHR
calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to
convene a conference to take effective steps to ensure Israel’s respect of the
Convention in the oPt and to provide immediate protection for Palestinian
civilians.
3. PCHR
calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to
comply with its legal obligations detailed in article 146 of the Convention to
search for and prosecute those responsible for grave breaches.
4. PCHR
recommends international civil society organizations, including human rights
organizations, bar associations and NGOs to participate in the process of
searching for Israeli war criminals and to urge their governments to bring
these people to justice.
5. PCHR
calls upon the European Union to activate article 2 of the Euro-Israel
Association Agreement, which provides that Israel must respect human rights as
a precondition for economic cooperation between the EU states and Israel. PCHR further calls upon the EU states to
prohibit import of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the oPt. PCHR
also requests the application of the EU Guidelines on Arms Sales and requests
that EU Missions and Embassies in Israel and the oPts press the Israeli
government to apply and implement in full the recently agreed EU Guidelines on
Human Rights Defenders.
6. PCHR
calls upon European governments to change their positions towards the
Palestinian cause at UN bodies, particularly the General Assembly, Security
Council and Commission on Human Rights.
7. PCHR
requests that the international community follow the advisory opinion of the
ICJ when it called on the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention,
through the UNGA and UNSC, to take effective measures to stop the construction
of the annexation wall in the West Bank.
8. In
recognition of ICRC as the guardian of the Fourth Geneva Convention, PCHR calls
upon the ICRC to increase its staff and activities in the oPt, including for
facilitating family visitations to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
9. PCHR
appreciates the efforts of international civil society, including human rights
organizations, bar associations, trade unions and NGOs, and urges them to
continue their role in pressuring their governments to secure Israel’s respect
for human rights in the oPt and to end its attacks on Palestinian civilians.
10. In light of the severe restrictions
imposed by the Israeli government and its occupying forces on access of
international solidarity groups to the oPt, PCHR calls upon European countries
to deal the same way with Israeli citizens.
11. PCHR reiterates that any political
settlement not based on international human rights law and humanitarian law
cannot lead to a peaceful and just solution of the Palestinian question.
Rather, such an arrangement can only lead to further suffering and instability
in the region. Any peace agreement or process must be based on respect for
international law, including international human rights and humanitarian law.
“END”
Public
Document
**************************************
For more
information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 –
2825893
PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip.
E-mail:[email protected], Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
