· 14 Palestinians killed, including nine killed today,
and dozens injured;
· Large scale incursions into Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarm
and Khan Yunis;
· Palestinian civilian dies in willful killing at an
Israeli checkpoint;
· Israeli forces open fire at a mosque in Rafah,
injuring five worshippers;
· Dozens of Palestinians arrested.
This
week, Israeli forces invaded areas under the control of the Palestinian
National Authority (PNA) under the cover of intensive shelling. Dozens of Palestinian civilians, including a
pregnant woman and an infant, were injured and many houses were damaged. In a large-scale incursion into the West Bank
city of Jenin this morning, Israeli forces, reinforced with helicopters, tanks,
and elite forces, entered several kilometers into the West Bank city. Seven Palestinians, including six policemen,
have been killed and dozens have been injured. Several hours earlier, Israeli forces also moved into Balata refugee
camp east of Nablus. Two Palestinian
civilians have been killed and more than 40 have been injured, five are in
serious condition. Confrontations in
Jenin and Balata are still ongoing at the time of this writing.
On
the second day of the feast, 23 February, 20 Palestinian civilians, including
11 children, were injured when Israeli forces at the Egyptian border south of
Rafah shelled Palestinian houses in Rafah refugee camp.
In
a violation of the sacredness of holy places, on 26 February, Israeli forces
opened fire at a mosque in Rafah, injuring four worshippers.
Israeli
forces tightened the siege imposed on the OPT. Israeli forces often separated the north of the Gaza Strip from its
south, especially during the feast, restricting family visitation.
1. Shooting at Palestinian Civilians
In
the morning, Israeli occupation forces at Qalandya checkpoint north of occupied
Jerusalem fired at some Palestinian civilians who were crossing the
checkpoint. A married couple from Al-Ram
village was wounded:
1) Randa Khalil El-Nabulsi, 39, seriously wounded by a live
bullet in the chest; and
2) Fahmi Radhi El-Nabulsi, 43, wounded by a live bullet in the
pelvis.
Hours
earlier, Walid Mohammed Jamil El-Sheikh, 29, from Biddu village northwest of
Jerusalem, was killed by a live bullet in the head fired by Israeli soldiers at
the same checkpoint.[1]
Early in the morning, Israeli occupation forces at
Hawara military roadblock south of Nablus fired at a civilian car, in which two
spouses were traveling to hospital. The
wife, who was in labour, was wounded by a live bullet in the back. According to investigation carried out by LAW
– the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the
Environment, at approximately 04:00, Shadia Fahmi Khaled Shehada, 27, arrived with
her husband ‘Essam Shehada in their car at Hawara roadblock. Israeli soldiers ordered them to stop and
checked the husband. When they knew that
the wife was in labour, they allowed their passage. As soon as they passed by Israeli tanks near
Balata refugee camp, Israeli soldiers fired at the car. The wife was wounded by a live bullet in the
chest, and she was left bleeding for more than an hour.
Israeli forces at military roadblock and checkpoints
escalated their attacks on Palestinian civilians. Israeli soldiers at Hawara roadblock south of
Nablus fired at a civilian car, killing 22-year-old Mohammed ‘Abdullah Daoud
El-Hayek, from Zita village, with nine live bullets in the upper part of the
body, and wounding his father, 62, with seven live bullets in the neck and the
chest, and his wife, Maysoun Sleh Nayef El-Hayek, 22, with two live bullets in
the shoulders.
In her statement to LAW, the wife said:
At
approximately 01:30, I felt childbirth pains, so I asked my husband to take me
to hospital. We traveled to Nablus in
his car. At approximately 02:30, we
arrived at Hawara roadblock. My husband
stopped the car about 40m away from the roadblock. He got out of the car and told Israeli
soldiers that he has a woman in the car who was in labour. The ordered him to come towards them. They thoroughly checked him and ordered him
to drive his car forward. They checked
the car and ordered my husband to take my clothes off to make sure that I was
pregnant. Thirty minutes later, they
allowed us to cross the roadblock. Five
minutes after our departure, they opened fire at the car. I saw a live bullet penetrating my husband’s
neck. I shouted at him but received no
response. The car continued to move
until it collided with a sand barrier. When the car stopped, about ten Israeli soldiers opened its door and
took me out of it. They pointed their
guns towards me. Then, they ordered me
to take all my clothes off, and I did. They put me on a stretcher and took my father-in-law out of the car and
put him on another stretcher. They
checked whether my husband was still alive. I knew then that my husband was dead. They put us in a tank and took us towards the roadblock. Then, they put us on the side of the
road. An Israeli soldier, whom I think
was a physician, came and tried to offer us medical care. We remained there for approximately 75
minutes. Then, we were evacuated to
Rafidya Hospital in Nablus. I received a
live bullet in the chest when the car was I fired upon.
Also in the morning, Israeli occupation forces at
Al-Taybeh roadblcok west of Tulkarm shot dead 15-year-old Nura Jamal Mohammed
Shalhoub, from Tulkarm, and kept her body. An Israeli military spokesman claimed that at approximately 02:00,
Israeli soldiers at Al-Taybeh roadblock saw a Palestinian girl holding a knife
and moving towards them. Israeli
soldiers claimed that they fired warning shots and when the girl did not stop,
they shot her dead. Although there were
no local eyewitnesses, there are indications that Israeli soldiers did not
resort to less lethal means, nor did they attempt to arrest her.
At approximately 02:00, Israeli occupation forces in
the vicinity of Al-Tuffah checkpoint, west of Khan Yunis, fired at a number of
Palestinian civilians who were confronting an Israeli bulldozer that attempted
to move into Khan Yunis refugee camp. Two civilians were wounded:
1) Mohammed Rajeh El-A’raj, 16, wounded by shrapnel in
the chest; and
2) Sabri Samri El-A’raj, 20, wounded by a live bullet in
the left thigh.
2. Shelling of, and Incursions into, Palestinian
Residential and PNA-Controlled Areas
At approximately 01:00, Israeli gunboats shelled a
site of the Palestinian Naval Police in the southwest of Beit Lahia in the
northern Gaza Strip. The site was
damaged and the telephone network in the area was destroyed, but no casualties
were reported.
At
approximately 10:30, Israeli combat helicopters launched three air-to-surface
missiles at a building of the Palestinian Presidential Guard (Force 17) in
Al-Bireh in the West Bank. The
three-story building was severely damaged and two women living in the ground
floor were injured:
1) Fatema El-Shella, 45, injured by shrapnel in the left hand;
and
2) Nadia ‘Abdullah Sha’ban, 39, injured by shrapnel in the
right hand.
Also
in the morning, Israeli occupation forces near Balata refugee camp, east of
Nablus in the northern West Bank, opened fire at Palestinian houses in the
refugee camp. Four civilians were
injured:
1) Hussein Mahmoud Abu El-Haija, 58, injured by shrapnel in the
hands and the feet;
2) ‘Emad ‘Abdel-Jabbar Mohammed Hashash, 27, injured by a live
bullet in the left thigh and shrapnel in the left armpit;
3) Mahmoud Mohammed Mahmoud Hashash, 25, injured by a live
bullet in the hand; and
4) Yasser Hassan Ibrahim ‘Arafat, 25, injured by shrapnel in
the right thigh.
At
approximately 20:00, Israeli forces in a military location in Tal Rumeida in
Hebron opened fire at Bab Al-Zawia area, under the full control of the
Palestinian National Authority. ‘Abdel-Ghani Faisal Sha’ban Mujahed, 30, was killed by an explosive live
bullet in the chest. According to an
eyewitness, the victim was traveling in his car. When the shooting started, he attempted to
get out of the car, but a live bullet hit him in the chest.
Early
in the morning, Israeli occupation forces near Balata refugee camp, east of
Nablus, opened fire at Palestinian houses in Al-Quds Street in Nablus. ‘Aatef Jawdat ‘Aatef Abu Rumeila, 20, was
injured by a live bullet in the right knee.
In the morning, Israeli forces near Balata refugee
camp east of Nablus attempted to move into the refugee camp. Residents of the refugee camp confronted the
invading forces. Two Palestinians were
injured:
1) Mohammed Sami Mohammed Abu Rabi’, 23, from Balata
refugee camp, injured by a live bullet in the right hand; and
2) Shadi Mohammed Mufleh Suleiman, 18, from Qussin
village in Nablus, injured by a live bullet in the left foot.
Also in the morning, Fadi Mohammed El-Za’arir, 22,
from Al-Duha neighborhood in Bethlehem, was pronounced dead. He was injured by shrapnel from artillery
shells on 20 October 2001 when Israeli forces that invaded Bethlehem fired two
artillery shells at some Palestinian young men in Al-Madbassa neighborhood. He and 13 other young men were injured.
At
approximately 13:00, Israeli occupation forces at the Egyptian border south of
Rafah shelled Palestinian houses opposite to the border. PCHR’s field worker in Rafah reported that
the shelling, in which artillery shells and heavy caliber bullets were used,
continued until 20:00, injuring 20 Palestinian civilians, including 11 children
and four who were in serious condition. Some houses were severely damaged and a civilian car owned by Midhat Abu
Taha was destroyed by an artillery shell. The civilians who were seriously injured are:
1) Mohammed ‘Azmi Shukri Jouda, 11, injured by a live
bullet in the back;
2) Tayseer Lutfi Abu Jazar, 16, injured by a live bullet
in the back;
3) Sa’id Hassan El-Zummar, 25, injured by a heavy
caliber bullet in the abdomen; and
4) Yousef Hammad Abu Taha, 19, injured by a heavy
caliber bullet in the left knee.
At approximately 08:00, Israeli occupation forces
near Balata refugee camp east of Nablus opened fire at Palestinian houses in
the refugee camp. Two civilians were
injured:
1) Mohammed Dhib Mohammed Qar’an, 12, injured by
shrapnel in the right hand; and
2) Hassan ‘Ali ‘Abdullah El-Asmar, 22, injured by
shrapnel in the back.
At approximately 17:00, Israeli occupation forces at
the Egyptian border south of Rafah opened fire at Block O area in Rafah refugee
camp. Two Palestinian civilians were
injured while in their homes:
1) Rabab Ahmed Na’im El-Hams, 11, injured by a heavy
caliber bullet in the right leg; and
2) Samir Tawfiq Abu Lebda, 18, injured by shrapnel in
the chest.
At approximately 08:00, Israeli occupation forces in
a military location opposite to Solomon Pools opened fire at Palestinian houses
in Al-Khader village, southwest of Bethlehem. Ahmed Sa’id Khader Subeih, 23, was injured by shrapnel in the face.
At approximately 11:00, Israeli occupation forces at
the Egyptian border south of Rafah fired an artillery shell at Block O area in
Rafah refugee camp. Two Palestinian
children were injured while at home:
1) Musbah ‘Abdullah Muwafi, 13, injured by shrapnel in
the face and the limbs; and
2) Kamel Yousef Abu Jazar, 10, injured by shrapnel in
the face and the limbs.
At approximately 21:00, Israeli forces in the
vicinity of Tal Al-Sultan checkpoint west of Rafah opened fire at Palestinian
houses in Tal Al-Sultan neighborhood. The gunfire continued until 22:00, during which three Palestinian
civilians, including a pregnant woman and her daughter, were injured:
1) Nida’ Mohammed El-‘Aassi, 25, injured by shrapnel in
the pelvis;
2) Rahaf Marwan El-‘Aassi, 1½, injured by a heavy
caliber bullet in the left leg; and
3) Hisham Mohammed Rusrus, 18, seriously injured by a
heavy caliber bullet in the chest.
PCHR’s field worker in Rafah reported that the area
did not witness any incidents when the shelling took place and that the three
civilians were injured while at home.
At approximately 20:00, Israeli occupation forces in
the vicinity of “Gani Tal” settlement, northwest of Khan Yunis in the Gaza strip,
shelled Palestinian houses in Al-Satar Al-Gharbi area. Some houses were damaged. At the same time, Israeli forces thrust
approximately 300m into Al-Qarara village in the north of Khan Yunis. No casualties were reported.
At approximately 22:00, Israeli forces thrust
approximately 1km into Gizan Al-Najjar area in the southeast of Khan
Yunis. They searched the area and then
withdrew at midnight under the cover of heavy gunfire.
At approximately 22:30, Israeli forces moved into
Al-Tira neighborhood in the north of Ramallah. They opened fire at a checkpoint of the Palestinian National Security
Forces, injuring Hamad Na’im Mahmoud Hamad, 19, with a live bullet in the right
leg.
At approximately 15:45, Israeli occupation forces at
the Egyptian border south of Rafah opened fire at Al-Nour mosque in Al-Brazil
neighborhood. Four worshippers were
injured:
1) Nasser Rabah Abu Lebda, 9, injured by shrapnel in the
head;
2) Ahmed Mohammed Saleh, 75, injured by a live bullet in
the back;
3) Jom’a Salem El-Ja’fari, 55, injured by a live bullet
in the back; and
4) ‘Abdel-Hadi Nemer ‘Aqel, 19, injured by a live bullet
in the right elbow.
The gunfire continued until 14:45, during which two
other passing civilians were injured:
1) Hussein Ibrahim El-Sha’er, 19, injured by a live
bullet in the buttocks; and
2) Helmi Mansour El-Sha’er, 43, injured by a live bullet
in the left leg.
At approximately 17:00, Israeli occupation forces
thrust approximately 300m into Al-Qarara village north of Khan Yunis. They imposed a curfew on the area adjacent to
“Kissufim” road linking between the “Gush Qatif” settlement bloc and the “Green
Line” between 18:00 and 07:00 on the following day in an unprecedented action
by Israeli forces during the Al-Aqsa Intifada. In addition, about 50 Israeli soldiers seized the house of Subhi
Mohammed El-Haddad, in which 16 people live. They cut telephone lines, searched the house and detained its residents
in one room. Residents of the house were
released only at 10:00 on the following day, upon the intervention of the ICRC.
At approximately 03:30, Israeli forces attempted to
move into Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus. Palestinian confronted the invading forces, who opened fire and shelled
the refugee camp. ‘Emad ‘Abdel-Nabi
Suleiman El-Mughrabi, 25, was killed by nine live bullets and shrapnel from
artillery shells throughout the body. In
addition, two Palestinians were injured:
1) Samer Sultan Abu Mustafa, 27, injured by a medium
caliber bullet in the pelvis; and
2) Saleh Mohammed Jom’a Abu ‘Assab, 20, injured by a
medium caliber bullet in the right foot.
At approximately 12:00, Israeli occupation forces at
the Egyptian border south of Rafah opened fire at Palestinian houses and
Al-Nour mosque in Al-Brazil neighborhood. Four Palestinian civilians were injured:
1) Mohammed ‘Ali Jouda, 20, seriously injured by a live
bullet in the face;
2) Mohammed Hamad El-Sha’er, 15, seriously injured by a
live bullet in the abdomen;
3) Muwaffaq Jamal El-Tawil, 24, injured by a live bullet
in the right foot; and
4) Mousa El-Sayed Ahmed Abu Mustafa, 50, injured by a
live bullet in the right foot while at the mosque.
3. Arrests
This week, Israeli occupation forces arrested
a number of Palestinians. The arrests
took place in the following circumstances:
1. At international border crossings, under the control
of Israeli occupation forces.
2. At Israeli military roadblocks on main and branch
roads at the entrances to Palestinian cities and villages.
3. In Palestinian towns and villages, often during house
raids.
4. During incursions into Palestinian controlled areas.
The following are significant arrests that took place
this week:
At approximately 03:00, Israeli forces invaded
‘Assira village, north of Nablus. They
raided some houses and arrested Nasser ‘Ayyad Jarar’a, 24.
Israeli forced invaded Jaious village in Qalqilya in
the West Bank and arrested three Palestinians:
1) Yazid Saleh Noufal, 23;
2) Fahad Saleh Noufal, 25; and
3) Rami Isma’il Qaddoumi, 22.
At approximately 16:00, Israeli forces raided
Palestinian houses north of “Kissufim” road in the east of Al-Qarara village,
north of Khan Yunis. They arrested Salah
‘Abdullah Shehada El-Ma’aizha, 23. He
was released five hours later.
At approximately 07:30, three Israeli tanks thrust
approximately 1 km into Wadi Al-Salqa area in the east of Deir El-Balah, in the
central Gaza strip. Israeli soldiers got
out of the tanks and arrested two Palestinian civilian, Zaidan Hweishel Salim
El-Na’ami, 24, from Al-Maghzai refugee camp, and ‘Atteya Mohammed Abu Zhaher,
50, from Wadi Al-Salqa. The two were
released several hours later.
*****
PCHR calls:
1. Upon governments that participated in the World
Conference Against Racism in Durban
in South
Africa to adopt crucial decisions condemning practices by Israel in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories, which amount to inhumane acts under the crime
of apartheid, as defined in international law.
2. Upon the international community to provide immediate
and independent international protection for Palestinian civilians in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories.
3. Upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth
Geneva Convention of 1949 to reconvene in order to take effective measures to
protect Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in
accordance with their obligations under Article 1.
4. Upon the international community to investigate and
prosecute before international courts, and in accordance with international
standards, those believed to have committed war crimes in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories.
5. Upon the ICRC to enhance its presence, expand its
activities, and intensify its field observations throughout the Occupied
Palestinian Territories.
6. Upon the European Union to activate Article 2 of the
Euro-Israeli Association Agreement, which provides that Israel must respect
human rights.
7. Upon the international community to provide
humanitarian and medical assistance for the Palestinian people, whose living
conditions continue to deteriorate as a result of the continued siege imposed
by Israeli occupation forces on the entire Occupied Palestinian Territories.
