¨ An assassination in Khan Yunis, onePalestinian
killed;
¨ Air raids on Gaza and Tulkarm;
¨ Three Palestinian civilians die from previous
injuries;
¨ A Palestinian civilian dies in willful killings;
¨ Israeli forces encroach into Artas village in
Bethlehem and Wdi
¨ Al-Salqa village in the Gaza Strip: 5 Palestinian
civilians injured and public and private properties destroyed;
¨ An undercover unit of Israeli forces opens fire
inside a bakery in Hebron, wounding three workers;
¨ A Palestinian patient from Tulkarm dies due to
restrictions at Israeli military roadblock;
¨ Continued shelling of Palestinian residential areas,
injuring dozens of civilians and damaging houses and civilian facilities;
¨ Dozens of Palestinians arrested; and
¨ A continued strict siege on the OPT.
Israeli
assaults take place under a silence from the international community,
especially the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of
1949, that encourages the Israeli government and Israeli occupation forces to
perpetrate more violations, including war crimes, against the Palestinian
people. Israeli violations take place
under political cover provided by the US. US Secretary of State Colin Powell recently inferred that the Israeli
policies against the Palestinian people were an act of self-defense.
In
a continuation of Israel’s assassination policy, this week, Israeli occupation
forces assassinated a Palestinian activist in Khan Yunis. Israeli combat helicopters fired at the
victims’ car, killing him and injuring two. The Israeli Supreme Court rejected an appeal against Israel’s
assassination policy submitted by the Head of the Democratic for Peace and Equality
in the Israeli Knesset, Mohammed Baraka, and the widow of Dr. Thabet Tahabet,
who was assassinated by Israeli forces on 31 December 2000. The Israeli Attorney General claimed that
“Israel works in accordance with conventions relative to states of war,” and
demanded the court not intervene in operations carried out by the Israeli
military. This court decision fails to
hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law. Such impunity encourages Israeli occupation
forces to perpetrate more assassinations.
Israeli
forces continued to shell Palestinian residential areas and civilian
facilities, causing severe damage to private and public properties and injuring
dozens of Palestinian civilians. On 25
January, Israeli F-16 fighter jets attacked Ansar security compound in Gaza and
a governmental compound in Tulkarm. The
two compounds were severely damaged.
This
week, a Palestinian civilian died in a willful killing by Israeli forces near
Ramallah. Although he was sustained a
treatable injury to the right thigh, he died as after Israeli forces obstructed
his evacuation to hospital for several hours.
Three Palestinian civilians died from previous
injuries sustained in attacks by Israeli forces.
As part of Israel’s efforts to isolate Jerusalem from
its Palestinian suburbs, on Tuesday 29 January, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon approved “the Jerusalem protection plan.” He also instructed changes to be made to
include Palestinian villages currently under Palestinian civilian control. He directed that the adjusted plan be brought
before the Israeli security cabinet as soon as possible for approval. According to the plan, walls and trenches
would be established and roadblock and observation points would be erected
around the city to isolate it from Bethlehem. Five squads of the “Border Guard” would be deployed between Jewish and
Arab neighborhoods in the city. Israeli
forces erected military roadblocks on the roads leading to the city. They use police dogs for checking Palestinian
civilians and cars.
On
24 January, an undercover unit of Israeli forces moved into a bakery in Hebron
and fired inside. Three Palestinian
workers were wounded, one of whom was then arrested.
This
week, Israeli forces raided some Palestinian villages and arrested dozens of
Palestinians.
1. Shelling of, and Incursions into Palestinian
Residential and PNA-Controlled Areas
In
the morning, Riadh Nasri ‘Ali Hattab, 23, a member of the Palestinian General
Intelligence from Ramallah, was pronounced dead from an injury by a live bullet
in the right side he received earlier when Palestinian security forces
confronted Israeli occupation forces, following shelling and an incursion into
Al-Tira area in the west of Ramallah. Another security man, Mustafa Rebhi Mustafa, 29, a member of the General
Intelligence Service from Beit Lid village in Tulkarm, was seriously injured by
a live bullet in the abdomen.
At approximately 07:00, Israeli occupation forces
thrust approximately 100m into Al-Satar Al-Gharbi in the northwest of Khan
Yunis. They shelled the area and razed a
600-square-meter area of agricultural land planted with wheat, owned by Ahmed
Yousef El-Agha. A number of houses were
also damaged.
At approximately 22:00, Israeli F-16 fighter jets
fired two rockets at a Palestinian governmental compound in Tulkarm for the
second time in one week. The remaining
strutures in the compound were completely destroyed, but no casualties were
reported. Adjacent houses sustained
further damage.
At the same time, Israeli F-16 fighter jets fired two
rockets at Ansar security compound near the Palestinian President’s office in
Gaza City. One rocket exploded ,
severely damaging a 350-square-meter building serving as a garage and a store
for the Palestinian Presidential Guard (Force 17) and three armored personnel
carriers. A number of passing civilians
suffered from shock. The second rocket
did not detonate.
At approximately 21:00, Israeli forces at the eastern
border of the Gaza Strip, east of Jabalya, launched four surface-to-surface
missiles at three sites of the Palestinian border forces, which had been
previously shelled. Israeli forces also
fired heavy and medium caliber bullets and four artillery shells at the
area. No casualties were reported.
At approximately 20:00, Israeli occupation forces in
the vicinity of “Neve Dekalim” settlement, west of Khan Yunis, shelled
Palestinian houses and civilian facilities in Khan Yunis refugee camp and
Al-Nimsawi neighborhood. A number of
houses and the Khan Yunis Cemetery were damaged, but no casualties were
reported.
At the same time, Israeli forces in the vicinity of
“Gani Tal” settlement shelled Al-Satar Al-Gharbi area in the northwest of Khan
Yunis. A number of houses were damaged,
but no casualties were reported.
At approximately 18:00, Israeli forces in the
vicinity of “Kfar Darom” settlement, east of Deir El-Balah, opened fire on
Palestinian houses north of the settlement. Ayman ‘Abdel-Raziq ‘Obeid, 26, from Deir El-Balah, was injured by a live
bullet in the left leg while near his house, approximately 100m away from the
settlement. Additionally, a number of
houses were damaged.
At approximately 19:50, Israeli forces on Al-Tour
Mount, south of Nablus, opened fire on Palestinian houses in the city. Two Palestinian civilians were injured:
1) Majed ‘Abdel-Latif Madhi, 33, injured by a live
bullet in the right foot; and
2) Amjad ‘Ali Khalil, 27, injured by a live bullet in
the right knee.
At approximately 02:30, Israeli forces moved into
Artas village, southwest of Bethlehem, and raided Palestinian houses. Approximately 20 minutes later, five Israeli
tanks also moved into the village and opened fire on houses. Five Palestinian civilians were injured:
1) Ra’eda Ahmed Isma’il, 17, pregnant in the ninth
month, injured by a live bullet in the right thigh;
2) Ahmed Elias ‘Aayesh, 40, injured by a live bullet in
the right thigh;
3) Mohammed Ahmed ‘Aayesh, 25, injured by a live bullet
in the right forearm;
4) Mahmoud Mousa ‘Awwad, 25, injured by a live bullet in
the left hand; and
5) Dheifallah Mohammed El-Wahsh, 35, injured by shrapnel
in the face;
The Israeli forces also raided houses and arrested
four Palestinians, three were later released, while the fourth, ‘Omar Elias
‘Aayesh, 25, remained in custody.
In the evening, Jamal ‘Abdel-Latif Mohammed Hassan,
40, from Tulkarm refugee camp, was pronounced dead from a previous injured he
received by Israeli forces. Hassan had
been injured by a live bullet on 21 January when Israeli forces encroached into
Tulkarm.
At approximately 17:30, Israeli forces encroached
into the southwest of Tulkarm. They
fired artillery shells and heavy and medium caliber bullets at Palestinian
houses. They later withdrew and no
casualties were reported.
2. A New Assassination
In
a continuation of Israel’s assassination policy, on Thursday, 24 January 2002,
Israeli occupation forces killed one and seriously injured two Palestinians in
Khan Yunis.
According to PCHR’s investigation, at approximately
22:00, two Israeli combat helicopters fired a rocket at a car in which three
Palestinians were traveling near Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. The driver, ‘Adli Ahmed Yousef Hamdan, known
as “Baker”, 27, was killed by multiple shrapnel injuries. The other two Palestinians, Hussam Ahmed
Nemer Hamdan, 28, and Hussam Mustafa Shahwan, were seriously injured.
3. Shooting at Palestinian Civilians
In the morning, Israeli forces indiscriminately
opened fire inside a Palestinian bakery in Hebron, wounding three workers, one
of whom was later kidnapped.
According to investigations carried out by LAW – the
Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment, two
persons in civilian clothes, who spoke Arabic in a non-local accent, entered a
bakery at the demarcation line between areas under control of the Palestinian
National Authority (H1) and those under control of Israeli occupation forces
(H2), owned by Mohammed ‘Oudeh Shweiki. They bought bread and then went out. Very soon, they returned together with six other persons and a number of
Israeli soldiers. They all
indiscriminately opened fire inside the bakery. Three workers were wounded:
1) Hazem Sadiq El-Qawasmi, 21, wounded by several live
bullets in the legs and feet and then removed to an unknown destination;
2) Rami ‘Aadel El-Qeimari, 20, wounded by shrapnel from
live bullets in the right forearm; and
3) ‘Azziz Mohammed Shweiki, 52, wounded by an explosive
live bullet in the left foot.
Then, the attackers severely beat all workers at the
bakery, including those who were wounded. The Israeli official radio station claimed that Israeli forces arrested
Hazem El-Qawasmi and transferred him to Hadassa Hospital in Israel, and that
El-Qawasmi was a “wanted” person.
At approximately 13:00, after the funeral procession
of Adli Ahmed Hamdan who was assassinated by Israeli forces on the previous
day, clashes erupted between Palestinian civilians and Israeli forces in the
vicinity of “Neve Dekalim” settlement, west of Khan Yunis. Palestinian civilians threw stones towards
Israeli forces who fired live ammunition and rubber-coated metal bullets. Three civilians, including a woman who was
inside her house, were wounded:
1) Mohammed Fu’ad Barbakh, 20, wounded by a
rubber-coated metal bullet in the left knee;
2) Mohammed Farid El-Az’ar, 12, wounded by a
rubber-coated metal bullet in the back; and
3) Fatema Mohammed Abu Shammala, 37, wounded by a live
bullet in the left thigh while inside her house.
Also
at approximately 13:00, Palestinian civilians organized a demonstration near
the office of the Palestinian President in Al-Ersal Street Ramallah. Israeli forces positioned in the area fired
live ammunition and rubber-coated metal bullets at the demonstrators, wounding
five, including a journalist:
1) Tamer Mohammed Husni, 17, seriously wounded by a live bullet
in the head and was pronounced dead on Wednesday evening, 30 January;
2) Mohammed Dhiab Karaki, 16, seriously wounded by two
rubber-coated metal bullets in the head;
3) ‘Abed Mahmoud Abu Jarada, 26, wounded by a rubber-coated
metal bullet in the left side;
4) Mohammed Jamal Shureitah, 13, wounded by a rubber-coated
metal bullet in the left knee; and
5) ‘Atta Hussein ‘Oweisat, 32, a cameraman of Zoom 77 news
agency, wounded by two rubber-coated metal bullets in the left thigh and the
right foot.
At
approximately 17:00, Samer Sami Kusba, 17, from Qalandya refugee camp, was
pronounced dead. He had sustained
serious injuries from a rubber-coated metal bullet fired by Israeli forces in
Al-Ersal Street in Ramallah on 19 January 2002. His brother Eyad had been also killed by Israeli forces on 16 December
2001.
In the morning, Israeli forces in Be’r Al-Sherka area
in the east of Qalqilya fired at Palestinian civilians who were trying to enter
the city through agricultural roads. Three civilians were wounded:
1) Ayman Mahmoud Shbeita, 36, from ‘Azzoun village,
wounded by two rubber-coated metal bullets in the head;
2) Yousef Mohammed El-Barri, 47, from Amatin village,
wounded by a rubber-coated metal bullet in the neck; and
3) Khawla Jamal Zureiq, 26, from Rafat village, wounded
by shrapnel from a live bullet in the face.
At approximately 08:00, an Israeli military jeep
moved into Silwad village, north of Ramallah. Israeli soldiers arrested Mustafa Mohammed Saleh Hamed, 18 as he was
walking on the street. They then beat
him severely. After they released him,
they fired a rubber-coated metal bullet, wounding him in the head.
At noon, after the funeral procession of Samer Kusba,
a number of Palestinian civilians moved towards Israeli forces at Qalandya
roadblock. Israeli forces fired live
ammunition and rubber-coated metal bullets, wounding three civilians:
1) ‘Alla’ Isma’il Fouda, 16, from Al-Am’ari refugee
camp, wounded by a rubber-coated metal bullet in the right ear;
2) Fadi Zakaria Mubarak, 22, from Hazma village, wounded
by shrapnel in the right eye; and
3) Ishaq Yousef Salem, 17, from Qalandya refugee camp,
wounded by shrapnel in the nose.
In the afternoon, Israeli forces at Deir Ebzi’
roadblock, west of Ramallah, fired at Nassar Hassan Yahia Abu Salim, 30, father
of four children from Rantis village west of Ramallah, wounding him with a live
bullet in the right thigh. He died after
Israeli forces had detained him and denied him access to an ambulance for more
than two hours.
According to investigations carried out by LAW, at
approximately 14:10, Israeli soldiers at the aforementioned roadblock beat
Palestinian civilians who were trying to cross the roadblock. The victim Abu Salim was among those civilians
and when he was beaten by an Israeli soldiers he fought back. Soon, another Israeli soldier fired at him
from a very close distance. He was
wounded by a live bullet in the right thigh. Then, Israeli soldiers detained him while bleeding in a tent near the
roadblock. They did not offer him
medical care and prevented a Palestinian ambulance from evacuating him to
hospital. At approximately 16:30, an
Israeli ambulance arrived at the area and its medical personnel tried to help
the victim, but he was already dead.
At approximately 15:00, a number of Palestinian
civilians demonstrated near ‘Askar, northeast of Nablus. They threw stones towards Israeli forces in
the area. At 15:30, an Israeli armored
personnel carrier moved forward and fired at the demonstrators, wounding three:
1) Ahmed Nabil El-Refa’ei, 15, seriously wounded by two
live bullets in the chest and the abdomen; and
2) Mohammed Saleh El-Ghaffari, 33, from Balata refugee
camp, wounded by a live bullet in the abdomen.
4. Arrests
This week, Israeli occupation forces arrested
many 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:
In the morning, Israeli forces raided the villages of
Al-Khader, Battir, Za’tara and Nahalin in Bethlehem and arrested ten
Palestinians:
1) Na’el Mahmoud ‘Eissa, 18, from Al-Khader village;
2) Yasser Na’im Subeh, 20, from Al-Kahder village;
3) Sami Mohammed Abu ‘Amria, 30, from Al-Khader village;
4) Rezeq Mousa Nassar, 21, from Al-Khader village;
5) Rami Mohammed ‘Abdullah, 25, from Battir village;
6) Mustafa Ibrahim El-Qeissi, 24, from Battir village;
7) Hussam Mahmoud Ghayazha, 16, from Nahalin village;
8) ‘Abdel-Ra’ouf ‘Ali Fannoun, 22, from Nahalin village;
9) Ibrahim Mahmoud Najajra, 18, from Nahalin village;
and
10) Yousef Ahmed Abu Hussein, 27, from Za’tara village.
In Al-Kahder village, Israeli forces seized a
three-story Palestinian house owned by ‘Abdel-Rahim Mohammed El-Masri. They transformed it into an observation
point. According to El-Masri, the
Israeli forces gave him a military order which provided that his house would be
seized for 45 days, during which the family would not be able to contact anyone
outside the house.
Also
in the morning, Israeli forces moved into Shweika neighborhood in Tulkarm and
searched a number of Palestinian houses. They arrested ‘Odai Sa’id Hussein, 21.
In
the morning, Israeli forces moved into Tallouza village in Nablus and arrested
two Palestinians:
1) Shaker Dababsa, 26; and
2) Mohammed Janajra, 30.
At approximately 09:30, Israeli forces arrested three
Palestinian policemen:
1) Ma’moun Shafe’ ‘Ammour, 31, from ‘Anza village in
Jenin;
2) Suhail Jamil ‘Omran, 24, from Fahma village in Jenin;
and
3) ‘Oqba Jamil Abu ‘Obeid, 20, from ‘Arrabeh village in
Jenin.
According to investigations carried out by LAW, in
the morning, the three policemen moved from Kufor Ra’ei police station to
Al-‘Attara village to arrest a criminal. They were wearing civilian clothes and traveled in a civilian car. While they were traveling on a branch road
between the villages of Al-‘Attara and Seilat Al-Zhaher, an Israeli military
jeep intercepted and arrested them. They
were taken to “Tarsila” settlement after their personal weapons had been
confiscated.
In the morning, Israeli forces at Hawara military
roadblock, south of Nablus, beat and arrested a physician, ‘Abdel-Karim ‘Ali
‘Abdullah, 46, from Kufor Al-Dik village in Salfit, and an ambulance driver,
Ahmed El-Az’ar, 25, from Qabalan village in Salfit. The physician was detained and interrogated
for hours and then released, while the driver was kept in custody by Israeli
forces.
At approximately 01:30, Israeli forces moved into
Za’tara village southeast of Bethlehem. They arrested two Palestinians:
1) ‘Adnan Ahmed Abu ‘Aameria, 30; and
2) Edris Mohammed Souman, 24.
5. A Palestinian Patient Dies Due to Obstruction of
Access to His Village
This week, a Palestinian died when Israeli forces at
a roadblock near Nablus obstructed his access to his village after receiving
medical care at hospital. According to
an ambulance driver of the Palestine Red Crescent Society in Tulkarm, the
society received information from its center in Nablus that a patient who
suffered from a kidney failure was at the National Hospital in Nablus and was
not able to travel back to Tulkarm after receiving medical care due to the
siege imposed on the city. The ambulance
moved to the hospital and collected Kayed Saber Serouji, 45, and traveled
towards Tulkarm. At approximately 16:00,
the ambulance arrived at Deir Sharaf junction, northwest of Nablus, but Israeli
soldiers at a military roadblock at the junction denied its passage. At
approximately 19:00, the medical personnel noticed that the health condition of
the patient was increasingly deteriorating, so they traveled back to the
National Hospital in Nablus. There, the
patient died.
*****
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 the Palestinian people 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, to ensure the respect of the
Convention.
4. Upon the international community to investigate and
prosecute those believed to have committed war crimes in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories before international courts.
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 are continuing to deteriorate as a result of the continued siege
imposed by Israeli occupation forces on the entire Occupied Palestinian
Territories.
