A
Palestinian woman sits near her house which was bombarded by Israeli warplanes
in Khan Yunis

 

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks
against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT)

 

· The
body of an activist of the Palestinian resistance was found in the Gaza Strip
having been missing for one week.

 

· 5
Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, were wounded by Israeli gunfire in
the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

 

· IOF
continued to fire at Palestinian farmers and workers in border areas of the
Gaza Strip.

 

· Israeli
warplanes conducted a series of air strikes against civilian targets in the
Gaza Strip.

 

· A
dairy factory, two country houses, a room of another home and an automobile
were destroyed.

 

· IOF
continued to use force against peaceful protests in the West Bank.

 

· 3
journalists were injured.

 

· IOF
conducted 15 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and one
incursion into the Gaza Strip.

 

· IOF
arrested 22 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children, in the West Bank.

 

· Israel
has continued to impose a total siege on the OPT and has isolated the Gaza
Strip from the outside world.

 

· Israel
has continued its settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers
have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.

 

· Israeli
settlers threatened to expel Palestinian families from their homes in the
Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem.

 

· A
British human rights defender was injured by Israeli settlers.

 

 

 

Summary

 

Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting
period (01 – 07 April 2010):

 

Shootings: During
the reporting period, medical personnel found the body of an activist of the
Palestinian resistance who had been killed a week earlier during armed clashes
with IOF in the southern Gaza Strip. IOF
also wounded 5 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, in the West Bank
and the Gaza Strip.

 

On 02 April 2010, medical personnel of the
Palestinian Red Crescent Society found the body of Jihad ‘Ata Suleiman
al-Daghma, 18, near the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of
‘Abassan village, east of Khan Yunis. Al-Daghma, an activist of the Palestinian resistance, was killed during
armed clashes between the Palestinian resistance and IOF in the area on Friday,
26 March 2010, during which two Palestinians were killed and 6 others wounded.

 

During the reporting period, IOF launched a series of
air strikes against civilian targets in the Gaza Strip. Two Palestinian children were wounded, and a
dairy factory, two country homes, a room of another home and a car were
destroyed. 

 

In the West Bank, 3 Palestinian civilians, including a child, were wounded
and 3 journalists sustained bruises during the reporting period when IOF used
excessive force against peaceful demonstrations organized in protest of the
construction of the Annexation Wall and settlement activities in the West Bank.
 

 

Incursions: During
the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 15 military incursions into
Palestinian communities in the West Bank.  IOF arrested 22 Palestinian civilians,
including 6 children. 

 

In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted one limited
incursion into Palestinian areas, during which they leveled areas of land that
they had previously razed. 

 

Restrictions
on Movement: Israel has 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 occupied East Jerusalem.

 

Gaza Strip

 

Israel has continuously closed all border crossings
to the Gaza Strip for over two and a half years. The illegal Israeli-imposed
siege of Gaza, which has steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a
disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.  

 

· On
Friday, 01 January 2010, IOF decided to close Nahal Ouz crossing permanently,
and to allow the entry of fuels through Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing,
southeast of Rafah, claiming security reasons. 

 

· 1.5
million people are being denied their basic rights, including freedom of
movement, and their rights to appropriate living conditions, work, health and
education.

 

· The
main concern of the population of the Gaza Strip is to obtain their basic needs
of food, medicines, water and electricity supplies.

 

· Israel
has continued to prevent the entry of raw construction materials into the Gaza
Strip for more than two and a half years.

 

· Israel
has not allowed fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip, excluding limited amounts of
cooking gas and energy fuel for Gaza Power Plant, since 10 December 2008.

 

· The
Rafah International Crossing Point has been opened for a few days for a number
of patients who received medical treatment abroad and needed to return home to
the Gaza Strip.

 

· Israel
had continued to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to Palestinian civilians
wishing to travel to the West Bank and Israeli for medical treatment, trade or
social visits.

 

· Israel
has imposed additional restrictions on access of international diplomats,
journalists and humanitarian workers to the Gaza Strip. They have prevented
representatives of several international humanitarian organizations from
entering the Gaza Strip.

 

· Living
conditions of the Palestinian civilian population have seriously deteriorated;
levels of poverty and unemployment have mounted sharply.

 

· At
least 800 Gazan prisoners in Israeli jails have been deprived of family
visitation for more than two and a half years. 

 

· IOF
have continued to attack Palestinian fishermen along the coast of the Gaza
Strip.

 

West Bank

 

IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the
movement of Palestinian civilians throughout the West Bank, including occupied
East Jerusalem. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip continue to be denied access to Jerusalem.

 

· IOF
have established checkpoints in and around Jerusalem, severely restricting
Palestinian access to the city. Civilians are frequently prevented from praying
at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

 

· There
are approximately 630 permanent roadblocks, manned and unmanned checkpoints
across the West Bank. In addition, there are some 60 – 80 ‘flying’ or temporary
checkpoints erected across the West Bank by IOF every week.

 

· When
complete, the illegal Annexation Wall will stretch for 724 kilometers around
the West Bank, further isolating the entire population. 350 kilometers of the
Wall have already been constructed. Approximately 99% of the Wall has been
constructed inside the West Bank itself, further confiscating Palestinian land.

 

· At
least 65% of the main roads that lead to 18 Palestinian communities in the West
Bank are closed or fully controlled by IOF (47 out of 72 roads).

 

· There
are around 500 kilometers of restricted roads across the West Bank. In
addition, approximately one third of the West Bank, including occupied East
Jerusalem, is inaccessible to Palestinians without a permit issued by the IOF.
These permits are extremely difficult to obtain.

 

· IOF
continue to harass, and assault demonstrators who hold peaceful protests
against the construction of the Annexation Wall.

 

· Palestinian
civilians continue to be harassed by IOF in Jerusalem, and across the West
Bank, including being regularly stopped and searched in the streets by IOF.

 

Settlement Activities: Israel has continued its settlement activities and Israeli settlers living in the OPT in violation of international
humanitarian law have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.  

 

On 05 April 2010, the Israeli Sephardim Association
and the Gila Shimon Company handed threatening letters to the al-Dajani and
al-Daoudi families, urging them to evacuate their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah
housing project in Jerusalem. The
families have been living in these homes since 1956. The Israeli organizations claim that they own
the land on which these homes are built. They had previously expelled several other Palestinian families from
their homes in the area. 

 

During the reporting period, lawyers of Israeli
settlers who seized homes belonging to the Hannoun family demanded the family
pay 13,086 NIS to cover the costs of evacuating their houses. Otherwise, Majed
and Khalil Hannoun would be imprisoned. Israeli settlers had seized homes
belonging to the family on 09 August 2010. 

 

On 06 April 2010, a number of Israeli settlers from a
settlement outpost in the Sheikh Jarrah area of Jerusalem attacked several
Palestinian civilians and international human rights defenders and made threats
to Arabs. A British human rights
defender was injured. When Palestinian civilians attempted to stop the attack
by settlers, IOF intervened and escorted the settlers away from the area.

 

 

 

Israeli Violations
Documented during the Reporting Period (01 – 07 April 2010)

 

1. Incursions into Palestinian Areas and Attacks on Palestinian Civilians
and Property in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip

 

Thursday,
01 April 2010

 

· At
approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Deir Nizam village, northwest of
Ramallah. They raided and searched a
number of houses, but no arrests were reported.

 

· At
approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Bethlehem. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested ‘Atiya ‘Ouda
Sobeh, 25.

 

· At
approximately 02:00, IOF moved into al-Am’ari refugee camp, south of
Ramallah. They raided and searched a
number of houses and arrested 3 Palestinian civilians, including a child:

 

1. Firas Mohammed Firas, 17;

2. Younis Yousef al-Safi, 21; and

3. Hamada As’ad al-Loulu, 21.

 

· At
approximately 07:10, Israeli gunboats fired at a number of Palestinian fishing
boats off the coast of Beit Lahia beach in the northern Gaza Strip, forcing
them to return to the shore. No casualties
were reported.

 

Friday, 02 April 2010

 

· At
approximately 00:35, Israeli warplanes fired 3 missiles at agricultural areas
in the vicinity of Asdaa’ Media Town to the west of the southern Gaza Strip
town of Khan Yunis. This attack caused
the following damages:

 

1. A 50-square-meter country house
belonging to Suleiman Salama Abu Mustafa was destroyed;

2. A 100-square-meter country house
belonging to Jawdat ‘Abdul Salam al-Nabris was destroyed; and

3. A summer resort belonging to Fat’hi
‘Abdul Hadi Nasser was destroyed.

 

· Also
at approximately 00:35, Israeli warplanes bombarded a factory for dairy
products belonging to Mo’tassem Ahmed Dalloul, 31, in al-Sabra neighborhood in
the south of Gaza City. The
70-square-meter factory, an adjacent barrack and an automobile (Ford 2001) were
destroyed. A number of neighboring
houses were damaged. Additionally, two
children were injured by glass shards:

 

1. Malak Mosa’ed al-‘Arabid, 18 months;
and

2. ‘Abdullah Ahmed Sarsour, 12.

 

· At
approximately 18:00, medical personnel of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society
found the body of Jihad ‘Ata Suleiman al-Daghma, 18, near the border between
the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of ‘Abassan village, east of Khan
Yunis. Al-Daghma, an activist of the
Palestinian resistance, was killed during armed clashes between the Palestinian
resistance and IOF in the area on Friday, 26 March 2010, during which two
Palestinians died and 6 others were wounded.

 

· Also
at approximately 18:00, when a settler car turned over after stones had been
thrown at it, IOF moved into Hawara village, south of Nablus. They arrested ‘Alaa’ Khamis ‘Ouda, 22, when
he was near a shop close to the main road. 

 

· At
approximately 21:00, IOF moved into ‘Azzoun village, east of Qalqilya. They raided and searched a house belonging to
‘Ali Rashed Radwan, in an attempt to arrest one of his sons. When they did not find the targeted son, they
arrested another son, 15-year-old Ahmed.

 

Sunday, 04 April 2010

 

· At
approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Dura village, southwest of Hebron. They raided and searched a house belonging to
Hussein Sabe’ ‘Amru, but no arrests were reported.

 

· At
approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Hawara village, south of Nablus. They raided and searched a number of houses
and arrested 6 Palestinian civilians, including two children:

 

1. Ahmed Khamis ‘Ouda, 26;

2. Hassan As’ad Sha’wid, 16;

3. Mohammed Najeh ‘Ouda, 22;

4. Anas Sa’id ‘Ouda, 24;

5. Diaa’ ‘Ali ‘Ouda, 18; and

6. Nash’at Suleiman ‘Ouda, 16.

 

· Also
at approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Ethna village, southwest of Hebron. They raided and searched a house belonging to
Mohammed Mustafa al-Jayawi, but no arrests were reported.

 

· At
approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron. They raided and searched a house belonging to
Faraj Khader Abu ‘Ayash, but no arrests were reported.

 

· At
approximately 08:00, IOF stormed a butcher shop in the Bab al-Sahera area in
the old city of Jerusalem. When owners
of the shop asked about the reason for the raid, Israeli troops violently beat
them and damaged refrigerators. Soon
after, Israeli police officers stormed the shop and violently beat all present
persons indiscriminately. As a result, 7
Palestinian civilians were injured, including a child:

 

1. ‘Abdul Karim Msawda, 20;

2. Bahaa’ Msawda, 28;

3. Nadi Msawda, 23;

4. Nour al-Din Msawda, 22;

5. Sameer Msawda, 38;

6. Muhannad Msawda, 19; and

7. Mohammed Faraja, 14.

 

Israeli troops closed the shop after spraying tear
gas inside. They also arrested the six
young men from the Msawda family, but released some of them at approximately
18:00 of the same day and others on Tuesday morning, 06 April 2010. The family estimated their losses in shop
equipment at 13,000 NIS (approximately US$ 3,500).  

 

· At
approximately 20:00, IOF moved into the Um al-Sharayet neighborhood of al-Bireh. They patrolled in the streets for some time
and withdrew later. No arrests were
reported.

 

Monday, 05 April 2010

 

· At
approximately 17:30, IOF moved into Beit Fajjar village, southeast of
Bethlehem. They raided and searched a
number of houses and shops and arrested 3 Palestinian civilians, including two
children:

 

1. ‘Alaa’ Nasri Taqatqa, 17;

2. Mohammed Majed Ibrahim, 17; and

3. Khader Mahmoud Thawabta, 24.

 

Tuesday, 06 April 2010

 

· At
approximately 01:00, IOF moved into ‘Aida refugee camp, north of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a number of houses
and summoned 4 Palestinian civilians for interrogation: Hamdi Mohammed
al-Deirbani, 36; Salah Mohammed Darwish, 21; Khader Saqer al-Ghazzawi, 24; and
Mohammed ‘Omar al-Badawna, 19.

 

· Also
at approximately 01:00, IOF moved into al-‘Azz refugee camp, north of
Bethlehem. They raided and searched a
number of houses and summoned ‘Abdul Karim Ahmed al-‘Ajouz for interrogation.

 

· At
approximately 11:30, approximately 100 Palestinian civilians, international
solidarity activists and journalists gathered at al-‘Atatra intersection in the
northern Gaza Strip. They organized a
peaceful demonstration towards the security fence to the northwest of the town
in protest of the establishment of a buffer zone along the border between the
Gaza Strip and Israel. The demonstrators
traveled in buses until reached an area 700 meters from the border. They then moved forward on foot and raised
the Palestinian national flag. At
approximately 12:05, Israeli troops stationed at the border fired at the
demonstrators, but no casualties were reported. 

 

Wednesday, 07 April 2010

 

· At
approximately 01:30, IOF moved into al-Dahia neighborhood in the southeast of
Nablus. They raided and searched a
number of houses and arrested Darwish ‘Abdul Ra’ouf al-Bustami, 40.

 

· At
approximately 11:00, IOF moved nearly 500 meters into the Abu Safiya area in
the east of Jabalya, in the northern Gaza Strip. They leveled areas of Palestinian land that
they had previously razed. At
approximately 12:30, they moved south towards al-Tuffah neighborhood in the
east of Gaza City. They withdrew from
the area in the evening.

 

2. Use of Excessive Force against Peaceful Demonstrations

 

Israel has continued to
construct the Annexation Wall and inside West Bank territory.  During the
reporting period, IOF used force against peaceful demonstrations organized by
Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders in
protest of the construction of the Wall and the ongoing settlement activities.  At least 7 Palestinian civilians, including a
child and 3 journalists, were seriously hurt, and others sustained bruises or
suffered from tear gas inhalation. 

 

· Following
the Friday Prayer on 02 April 2010, dozens of Palestinian civilians and
international and Israeli human rights defenders organized a peaceful
demonstration in protest of the construction of the Annexation Wall in Bil’ein
village, west of Ramallah. The
demonstrators moved towards the Wall and attempted to access annexed lands
behind it. Immediately, Israeli troops fired rubber-coated metal bullets, sound
bombs and tear gas canisters at the demonstrators. As a result, dozens of demonstrators suffered
from tear gas inhalation, and some of them sustained bruises.

 

· Also
following the Friday Prayer on 02 April 2010, dozens of Palestinian civilians
and international and Israeli human rights defenders organized a peaceful
demonstration in Ne’lin village, west of Ramallah, in protest of the
construction of the Annexation Wall. They clashed with IOF troops positioned near the Wall. IOF troops fired rubber-coated metal bullets,
sound bombs and tear gas canisters at demonstrators. Dozens of demonstrators suffered from tear
gas inhalation, and other sustained bruises. 

 

· Also
following the Friday Prayer on 2 April 2010, dozens of Palestinian civilians
and international and Israeli human rights defenders organized a peaceful
demonstration in Nabil Saleh village, northwest of Ramallah, in protest of land
confiscations in the Wad al-Raya area between the villages of Nabi Saleh and
Deir Nizam. When the demonstrators
attempted to reach areas of land seized by Israeli settlers near
“Halmish” settlement, Israeli troops fired rubber-coated metal
bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at them. As a result, 3 Palestinian civilians,
including a child, were wounded by rubber-coated metal bullets:

 

1. Waleed Yousef al-Jamal, 17, wounded in
the left hand;

2. Sharaf Fadel al-Tamimi, 18, wounded in
the chest; and

3. Ahmed Sameh al-Reemawi, 20, wounded in
the right foot.  

 

Dozens of demonstrators also suffered from tear gas
inhalation, and other sustained bruises.

 

· Also
following the Friday Prayer on 02 April 2010, dozens of Palestinian civilians
in al-Ma’sara village, south of Bethlehem, organized a peaceful demonstration
on the anniversary of Land Day, protesting against land confiscation and the
construction of the Annexation Wall. IOF
reinforced their presence at the entrances of the village, and attacked the
demonstrators who attempted to march towards the area of the wall. Israeli troops fired tear gas canisters and
sound bombs at the demonstrators and beat a number of them. As a result, 4 Palestinian civilians,
including 3 photojournalists, sustained bruises:

 

1. Mahmoud Mousa ‘Alaa’ al-Din, 24,
sustained bruises to the right hand and the abdomen;

2. ‘Abdul Hafiz Diab al-Hashlamoun, 42,
working for Reuters, sustained bruises to the right hand;

3. ‘Aamer ‘Aabdin, 32, working for
Palmedia, sustained bruises to the abdomen; and

4. Mousa Sa’id al-Sha’er, 45, working for
Associated Press, sustained bruises across the body and a cut to the head. 

 

A number of demonstrators also suffered from tear gas
inhalation.

 

· At
approximately 09:00 on Saturday, 03 April 2010, a number of students organized
a demonstration in ‘Aaboud village, northwest of Ramallah, in response to the
death of 19-year-old Samar Yousef Radwan, who was run over by an Israeli
settler on Thursday, 01 April 2010. IOF
moved into the village and fired rubber-coated metal bullets, tear gas
canisters and sound bombs at the students. A number of students suffered from tear gas inhalation and others
sustained bruises. Israeli troops also
arrested ‘Izz Mohammed Radwan, 16, but released him later.

 

· At
approximately 13:30 on Saturday, 03 April 2010, dozens of Palestinian civilians
demonstrated in the center of ‘Iraq Bourin village, south of Nablus, on the
anniversary of Land Day. They moved
towards areas of Palestinian land located near “Brakha” settlement,
but Israeli troops fired rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and tear gas
canisters at them. A number of
demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation. 

 

3. Continued Siege on the OPT

 

Israel has 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 occupied East Jerusalem.

 

Gaza Strip

 

IOF have continued to close all border crossings to
the Gaza Strip for more than two years. The Israeli siege of Gaza, which has
steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the
humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.

 

· On
Friday, 01 January 2010, IOF decided to close Nahal Ouz crossing permanently,
and to allow the entry of fuels through Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing,
southeast of Rafah, claiming security reasons. 

 

· 1.5
million people are being denied their basic rights, including freedom of
movement, and their rights to appropriate living conditions, work, health and
education.

 

· The
main concern of the population of the Gaza Strip is to obtain their basic needs
of food, medicines, water and electricity supplies.

 

· Israel
has continued to prevent the entry of raw construction materials into the Gaza
Strip for more than two and a half years.

 

· Israel
has not allowed fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip, excluding limited amounts of
cooking gas and energy fuel for Gaza Power Plant, since 10 December 2008.

 

· The
Rafah International Crossing Point has been opened for a few days for a number
of patients who received medical treatment abroad and needed to return home to
the Gaza Strip.

 

· Israel
had continued to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to Palestinian civilians
wishing to travel to the West Bank and Israeli for medical treatment, trade or
social visits.

 

· Israel
has imposed additional restrictions on access of international diplomats,
journalists and humanitarian workers to the Gaza Strip. They have prevented
representatives of several international humanitarian organizations from
entering the Gaza Strip.

 

· Living
conditions of the Palestinian civilian population have seriously deteriorated;
levels of poverty and unemployment have mounted sharply.

 

· At
least 800 Gazan prisoners in Israeli jails have been deprived of family
visitation for more than two and a half years. 

 

· IOF
have continued to attack Palestinian fishermen along the coast of the Gaza
Strip.

 

Movement at Border Crossings during the Reporting
Period:

 

Movement at Rafah International
Crossing Point

31 March – 05 April 2010

 

 

Movement at Karm Abu Salem (Kerem
Shalom) Crossing

31 March – 05 April 2010

 

 

Al-Mentar
(Karni) Crossing: IOF partially
opened the crossing on Wednesday, 31 March 2010, and permitted the entry of
3,042 tons of wheat, 1,677 tons of fodders and 88 tons of aggregate. The crossing was also opened on Tuesday, 06
April 2010, when the entry of 1,794 tons of wheat and 1,287 tons of fodders was
allowed. 

 

Beit
Hanoun (Erez) Crossing: Israel has
continued to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing for the movement of Palestinian
civilians. IOF have allowed only diplomats, a number of international
journalists, employees of international agencies and a limited number of
patients who suffer from serious diseases to pass through the crossing. They
have continued to prevent Palestinian civilians from visiting their relatives
who are detained in Israeli jails. The small number of patients permitted to
pass through the crossing is only able to do so under severe restrictions that
include prolonged checking.

 

Movement at Beit Hanoun (Erez)
Crossing

31 March – 06 April 2010

 

 

The West
Bank

 

Israel
has imposed a tightened siege on the West Bank. During the reporting period,
IOF imposed additional restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians.

 

· Jerusalem: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on
the movement of Palestinian civilians to and from the city. Thousands of
Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been denied
access to the city. IOF have established many checkpoints around and inside the
city. Restrictions of the movement of Palestinian civilians often escalate on
Fridays, preventing Muslim Palestinians from praying at al-Aqsa Mosque. On
Friday morning, 02 April 2010, IOF imposed additional restrictions on access to
the old city and al-Aqsa Mosque.  On Saturday, 03 April 2010, which marked
Holy Saturday for Christians, IOF closed the entrances of the old city near
al-Nasara neighborhood, where the Church of the Resurrection is located. They imposed restrictions on Christians’
access to the Church.

 

· Ramallah: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on
the movement of the Palestinian civilians in Ramallah. IOF troops positioned at the Jaba’ and
Qalandiya checkpoints, southeast of Ramallah, have imposed additional
restrictions on movement and conducted prolonged checks of Palestinian
civilians. During the reporting period,
IOF erected a number of temporary checkpoints, and stopped and searched
Palestinian civilian vehicles. On Saturday morning, 03 April 2010, IOF
re-established their presence at ‘Attara checkpoint, north of Ramallah. They stopped and searched Palestinian
civilian vehicles. 

 

· Nablus: IOF have
continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian
civilians. On Friday morning, 02 April 2010,
Israeli troops stationed at Za’tara checkpoint, south of Nablus, imposed
additional restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians.  

 

· Hebron: IOF have
continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian
civilians. On Thursday, 01 April 2010,
at least 20,000 Israeli settlers seized control of the Ibrahimi Mosque and its
vicinity. They organized a large
celebration inside the Ibrahimi Mosque marking an Israeli government decision
to include the Ibrahimi Mosque on a list of Jewish heritage sites. Palestinian civilians were denied access to
the mosque, while IOF imposed severe restrictions on their movement in Hebron’s
old city. A number of government
Ministers and Israeli Knesset members participated in the celebration. According to the Department of Religious Affairs
in Hebron, IOF prevented the Muslim call to prayer in the Ibrahimi Mosque on 58
occasions in March 2010. They also
denied Palestinian civilians access to the mosque on 3 days. During the reporting period, Israeli troops
stationed in the center and south of Hebron imposed additional restrictions on
the movement of Palestinian civilians. They stopped, checked and humiliated civilians.  

 

4. Settlement Activities and Attacks by Settlers against Palestinian
Civilians and Property

 

Israel has continued its
settlement activities in the OPT in violation of international humanitarian
law, and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and
property.

 

On 05 April 2010, the Israeli Sephardim Association and the Gila Shimon
Company handed threatening letters to the al-Dajani and al-Daoudi families,
urging them to evacuate their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah housing project in
Jerusalem. The families have been living
in these homes since 1956. The Israeli
organizations claim that they own the land on which these homes are built. They had previously expelled several other
Palestinian families from their homes in the area. 

 

· During
the reporting period, lawyers of Israeli settlers who seized homes belonging to
the Hannoun family demanded the family pay 13,086 NIS to cover the costs of
evacuating their houses. Otherwise, Majed and Khalil Hannoun would be
imprisoned. Israeli settlers had seized homes belonging to the family on 09
August 2010. 

 

· At
noon on Tuesday, 06 April 2010, a number of Israeli settlers from a settlement
outpost in Sheikh Jarrah area in Jerusalem attacked several Palestinian
civilians and international human rights defenders and made threats to
Arabs. A British human rights defender
was injured. When Palestinian civilians
attempted to stop the attack by settlers, IOF intervened and escorted the
settlers away from the area.

 

…………………………………………………………

 

 

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 believes that the
conspiracy of silence practiced by the international community has encouraged
Israel to act as if it is above the law and encourages Israel continue to
violate international human rights and humanitarian law.

 

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 their legal obligations detailed in Article 146 of the Convention
to search for and prosecute those responsible for grave breaches, namely war
crimes.

 

4. PCHR
calls for the immediate implementation of the Advisory Opinion issued by the
International Court of Justice, which considers the construction of the
Annexation Wall inside the West Bank illegal.

 

5. PCHR
recommends that international civil society organizations, including human
rights organizations, bar associations and NGOs, participate in the process of
exposing those accused of grave breaches of international law and urge their governments to bring the
perpetrators to justice.

 

6. 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.

 

7. PCHR
calls on the international community to recognize the Gaza disengagement plan,
which was implemented in September 2005, for what it is – not an end to
occupation but a compounding of the occupation and the humanitarian crisis in
the Gaza Strip. 

 

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 the
facilitation of family visitations to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

 

9. PCHR
appreciates the efforts of international civil society, including human rights
organizations, bar associations, 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 demand Israel end its attacks on Palestinian
civilians.

 

10. PCHR calls upon the international
community to pressure Israel to lift the severe restrictions imposed by the
Israeli government and its occupation forces on access for international
organizations to the OPT.

 

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 process or agreement must be based
on respect for international law, including international human rights and
humanitarian law.

 

 

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Public Document

For further information please visit our website (www.pchrgaza.org) or contact PCHR’s office
in Gaza City, Gaza Strip by email ([email protected])
or telephone (+972 (0)8 282 4776 – 282 5893).