Israeli soldiers detain and
beat a Palestinian civilian in Hebron

 

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

 

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

– Two
Palestinian civilians were injured.

– IOF
arrested 8 civilians, including 3 human rights defenders.

 

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

 

· IOF
conducted 9 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

– IOF
arrested 54 Palestinian civilians, including 45 in Jalboun village near Jenin.

 

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

– Israeli
troops stationed at military checkpoints and border crossings in the West Bank
arrested 4 Palestinian children.

 

· Israel
has continued to take measures aimed at creating a Jewish demographic majority
in Jerusalem.

– The
Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem destroyed dozens of graves in Ma’man Allah
Cemetery in Jerusalem.

 

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

– IOF
dismantled 6 tents in the Northern Jordan Valley.

– Israeli
settlers attacked a woman in Hebron. 

– A
Palestinian civilian was injured and 3 cars were damaged in the east of Hebron.

 

 

Summary

 

Israeli violations of international law and
humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (05 – 11 August
2010):

 

Shooting: During the
reporting period, 2 Palestinian civilian were wounded by IOF in the West
Bank.  During the reporting period, IOF
used excessive force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized by
Palestinian civilians in protest to the construction of the annexation wall and
settlement activities in the West Bank. 
As a result, two Palestinian civilians were injured.  IOF also violently beat a number of
demonstrators.

 

On 06 August 2010, a Palestinian civilian was injured and a child fainted
when IOF intervened to provide protection to Israeli settlers who attacked
Palestinian civilian vehicles in the northeast of Hebron. 

 

In the Gaza Strip, on 09 August 2010, Israeli gunboats fired at
Palestinian fishing boats in the northern Gaza Strip.  No casualties or damages were reported.

 

Incursions: During
the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 9 military incursions into
Palestinian communities in the West Bank, during which they arrested 54 Palestinian
civilians.  The widest arrest campaign
took place in Jalboun village, northeast of Jenin, when IOF arrested 45
Palestinian civilians, 41 of whom were later released.  IOF also arrested two Palestinian civilians,
including a human rights defender, in Hebron when IOF intervened to protect
Israeli settlers who attacked Palestinian civilian vehicles. 

 

Restrictions
on Movement: Israel had 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 three years. The illegal Israeli-imposed closure of the Gaza Strip,
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 only 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 three
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 access restrictions
on international diplomats, journalists and humanitarian workers seeking to enter
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 three 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, and 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 approximately 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.

 

Measures Aimed at Creating a Jewish Demographic Majority in Jerusalem:  IOF have
continued to take measures at creating a Jewish majority in Jerusalem. 

 

On 05 August 2010, a bulldozer of the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem
started to destroy dozens of graves in Ma’man Allah Islamic Cemetery.  The Al-Aqsa Association for Islamic Heritage
had filed a petition at the Israeli District Court demanding that the Israeli
Municipality of Jerusalem’s plan  to
destroy graves in Ma’man Allah Cemetery be stopped.  On Monday noon, the court issued a ruling
allowing the municipality to raze a part of the cemetery to establish an
Israeli court compound.  Following the
court session, an official from the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem attacked
photojournalist Sharaf Ahmed, 35.  Al-Aqsa
Association for Islamic Heritage revealed such Israeli plans when it presented
a short film, which showed an Israeli official explaining the plans and the beginning
of their implementation, which started with marking at least 100 graves with
red signs in order to be demolished.  The
Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem claimed that the graves that it would
demolish were new graves that are not related to the historic cemetery.  However, the lawyers of al-Aqsa Association
proved with documents and photos that those graves had exited before 1948, and
only the grave stones were renewed.  On
10 August 2010, the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem demolished gravestones of
at least 70 graves in Ma’man Allah Cemetery. 
Press crews were not allowed to get close to the cemetery.  The Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem has so
far demolished 90% of the graves marked for demolition.

 

Settlement Activities: 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 09 August 2010, IOF
moved into ‘Ein al-Hilwa area in the Northern Jordan Valley in the northeast of
the West Bank.  They dismantled 6 tents
belonging to Mohammed Ahmed Nawaj’a and Ahmed Isma’il Nawaj’a, claiming that
the tents were set up in a closed military zone.

 

On 05 August 2010, dozens
of Israeli settlers, escorted by IOF, arrived at Joseph Tomb in the east of
Nablus.  They conducted religious rituals
in the area until 05:00, when they left the area.

 

On 05 August 2010, a number
of Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian woman while she was traveling in her
car in Hebron. 

 

On 06 August 2010, at least
20 Israeli settlers from “Kharsina” settlement, northeast of Hebron,
attacked Palestinian civilian vehicles parked in al-Bwaira area, using stones
and iron bars.  Palestinian civilians got
out of their houses in an attempt to drive the settlers away from the area.  IOF arrived at the area, and instead of
expelling the settlers from the area, they attacked Palestinian civilians and
forced them to go back to their homes.  IOF
arrested two Palestinian civilians, including a human rights defender.

 

 

 

Israeli Violations Documented during
the Reporting Period (05 – 11 August 2010)

 

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

 

Thursday, 05 August 2010

 

· At
approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Northern ‘Assira village, north of
Nablus.  They raided and searched a
number of houses and arrested 6 Palestinian civilians:

 

1. Mohammed Fayez Yassin, 32;

2. Anas Hussein Hamadna, 26;

3. Rami ‘Abdul Fattah Yassin, 30;

4. Mohammed ‘Abdullah Sawalha, 30;

5. Fakher ‘Aazem Birawi, 30; and

6. Ahmed Mohammed Sawalma, 22.

 

· Also
at approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Jalboun village, northeast of
Jenin.  They raided and searched a number
of houses and arrested 45 Palestinian civilians, 41 of whom were later released.  The four detainees who remained in custody
are:

 

1. Hisham ‘Omar Abu al-Rub, 36;

2. Ahmed ‘Omar Abu al-Rub, 42;

3. ‘Imad Taher Abu al-Rub, 28; and

4. ‘Abdul Rahman Bassam Abu al-Rub, 22.

 

· At
approximately 15:00, IOF moved into Silwad village, northeast of Ramallah.  They patrolled in the streets for some time
and withdrew later.  No arrests were
reported.

 

· At
approximately 21:00, IOF moved into al-‘Ouja village, north of Jericho.  They patrolled in the streets for some time
and withdrew later.  No arrests were
reported.

 

Friday, 06 August 2010

 

· At
approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Sourif village, northwest of Hebron.  They raided and searched a number of houses
and arrested ‘Aadel Khader Abu Fara, 27. 

 

· At
approximately 03:00, IOF moved into ‘Azzoun village, east of Qalqilya.  They raided and searched a house belonging to
Sa’id ‘Othman Saleem in the north of the village and set up a tent and an
observation point on it roof.  They did
the same in a house belonging to Mos’ab Dirar Radwan in the west of the
village.

 

Sunday, 08 August 2010

 

· In
the morning, IOF moved into Jayous village, northeast of Qalqilya.  They raided and searched a number of houses
and summoned two Palestinian civilians for interrogation: Ahmed Khaled
Shamasna, 19; and Adham ‘Aahed Shamasna, 20.

 

Monday, 09 August 2010

 

· At
approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Jenin refugee camp.  They raided and searched a number of houses
and arrested two Palestinian civilians:

 

1. ‘Alaa’ Ibrahim Sabarini, 30; and

2. Bahaa’ Hassan Abu Tabikh, 21.

 

· At
approximately 19:00, IOF moved into Kharabtha al-Misbah village, west of
Ramallah.  They patrolled in the streets
for some and withdrew later.  No arrests
were reported.   

 

· At
approximately 19:35, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia beach in
the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats.  No casualties or damages were reported.

 

2. Use of Excessive Force against
Peaceful Demonstrations Protesting Settlement Activities and the Construction
of the Annexation Wall

 

During the reporting period, IOF used
force against peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians and
international and Israeli human rights defenders in protest to the construction
of the Wall and settlement activities.  As a result, two Palestinian civilians were
injured.  A number of civilians, also
suffered from tear gas inhalation and others sustained bruises.  IOF also arrested 4 Palestinian civilians, an
Israeli human rights defender and an international human rights defender.    

 

· Following
the Friday Prayer on 06 August 2010, dozens of Palestinian civilians and
international and Israeli human rights defenders organized a peaceful
demonstration in protest to the construction of the Annexation Wall in Bil’ein
village, west of Ramallah.  They moved
towards the annexation wall.  Israeli
troops stationed in the area fired rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and
tear gas canisters at the demonstrators. 
As a result, two Palestinian civilians were injured:

 

1. ‘Abdul Basset Shraiteh, 18, hit by a
tear gas canister to the right hand; and

2. ‘Alaa’ Abu Saa’, 35, hit by a tear gas
canister to the right foot.

 

Several demonstrators also suffered from tear gas inhalation and others
sustained bruises as they were beaten by Israeli troops.   

 

· Also
following the Friday Prayer on 06 August 2010, dozens of Palestinian civilians
and international and human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration
in Ne’lin village, west of Ramallah, in protest against the construction of the
Annexation Wall.  They clashed with Israeli
troops positioned near the Wall.  Israeli
troops fired rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at
demonstrators.  As a result, dozens of
demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation, and others sustained bruises. 

 

· Also
following the Friday Prayer on 06 August 2010, dozens of Palestinian civilians
and international and Israeli human rights defenders organized a peaceful
demonstration in Nabi Saleh village, northwest of Ramallah, in protest against
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.  A number of demonstrators suffered from tear
gas inhalation and others sustained bruises. 
IOF also arrested Hiedi, 24, an Israeli human rights defender.  

 

· At
approximately 11:30 on Saturday, 07 August 2010, dozens of Palestinian
civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders demonstrated in
the center of Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron.  They moved towards Zaher al-Brahish area,
where IOF plan to confiscate areas of Palestinian land to the north of the
Israeli settlement of “Karmi Tsur.” Israeli troops attacked the
demonstrators and fired tear gas canisters and sound bombs at them.  As a result, 4 civilians, including two
journalists and an international human rights defender, were injured:

 

1. Ahmed Khalil Abu Hashem, 43, Secretary
of the Committee against Settlement in Beit Ummar village, sustained bruises
and suffered from tear gas inhalation;

2. Eyad Nember Hamad, 51, a cameraman of
Associated Press, sustained bruises throughout the body;

3. Samer Eyad Hamad, 26, a cameraman of
Palmedia, sustained bruises throughout the body; and

4. Kopi, 23, a US human rights defender,
sustained bruises throughout the body. 

 

· At
approximately 16:00 on the same day, the Youth Commission against Settlement in
Hebron, organized a peaceful demonstration to protest teh continued closure of
al-Shuhada Street in the center of the town. 
A number of international solidarity activists participated in the
demonstration, which stopped near the entrances of “Beit Rumano”
settlement outpost in the north of the old town.  Israeli troops attacked the demonstrators and
prevented them from moving forward. 
Israeli settlers also sprinkled dirty water onto the demonstrators.  It is worth noting that IOF have closed
al-Shuhada Street for Palestinian vehicles since 1994, and for pedestrians
since 2000. 

 

· At
approximately 10:30 on Monday, 09 August 2010, Israeli troops stationed at the
border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Khan Yunis, fired at dozens
of Palestinian civilians who were peacefully protesting the creation of a
security zone by IOF along the border. 
No casualties were reported.

 

· At
approximately 15:30 on Tuesday, 10 August 2010, IOF stormed 3 shops belonging
to ‘Azzam ‘Abdul Rahim Abu Khalaf, 45, in a yard opposite to “Beit
Rumano” settlement outpost in Hebron. 
They ordered him to close and leave the shops in half an hour to allow
Israeli officers to close them for security reasons.  Immediately, the Youth Commission against
Settlement in Hebron and international human rights defenders gathered in front
of the shops to prevent their closure. 
At approximately 17:00, IOF attacked the gathering and arrested 4
Palestinian civilians and an international human rights defenders.  The five detainees and the shops’ owner
sustained bruises throughout their bodies. 
The detained international human rights defender was released later
after IOF had ordered his expulsion from the country.  The other detainees are:

 

1. Shadi Nabil Seder, 20;

2. Adham Nabil Seder, 24;

3. Badee’ Mohammed al-Dwaik, 37; and

4. Tamer Nazmi Abu Esnaina, 23.

 

3. Continued Closure of the OPT

 

Israel has continued to impose a tightened closure of 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 more than three years. The illegal Israeli-imposed closure of the Gaza
Strip, 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 only 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 three 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 access
restrictions on international diplomats, journalists and humanitarian workers seeking
to enter the Gaza Strip. They have prevented representatives of several
international humanitarian organizations from entering the Gaza Strip.

 

· Since the imposition of the closure, 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 three years. 

 

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

 

Movement at Border Crossings during the Reporting
Period:

 

At approximately 13:00 on Tuesday, 01 June 2010, the
Egyptian authorities decided to open Rafah International Crossing Point on the
Egyptian border in both directions without specifying a date for its
closure.  The Egyptian decisions came
following the Israeli attack on the Gaza-aid flotilla in international
water.  On the following morning, the
crossing point was effectively opened and restricted categories of Palestinian
civilians were allowed to travel through it.

 

Movement at Rafah International
Crossing Point

04 – 10 August 2010

 

 

Movement at Karm Abu Salem (Kerem
Shalom) Crossing

04 – 10 August 2010

 

 

Al-Mentar
(Karni) Crossing: IOF partially
opened the crossing on Wednesday, 04 August 2010, and allowed the entry of 468
tons of wheat and 1,638 tons of fodder. 
They also opened it on Monday, 09 August 2010, and allowed the entry of 1,365
tons of wheat and 2,535 tons of fodder. 

 

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

03 – 10 August 2010

 

 

The West
Bank

 

Israel has
imposed a tightened closure 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.       

 

· Nablus: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on
the movement of Palestinian civilians.  At
approximately 11:30 on Thursday, 05 August 2010, IOF established a checkpoint
at Sarra intersection, west of Nablus. 
They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.  At approximately 06:00 on Sunday, 08 August
2010, IOF established a checkpoint near al-Tanib Factory in the west of
Nablus.  They stopped and searched
Palestinian civilian vehicles.  IOF also
established a checkpoint at Sarra intersection on the Nablus-Qalqilya
road.  They stopped and searched
Palestinian civilian vehicles.   

 

· 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.  At
approximately 10:40 on Thursday, 05 August 2010, IOF re-established their
presence at ‘Attara checkpoint the northern entrance of Bir Zeit village, north
of Ramallah.  They stopped and searched
Palestinian civilian vehicles.  At
approximately 23:30 on Saturday, 07 August 2010, IOF established a checkpoint
at the entrance of Kharabtha al-Misbah village, west of Ramallah.  They stopped and searched Palestinian
civilian vehicles.  At approximately
16:30 on Saturday, 10 August 2010, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance
of Beit Reema village, northwest of Ramallah. 
They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.    

 

· Tulkarm:  IOF have
continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian
civilians.  At approximately 11:30 on
Thursday, 05 August 2010, IOF established a checkpoint on Tulkarm-Nablus road,
east of Tulkarm.  They stopped and
searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.           

 

· QalqilyaArrests
at Military Checkpoints

 

· At
approximately 16:30 on Thursday, 05 August 2010, Israeli troops patrolling on
Qalqilya-Nablus road arrested 4 Palestinian children from ‘Azzoun village, east
of Qalqilya, claiming that they were throwing stones at Israeli vehicles.  The children are:

 

1. Yahia ‘Ali ‘Edwan, 14;

2. Hamido ‘Abdul Latif Abu Haniya, 14;

3. Nahar ‘Abdullah ‘Omran, 14; and

4. Ra’ed Salim Radwan, 14.

 

4. Measures Aimed at Creating a Jewish Demographic Majority in Jerusalem

 

Israel has recently escalated arbitrary
measures against Palestinian civilians in East Jerusalem in order to force them
to leave the city.  PCHR has devoted this
section in the Weekly Report to highlighting violations of human rights
perpetrated by IOF against Palestinian civilians in East Jerusalem.

 

· On
Thursday evening, 05 August 2010, a bulldozer of the Israeli Municipality of
Jerusalem started to destroy dozens of graves in Ma’man Allah Islamic
Cemetery.  Al-Aqsa Association for
Islamic Heritage had filed a petition at the Israeli District Court demanding a
halt to the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem’s plan  to destroy graves in Ma’man Allah
Cemetery.  On Monday noon, the court
issued a ruling allowing the municipality to raze a part of the cemetery to
establish an Israeli court compound.  Following
the court session, an official from the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem
attacked photojournalist Sharaf Ahmed, 35. 
Al-Aqsa Association for Islamic Heritage revealed such Israeli plans
when it presented a short film, which showed an Israeli official explaining the
plans and the begging of their implementation, which started with marking at
least 100 graves with red signs in order to be demolished. 

 

The Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem claimed that the graves that it would
demolish new graves that are not related to the historic cemetery.  However, the lawyers of al-Aqsa Association
proved with documents and photos that those graves had exited before 1948, and
only the grave stones were renewed. 

 

At approximately 01:30 on Tuesday, 10 August 2010, the Israeli
Municipality of Jerusalem demolished gravestones of at least 70 graves in
Ma’man Allah Cemetery.  Press crews were
not allowed to get close to the cemetery. 
The Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem has so far demolished 90% of the
graves marked for demolition.

 

Sheikh Mustafa Abu Zahra, Head of the Committee for Islamic Cemeteries
in Jerusalem, stated that Ma’man Allah Cemetery extend over 134 donums of
land.  In 1948, when Israel took over the
western part of Jerusalem, it razed 70% of the cemetery and turned it into a
public park.  Israeli authorities
established a hotel on the western part of the cemetery.  In 1985, Israeli authorities seized 11 donums
of the cemetery to establish a car park, which was sold to an American company
that intends to built a museum for religious tolerance on an Islamic cemetery,
in which more than 1,000 Moslems were buried over the course of more than 1,400
years.  

 

5. 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.

 

· At
approximately 07:00 on Monday, 09 August 2010, IOF moved into ‘Ein al-Hilwa
area in the Northern Jordan Valley in the northeast of the West Bank.  They dismantled 6 tents belonging to Mohammed
Ahmed Nawaj’a and Ahmed Isma’il Nawaj’a, claiming that the tents were set up in
a closed military zone.

 

· At
approximately 01:00 on Thursday, 05 August 2010, dozens of Israeli settlers,
escorted by IOF, arrived at Joseph Tomb in the east of Nablus.  They conducted religious rituals in the area
until 05:00, when they left the area.

 

· On
Thursday evening, 05 August 2010, a number of Israeli settlers attacked a
Palestinian woman while she was traveling in her car in Hebron. 

 

According to investigations
conducted by PCHR, at approximately 21:30 on Thursday, Suzan Jameel Sultan, 50,
was driving her car in the al-Bwaira area in the northeast of Hebron.  She was accompanied by her daughter, 20-year
‘Ola, and 3 of her grandchildren: Khawla, 8; Zaina, 3; and Mustafa al-Sha’rawi,
2.  At least 10 Israeli settlers
intercepted the car and threw stones at it. 
Sultan was forced to turn back, while the settlers continued to throw
stones at the car.  The woman and her
family were extremely terrified.  She was
injured above the left ear and sustained acute bruises to the left side and the
right hand, and her daughter suffered from spasm as she was shocked.  The front window of the car was broken and
its body was damaged.

 

· At
approximately 19:50 on Friday, 06 August 2010, at least 20 Israeli settlers
from “Kharsina” settlement, northeast of Hebron, attacked Palestinian
civilian vehicles parked in al-Bwaira area, using stones and iron bars.  Palestinian civilians got out of their houses
in an attempt to drive the settlers away from the area.  IOF arrived at the area, and instead of
expelling the settlers from the are, they attacked Palestinian civilians and
forced them to go back into their homes. 
An Israeli solider beat ‘Eissa Isma’il ‘Amru, 30, a staff member of the
Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
(B’Tselem), who was present in the area, and Samer ‘Abdul Karim al-Za’tari, 22,
claiming that they attacked him.  IOF
arrested the two civilians.  As a result
of the attack by Israeli settlers, 3 cars belonging to the al-Za’tari family
were heavily damaged.  Also as a result
of the Israeli attack, Shareef ‘Abdul Rahman Sultan, 24, sustained shrapnel,
burns and bruises, and 17-year-old Mayada ‘Abdul Karim al-Za’tari, fainted.

  

 

…………………………………………………………

 

 

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.

 

…………………………………………………………

 

Public Document

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