December 22, 2009
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

An Israeli soldier prevent a number of Palestinian civilians from going homes in the center of Hebron

 

Israeli Occupation Forces Continue Systematic
Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT) and Continue to Impose a Total Closure on the Gaza Strip

 

 

· Israeli occupation forces used forced to disperse peaceful
demonstrations organized to protest the construction of the Annexation Wall in
the West Bank.

 

· Israeli forces conducted 20 incursions into Palestinian
communities in the West Bank.

 

· Israeli forces arrested 23 Palestinian civilians, including 7
children.

 

· Israeli naval troops have continued to attack Palestinian
fishermen in the Gaza Strip.

 

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

 

· Israeli troops positioned at military checkpoints in the
West Bank arrested 5 Palestinian civilians, including one child.

 

· Israel has continued measures aimed at creating a Jewish demographic
majority in occupied East Jerusalem.

 

· Israeli occupation forces ordered the demolition of a mosque
and 9 houses in Jabal al-Mukabber village.

 

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

 

 

 

Summary

 

Israeli violations of international
law, and international humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting
period (16 – 22 December 2009):

 

Shooting: During the reporting period, Israeli
occupation forces used force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized by
Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders, to
protest the construction of the Annexation Wall in the West Bank.  

 

Incursions: During the reporting period, Israeli
occupation forces conducted at least 20 military incursions into Palestinian
communities in the West Bank.  Israeli
forces arrested 23, including 7 children.  During the reporting period, Israeli troops
stationed in the center and south of Hebron attacked members of the Abu Haikal
family in Tal al-Rumaida neighborhood. Five members of the family were injured, and Israeli occupation forces
arrested 4 others.

 

In the Gaza Strip, on 10 December
2009, Israeli occupation forces moved into al-Sikka Street in the north of Beit
Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip. They arrested two Palestinian children, as they were collecting stones
and iron from destroyed buildings, approximately 500 meters away from the
border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. Israeli forces violently beat and interrogated the two children, and
released them at approximately 21:30 on the same day.

 

Restrictions on Movement: Israel has continued to impose a tightened closure 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 continued to close all border crossings to the
Gaza Strip for more than two and a half 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.

 

· 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
1.5 million people living in 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 years.

 

· Israel has not allowed
fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip, excluding limited amounts of cooking gas,
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 has continued
to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to Palestinian civilians wishing to travel
to the West Bank and Israel for medical treatment, trade or social visits.

 

· Poverty and
unemployment rates stand at approximately 80% and 60% respectively in the Gaza
Strip.

 

· Israel has continued
to prevent the entry of spare parts form water networks and sewage systems. Losses
incurred to this sector are estimated at US$ 6 million.

 

· Israel has imposed 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 are among the highest in the world.

 

· At least 900
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have been denied family visitation
rights for more than two and a half years. 

 

· Israeli occupation forces
have continued to attack Palestinian fishermen along the Gaza Strip coast.

 

West Bank

 

Israeli occupation forces 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.

 

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

 

· There are approximately permanent 630 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 Israeli
forces 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 has 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 leads to 18 Palestinian
communities in the West Bank are closed or fully controlled by occupation
forces (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 Israeli occupation forces. These permits are extremely difficult to obtain.

 

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

 

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

Measures Aimed at Creating a Jewish Demographic Majority
in Jerusalem:
On 17
December 2009, officials from the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem and
Ministry of Interior handed demolition notices to owners of 9 houses in Jabal
al-Mukabber neighborhood in the south of Jerusalem. They also posted an order to demolish the
neighborhood mosque within 10 days. 

 

On the same day, Israeli occupation
forces attacked and violently beat Palestinian civilians participating in a
public gathering at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. Three children and one woman
sustained bruises. The gathering marked the conclusion of celebrations for Jerusalem
as the capital of Arab culture in 2009. Israeli
forces also arrested 6 Palestinian civilians; they were released on the
following day. Israeli forces also
surrounded the French Cultural Center in Saladin Street. They checked identity cards of people entering
and exiting the center, claiming that they were searching for persons
responsible fore releasing balloons with the colors of the Palestinian
flag. Additionally, Israeli forces
handed notices to 6 schools ordering them not to participate in these
celebrations. 

 

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

 

On 16 December 2009, Israeli settlers from “Shilo”
settlement, north of Ramallah, attacked a number of Palestinian farms who were
working on their lands. According to
eyewitnesses, dozens of Israeli settlers, escorted by Israeli occupation forces,
attacked the farmers and prevented them from farming their lands. Israeli forces then forced the farmers away
from the area.

 

On 19 December 2009, dozens of Israeli settlers from
“Shilo” settlement, north of Ramallah, gathered at the entrance of
the settlement on the Nablus-Ramallah road and threw stones at Palestinian
civilian vehicles traveling on the road. Israeli troops were present in the area and did not intervene to stop
the attack.

 

On the same day, an Israeli settler from the “Gush
Etzion” settlement bloc, southwest of Bethlehem, fired at 5 Palestinian
farmers who were working on their lands in Safa village, north of Hebron. Israeli troops arrived at the area, but did
not intervene to stop the settler. It is
worth noting that Israeli settlers attempt to seize more areas of Palestinian
land in the village to be annexed to nearby Israeli settlements.

 

 

 

Israeli Violations
Documented during the Reporting Period (16 – 22 December 2009)

The full report is available PDF format.