Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF)
Launch More Attacks in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)
· 2 Palestinians were killed by IOF.
· IOF shot one of the victims and bulldozed a house while he
was inside.
· Construction of the “annexation wall” in the West Bank has
continued; more areas of Palestinian land were confiscated for this purpose and
Jerusalem has been isolated from the rest of the West Bank.
· IOF conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas
in the West Bank. Houses were raided and
at least 23 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children, were arrested.
· 6 Palestinian civilians were arrested in the Gaza Strip.
· 5 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children in the Gaza
Strip, were injured by IOF.
· Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian
civilians and property in the West Bank.
· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF have
continued to close a number of roads since the beginning of the current
Intifada, IOF have used a new checking set at Rafah International Crossing
Point, IOF positioned at checkpoints arrested a number of Palestinian civilians
and IOF have imposed curfews on the old town of Hebron for the 2nd
consecutive week.
Introduction
On the second anniversary of the
death of Rachel Corrie PCHR wishes to take this opportunity to extend our
thoughts to the family of Rachel who continue to suffer in the face of the
impunity granted to the soldiers responsible for her death. So, it is against this background that Israeli
Occupation Forces (IOF) launched more attacks against Palestinian civilians in
the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). This week, human rights
violations perpetrated by IOF included shooting at Palestinian civilians,
conducting incursions into Palestinian areas, house raids and arbitrary
arrests. In violation of international law and humanitarian law, IOF have also
continued to construct the annexation wall inside the West Bank territory and
confiscated more areas of Palestinian land for this purpose. They have continued to expand existing
settlements at the expense of Palestinian land owners. Contrary to Israeli official claims, IOF have
continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian
civilians.
This week,
2 Palestinians were killed by the IOF in the West Bank. On 10 March 2005, the IOF killed Mohammed Abu
Khalil, 27, in al-Nazla village, north of Tulkarm, as he exchanged fire with
them when they surrounded a house where he hid. They also demolished parts of the house while he was inside. On 14 March 2005, Adham al-Sha’lan, 22, from
‘Ein Beit al-Maa’ refugee camp, west of Nablus, died as a result of a previous
injury he had sustained from the IOF. The IOF also conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas in
the West Bank, especially in Tulkarm, during which they raided and searched
houses and arrested 23 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children. In addition, three Palestinian civilians were
wounded by the Israeli gunfire. The IOF
have also continued to impose a curfew on the old town of Hebron for the 2nd
consecutive week.
On 13
March 2005, the IOF positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel,
east of Jabalya fired at three Palestinian children who apparently attempted to
infiltrate into Israel to search for jobs. One of the children was seriously wounded, another one was injured and
arrested and the third one escaped. On 12 and 14 March 2005, the IOF arrested
six Palestinian civilians in al-Qarara village, north of Khan Yunis, and
al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
The IOF have continued to construct
the annexation wall inside the West Bank territory, especially around East
Jerusalem. On Sunday, 13 March 2005, the
IOF announced that the Israeli government authorized the construction of a
temporary wall between East Jerusalem and the West Bank in the areas where the
construction of the annexation wall is not possible due to legal
limitations. Also on Sunday, the Israeli
government approved the new route of the wall around Jerusalem, under which
neighborhoods and villages located to the north of the city will be isolated
and Shu’fat refugee camp would be surrounded by fences. The new route would also annex “Maale
Adomomi” settlement, east of the city, and Bilal Ben Rabah mosque, north
of Bethlehem, to the boundaries of Jerusalem. On Monday morning, 14 March 2005, IOF demolished a house in Samiramees
area, south of Ramallah, near the wall.
Israeli settlers living in the OPT
in violation of international humanitarian law have launched a series of
attacks against Palestinian civilians and property. IOF have continued to confiscate areas of
Palestinian land for settlement activities.
The IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the
OPT, including Jerusalem. In the Gaza Strip, the IOF have continued to
completely or partially close all border crossings of the Gaza Strip and impose
severe restrictions on the internal movement of Palestinian civilians.
They have also continued to close a number of roads and crossings in the Gaza
Strip since the beginning of the current Intifada. The IOF have continued to impose a strict
siege on Palestinian communities near Israeli settlements, causing more
suffering to Palestinian civilians. Furthermore, the IOF continue to occupy two Palestinian houses to the
north of Khan Yunis since the beginning of the current Intifada.
In
the West Bank, the IOF
have continued to impose a strict siege on Palestinian communities. They have also imposed severe restrictions on
the movement of Palestinian civilians. This week, they erected a number of military checkpoints. They stopped and checked Palestinian
civilians and arrested 13 civilians. The
IOF also imposed curfews on a number of Palestinian communities, the curfew
especially strict the old town of Hebron.
The full report is available PDF format.
