Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF)
Continue Attacks in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)

· 4 Palestinian civilians, including a child, were killed by
IOF.

· IOF conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas
in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

· Houses were raided and at least 10 Palestinian civilians
were arrested.

· Continued shelling of residential areas, and 2 Palestinian
civilians, including a child, were injured.

· Construction of the “annexation wall” in the West Bank has
continued and flooding from rain has damaged Palestinian houses and property
near the wall in the north of the West Bank.

· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF
reopened al-Mentar (Karni) commercial crossing to the east of Gaza, Rafah International Crossing Point on the
Egyptian border was reopened but Palestinians aged 16-35 have been prevented
from traveling, and IOF positioned at checkpoints arrested a number of
Palestinian civilians. 

Introduction

Despite ongoing understandings between the Israeli and
Palestinian sides on a ceasefire, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have launched
more attacks against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT).  This week, 4 Palestinian civilians, including a child,
were killed by IOF.  Human rights violations perpetrated by IOF included
incursions into Palestinian areas, indiscriminate shelling and total closure
imposed on Palestinian communities. IOF have also continued to construct the
annexation wall inside the West Bank territory.

In the Gaza Strip, 3 Palestinian civilians were killed by
IOF, and a child died from a previous injury. On 3 February 2005, a Palestinian child from an injury he had sustained
last month when IOF fired an artillery shell at fields in Beit Lahia. This
attack left 7 children dead, including 3 of the victim’s brothers. On 4 February 2005, IOF Killed 2 Palestinian
civilians near the border with Israel, east of Beit Hanoun, when they were
apparently attempting to infiltrate into Israeli to search for jobs. On 9 February 2005, one day following the
Sharm al-Sheikh Summit, in which the Palestinian and Israeli sides signed a
ceasefire agreement, IOF killed a Palestinian civilian in Rafah, when they
opened fire at Palestinian houses in Tal al-Sultan neighborhood. IOF also continued to open fire at
Palestinian residential areas. This
week, 2 Palestinian civilians, including a 3-year-old child, were injured in
Rafah. 

This week, IOF moved twice into al-Mawasi area in Khan
Yunis, which has been under a strict siege since the beginning of the current
Intifada. They raided and searched houses and arrested 7 Palestinian
civilians. 

In the West Bank, IOF conducted 11 incursions into
Palestinian areas, during which they arrested 11 Palestinians. They also
arrested 5 other Palestinians at military checkpoints. Moreover, two Palestinian children were
injured when Israeli military jeeps ran them down in al-Fara’a refugee camp
near Jenin and Dura village near Hebron. IOF also moved into a secondary school
in al-Khader village near Bethlehem and terrified students. 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. This week, an Israeli
settler ran down a Palestinian civilian

IOF have continued to construct the annexation wall inside
the West Bank Territory. On Tuesday, 8
February 2005, the Israeli High Court issued two decisions regarding the
construction of the wall. According to
the first decision, the construction of the wall to the northwest of Jerusalem
will be resumed. In the second decision,
the court obligated Palestinian civilians from Kherbat al-No’man village,
northeast of Bethlehem, to negotiate the route of the wall to the east of the
village with IOF. This week, IOF used
force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians in
protest to the construction of the wall.

IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT
and have imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians
in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem. 

In the Gaza Strip, contrary to
Israeli official claims regarding easing measures of closure imposed on the
Gaza Strip, 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 inside the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the current
Intifada. 

In
the West Bank, 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 and arrested a
number of Palestinian civilians. On
Tuesday morning, IOF closed all military checkpoints at the entrances to Nablus
and prohibited the movement of Palestinian civilians for no apparent reason. 

The full report is available PDF format.