Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF)
Escalate Attacks in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) in the New Year
· 20 Palestinians, 12 of whom were civilians, including 10
children one of whom was disabled, were killed by IOF.
· 7 of the children, including 2 brothers, were killed by a
tank shell fired by IOF in Beit Lahia.
· IOF conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas
in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
· IOF moved into Khan Yunis and destroyed 35 houses.
· 51 donums[1]
of agricultural land were razed in Deir al-Balah.
· Houses were raided and dozens of Palestinian civilians were
arrested.
· Continued shelling of residential areas and civilian
facilities, and a number of Palestinian civilians were injured in the Gaza
Strip.
· Construction of the “annexation wall” in the West Bank has
continued, and IOF plan to annex 4 villages in Bethlehem district to Israel.
· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; Rafah
International Crossing Point on the Egyptian border has been closed for the 4th
consecutive week, IOF prevented dozens of pilgrims from traveling to Saudi
Arabia to attend the Hajj, and IOF positioned at checkpoints arrested a
number of Palestinian civilians.
Introduction
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have
launched more attacks against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT), especially in the Gaza Strip. This week, 20 Palestinians, 12
of whom were civilians, including 10 children, were killed and at least 20
others were injured by IOF. One of the
children was mentally disabled. Human rights violations perpetrated by IOF
included incursions into Palestinian areas, willful killing, indiscriminate
shelling, land leveling and total closure imposed on Palestinian communities.
These attacks came while Palestinians were preparing for the Palestinian
presidential election that will be held on 9 January 2005.
In the Gaza Strip, 20 Palestinians,
12 of whom were civilians, including 10 children, were killed by IOF. Seven children were killed in Beit Lahia on 4
January 2005, when IOF fired a tank shell at them. Ten Palestinians, including
2 children, one of whom was mentally disabled, were killed by IOF that launched
a wide scale offensive on Khan Yunis on 30 and 31 December 2004. A child was killed in Rafah on 30 December 2004
when IOF fired at him when he was hunting birds. On 31 December 2005, IOF
killed a Palestinian civilian in Rafah. On 4 January 2005, IOF killed a
Palestinian civilian in Gaza City.
This week, IOF conducted 6
incursions into Palestinian areas in the Gaza Strip. The widest of these
incursions was into Khan Yunis on 30 and 31 December 2004, when IOF totally
destroyed 14 houses, rendering 187 people (25 families) homeless. They also
partially destroyed 33 other houses. The other incursions targeted Palestinian
areas in Deir al-Balah, Rafah, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia. During these
incursions, IOF razed 51 donums of agricultural land in Deir al-Balah, arrested
3 Palestinian civilians in Rafah, and wounded a journalist in Beit Hanoun.
In the
West Bank, IOF moved into various areas throughout the West Bank, injured a
number of Palestinian civilians and arrested dozens of others. They also raided
a medical center of Palestine Red Crescent Society and a hospital in Tulkarm.
These attacks impacted on the election campaigns of candidates for the
Palestinian presidential election, which will be held on 9 January 2005, as IOF
confiscated campaigning materials in some cases.
IOF have continued to construct the
annexation wall inside the West Bank territory. Israeli sources unveiled new plans made by the Israeli government
regarding the route of the wall in Bethlehem and Hebron districts in the
southern West Bank. According to these plans, IOF would annex 4 villages in
Bethlehem district to Israeli territory: Housan; Batteer; Wadi Foukin; and
Nahalin. Nearly 18,000 Palestinians live in these villages. According to the plans, IOF would create an
Israeli island between Hebron and Bethlehem, which includes 10 Israeli
settlements, where nearly 50,000 settlers live.
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, IOF have
continued to close all border crossings of the Gaza Strip either partially or
completely. They have closed Rafah Terminal on the Egyptian border for the 4th
consecutive week, creating a serious humanitarian crisis and depriving
Palestinians of their health, educational, religious and political rights. They
have also continued to impose severe restriction on internal movement. In the
latest example of the policy of collective punishment on the Palestinian
civilian population, Israeli authorities have prevented at least 170 pilgrims
from the Gaza Strip from traveling to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, in
violation of their right to freely practice their religion. Israeli
authorities claimed that this decision was taken for security
reasons. They have also prevented dozens of pilgrims from traveling
because of what Israeli authorities claim is a lack of necessary security
coordination, despite the fact that the names of these pilgrims were included
in the lists of those who are allowed to travel, delivered to the Palestinian
Ministry of Religious Endowments. Israeli authorities have imposed severe
restrictions on those who are allowed to travel through Erez Crossing. On 5
January 2005, IOF closed Erez crossing and prevented the third group of
pilgrims from traveling.
In the West
Bank, IOF imposed more restrictions on the movement of a number of candidates
for the Palestinian residential election in their campaigns for the
elections. This week, IOF erected more
military checkpoints, especially in Nablus district, and imposed severe restrictions
on the movement of Palestinian civilians.
The
full report is available PDF format.
