Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Escalate
Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT) and Launch an Offensive on the Northern Gaza Strip
· 86
Palestinians, 52 of whom including 16 children and 10 women are civilians, were
killed by IOF.
· 70
of the victims killed by IOF in Beit Hanoun and other areas in the northern
Gaza Strip.
· 17
of the victims, most of them are children and women, are from one same family
and were killed when IOF shelled their house.
· 12
of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF in 5 attacks.
· 254
Palestinians, including 71 children and 58 women, were wounded by IOF.
· IOF
have continued to launch air strikes on houses and civilian facilities in the
Gaza Strip; a house was destroyed in Gaza City.
· IOF
conducted 34 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and invaded
Beit Hanoun town in the Gaza Strip.
· IOF
arrested 123 Palestinian civilians, including 4 children, 3 women and the Palestinian Minister of
Housing, in the West Bank.
· IOF
razed large areas and destroyed several civilian facilities in Beit Hanoun and
neighboring areas.
· IOF
razed at least 20 donums[1]
of agricultural land and destroyed two factories and a house in the east of
Gaza City.
· IOF
have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF arrested 7 Palestinian
civilian, including two children, at checkpoints in the West Bank
· IOF
have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the West Bank; IOF have
closed the entrance of Dahiat al-Barid suburb to the north of occupied
Jerusalem; and Palestinian farmers have been denied access to their
agricultural lands to cultivate olives.
Summary
IOF have escalated attacks on Palestinian civilians
and their property in the OPT. Israeli political and military officials have implemented
their threats to launch a wide scale military campaign on the Gaza Strip. IOF
invaded the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun and committed a series of
crimes.
Israeli violations of international law continued in
the OPT during the reported period (2 – 8 November 2006):
Killing: During
the reported period, IOF killed 86 Palestinians, 52 of whom including 16
children, 10 women and two paramedics , are civilians. This increase in the
number of casualties has followed orders by Israeli political and military
officials to expand military operations in the Gaza Strip.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF killed 77 Palestinians, 48 of
them, including 16 children, 10 women and two paramedics, are civilians. In
addition, 228 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 67 children and 58
women, were wounded.
IOF continued their offensive (“Operation Autumn
Clouds”) on the northern Gaza Strip town, which began on Wednesday morning, 1
November 2006. During the reported period, 70 Palestinians were killed, 48 of
whom are unarmed civilians, including 16 children, 10 women, two old people and
two paramedics. This number also includes 17 members of one same family, who
were killed when IOF shelled their houses on 8 November 2006. In addition, at least
221 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 67 children and 58 women, were
wounded. Thus, the number of Palestinians killed by IOF since the beginning of
the offensive on Beit Hanoun has mounted to 78 Palestinians, including 51
civilians. In addition, 262 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 75
children and 60 women, have been wounded. IOF redeployed from the town on
Tuesday morning, 7 November 2006.
During the reported period, IOF committed 4
extra-judicial executions in the Gaza Strip, which killed 7 members of the
‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, and wounded 5 others and
a civilian bystanders.
.
IOF also launched an air
strike on a houses in the Gaza City. As a result, the house was destroyed and a
number of neighboring houses were severely damaged.
In the west
Bank, IOF killed 9 Palestinians, including two children and an old women, and
wounded 21 others, including 4 children.
On 3 November
2006, IOF killed a Palestinian child and wounded his brother in Balata refugee
camp, east of Nablus. On the same day, IOF killed a woman, a child and a member
of the Islamic Jihad, and wounded 6 other Palestinians in Bethlehem. On 7
November 2006, IOF extra-judicially executed 4 members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades, an armed wing of Fatah movement, and a civilian bystander in
al-Yamoun village, southwest of Jenin. Three civilians were also wounded and
arrested by IOF. In addition,11 Palestinians were wounded by the IOF gunfire in
other incidents in the West Bank.
Incursions:
During the reported period, IOF
conducted at least 34 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank, during which they raided dozens of houses and arrested 123 Palestinian
civilians, including 4 children and 3 women. On Tuesday, 7 November 2006, IOF
arrested Eng. ‘Abdul Rahman Zaidan, Minister of Housing and Public Works, in
Ramallah. Thus, the number of Palestinian Ministers arrested by IOF since 25
June 2006 has increased 10. IOF also transformed two houses into military sites.
In the Gaza
Strip, in addition to the offensive of Beit Hanoun, IOF conducted two military
incursions into al-Tuffah neighborhood in the east of Gaza City. During these
incursions, IOF killed a number of Palestinians, razed at least 250 donums[2] of
agricultural land; destroyed 136 houses, including 16 ones completely and a
mosque; damaged 3 mosques, a number schools and a hospital; and arrested 22 Palestinians. They also razed
at least 20 donums of agricultural land and destroyed two factories and a house
in al-Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City.
Restrictions
on Movement: IOF have 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
IOF have
imposed a strict siege on the Gaza Strip. They have closed its border crossings
as a form of collective punishment against Palestinian civilians.
IOF have
closed Rafah International Crossing Point since 25 June 2006, even though they
do not directly control it. During this period, the crossing has been opened
for 18 separate days. IOF have closed commercial crossings of the Gaza
Strip, especially al-Mentar (Karni) crossing. As a consequence, the economic
situation inside the Gaza Strip has further deteriorated and many goods have
been lacked in markets. During the reported period, IOF partially reopened
al-Mentar (Karni) crossing, east of Gaza City, and Sofa and Kerem Shalom
crossings near Rafah. IOF have also continued to close Erez crossing in the
northern Gaza Strip. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza
Strip had been prevented from traveling through this crossing. IOF have
allowed international workers to pass through the crossing. With this closure,
only few Palestinian patients have been able to travel to hospitals in Israel
and the West Bank. IOF have also continued to close Sofa and Kerem Shalom
crossings near Rafah. In addition, IOF have continued to prevent Palestinian
fishermen from fishing for 4 moths.
West Bank
IOF have tightened the siege imposed on Palestinian
communities in the West Bank. They have isolated Jerusalem from the rest
of the West Bank. IOF positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank have
continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian
civilians. IOF have continued to separate between the north and south of
the West Bank. They have further prevented Palestinians from the West Bank and
the Gaza Strip from entering Jerusalem to pray in al-Aqsa Mosque in the Holy
Ramadan. IOF positioned at various checkpoints around Jerusalem imposed severe
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. During the reported
period, IOF positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 7 Palestinian
civilians.
Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside the West
Bank. During the reported period, IOF resumed the construction of sections
of the Wall to the north of occupied Jerusalem. IOF placed high cement blocks
near Dahiat al-Barid suburb and al-Ram village and. They closed the entrance to
Dahiat al-Barid suburb with cement block, thus linking it with a section of the
wall extending from Qalandya checkpoint on Ramallah – Jerusalem road to a
checkpoint near Nsaiba neighborhood to the north of Beit Hanina suburb. Thus,
IOF completely separated Dahiat al-Barid suburb and al-Ram village from
Jerusalem, even though their residents have Israeli identity cards. Palestinian
traders from the West Bank, who established businesses in the two areas in
light of restrictions imposed by IOF on the movement of Palestinians in other
areas to the West Bank, have been forced to close their businesses.
Furthermore, IOF razed areas of agricultural land and uprooted hundreds of grape
and almond trees in the west of Jourat al-Sham’a village, south of Bethlehem.
They also dug foundations to construct a section of the Wall in the area. IOF
also used forced to disperse a peaceful demonstration organized in protest to
the construction of the Wall in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah Wall.
IOF fired rubber-coated metal bullets, tear gas canisters and sound bombs at
the demonstrators. As a result, 8 demonstrators, including a child and a
French solidarity activist, were wounded. While they have continued to
construct the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank, IOF have prevented
Palestinian farmers in the north and south of the West Bank from reaching their
agricultural lands, which are planted with olives, located behind the Wall.
According to these farmers, IOF have refused to issue permits for them to be
able to reach their lands. The farmers have expressed their concerns that they
may lose the current olive season. IOF often fire at Palestinian farmers to
drive them away from their lands.
The
outcome of crimes committed by IOF since 25 June 2006:
o 342
Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 64 children and 15 women, have been
killed by IOF.
o At
least 1186 Palestinian civilians, including 344 children and 49 women, have
been wounded by the IOF gunfire.
o At
least 292 air-to-surface missiles and hundreds of artillery shells have been
fired at Palestinian civilian and military targets in the Gaza Strip.
o Buildings
of the Palestinian Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
the Ministry of National economy, the office of the Palestinian Prime Minister
and a number of educational institutions have been destroyed.
o The
electricity generation plant, providing 45% of the electricity of the Gaza
Strip, was destroyed, and electricity networks and transmitters have been
repeatedly attacked.
o 6
bridges linking Gaza City with the central Gaza Strip and a number of roads
have been destroyed.
o Hundreds
of donums of agricultural land and dozens of houses have been destroyed.
o Hundreds
of Palestinian civilians, including 10 ministers and 31 members of the Palestinian
Legislative Council (PLC), including the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Secretary,
have been arrested. Minster of Prisoners’ Affairs, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister
of Labor and Second Deputy Speaker of the PLC were released.
o The
Palestinian governmental compound in Nablus has been destroyed.
o Many
families in Rafah, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia have been forced to leave their
houses.
o IOF
intelligence has warned some Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip by phone
to evacuate their houses, which would be attacked.
o 58
houses belonging to activists of Palestinian factions were destroyed by IOF
warplanes.
o IOF
have imposed a strict siege on the OPT, and have isolated the Gaza Strip from
the outside world.
Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (2 – 8 November
2006)
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report here.
