Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Escalate
Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT)

 

· 11 Palestinians, including a child and a man and his on, were
killed by IOF.

 

· 5
of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF in Rafah and Jenin.

 

· 67
Palestinian civilians, including 16 children and a woman, were wounded by the
IOF gunfire.

 

· IOF
launched a series of air strikes on a number of houses in the Gaza Strip.

 

· Two
houses were destroyed in the northern Gaza Strip.

 

· IOF
conducted 33 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and 4 others
into the Gaza Strip.

 

· IOF
arrested 36 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, and 3 others in the Gaza
Strip.

 

· 10
houses were destroyed by IOF in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun.

 

· IOF
raided an Islamic charitable society in Tubas.

 

· 6
houses were transformed by IOF into military sites.

 

· IOF
have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF have imposed a tightened
siege on the Gaza Strip and there have been shortages of foodstuffs and fuels; and
IOF positioned at a various checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 4 Palestinians,
including Head of the Presidential Guard in Ramallah.

 

· IOF
have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the West Bank; they confiscated
152 donums[1]
of land in Bethlehem; and 467 olive trees located behind the Wall in Qalqilya
were burnt.

Summary

 

As the international community has remained silent,
IOF have continued to wage a full scale offensive on the Palestinian people,
especially in the Gaza Strip.  During the reported period, IOF have
continued their attacks on Palestinian civilians and property.

 

PCHR, monitoring with utmost concern the developments
of this offensive, calls upon the international community, particularly the
High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and United Nations,
to immediately intervene to force IOF to stop this offensive and lift the siege
imposed on the Gaza Strip.  PCHR also warns the international community of
the consequences of the policy of collective punishment and reprisals practiced
by IOF against the Palestinian civilian population, especially the destruction
of energy resources and the denial of the flow of fuels needed for providing
basic services.

 

Israeli violations of international law continued in
the OPT during the reported period (31 August – 6 September 2006):

 

Killing: During
the reported period, IOF killed 9 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. On 2
September 2006, IOF killed a man and his son during an incursion into the
northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun. On 5 September 2006, IOF
extra-judicially executed 4 Palestinians in two separate attacks in Rafah.
Three other Palestinians, including a child, were killed by IOF in separate
attacks, in which IOF used excessive force. In addition, 51 Palestinians,
including 12 children and a woman, were
wounded by the IOF gunfire.

 

Thus, the number of Palestinians killed by IOF in the
Gaza Strip since 25 June 2006 has increased to 226, including 47 children and 12
women. In addition, 726 others, mostly civilians, including 196 children, 27 women,
4 paramedics and 4 journalists, have been wounded. 

 

IOF also launched at least two
air strikes on two houses in the Gaza Strip belonging to Palestinian resistance
activists. These houses were destroyed,
and a number of neighboring houses and civilian facilities were severely
damaged. IOF intelligence officers
ordered owners of these houses by phone to evacuate their houses. 

 

In the West Bank, two Palestinians were killed by
IOF. On 31 August 2006, killed a Palestinian during an incursion in the old
town of Nablus. The victim was described as the leader of the al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades, the military wing of Fatah movement, in the West Bank. On 6 September 2006, IOF extra-judicially
killed a member of the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic
Jihad, in Jenin.

 

In addition, 16 Palestinian civilians, including 4
children and two paramedics, were wounded by IOF gunfire. 

 

Incursions:
During the reported period, IOF
conducted at least 32 military incursions into Palestinian communities, during which
they raided dozens of houses and arrested 36 Palestinian civilians. In
addition, IOF raided a charitable society in Tubas village, southeast of Jenin.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 4 incursions into Palestinian communities, the
widest of which were into Beit Hanoun town and Khuza’a village. They killed a
number of Palestinian civilians, arrested 3 others, razed at least 50 donums of
agricultural land and destroyed 6 houses completely and a number of others
partially.

 

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, even though they do not directly
control it. They have prevented European
observers working at the crossing point form reaching it. 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. IOF have also
continued to close Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. In addition, IOF have prevented Palestinian
fishermen from fishing.

 

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. During the reported period, IOF positioned at various
checkpoints around imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian
civilians. During the reported period, IOF positioned at various
checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 4 Palestinians, including Head of the
Presidential Guard in Ramallah..

 

Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank. 
During the reported period, IOF issued a military order seizing 152 donums of
land in Um Salmouna village, south of Bethlehem, to be used for “military
purposes to establish a fence and a number of secure roads.” According to local
sources, the seizures of land aims to construct a section of the Wall in the
area, and establish a settler bypass road. On 2 September 2006, fire broke out
on areas of agricultural land in Nabi Elias village, east of Qalqilya, which
are isolated behind the wall. As a result, 467 trees were burnt. According to
Palestinian farmers, the incident was an arson attack. IOF also used force to
disperse a peaceful demonstration organized by Palestinian civilians and international
and Israeli peace activists in protest to the construction of the Wall in
Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah.

 

The
outcome of crimes committed by IOF since 25 June 2006:

 

o 257
Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 49 children and 12 women, have been
killed by IOF.

o At
least 954 Palestinian civilians, including 272 children and 31 women, have been
wounded by the IOF gunfire.

o At
least 248 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 9 ministers and 31 members of the
Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), including the Speaker, Deputy Speaker
and Secretary, have been arrested. Minster of Prisoners’ Affairs, 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 40
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 (31 August – 6 September 2006)

 

 

Download the full
report here.