Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Escalate
Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT)
· 25
Palestinians, including 6 children and an old man, were killed by IOF.
· 17
of the victim, including two children, were killed.
· 3
of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF in the West Bank.
· 59
Palestinian civilians, including 26 children and women, were wounded by the IOF
gunfire.
· IOF
launched a series of air strikes on a number of houses in the Gaza Strip.
· 3
houses were destroyed after their residents were warned that the houses would
be attacked.
· IOF
have continued to shell the northern Gaza Strip and al-Shouka village near
Rafah, and many families were forced to leave their homes.
· IOF
conducted 38 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and moved
into several areas in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah.
· IOF
destroyed 41 houses and razed at least 557 donums[1]
of agricultural land in Rafah.
· IOF
arrested 44 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and 20 others in the Gaza
Strip.
· 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; IOF
positioned at a checkpoint in the West Bank arrested a Palestinian civilian.
· IOF
have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the West Bank; they
confiscated areas of land in Hebron and burnt at least 100 donums of
agricultural land in Tulkarm.
· Israeli
settlers have continued attacks Palestinian civilians and property in the OPT;
a Palestinian civilian was killed and his son was wounded by settlers.
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 waged
a media war against Palestinian civilians. They have dropped leaflets in
streets and on roofs of houses, phoned civilians threatening to destroy their
houses if they helped Palestinian resistance activist, and ordered a number of
Palestinian resistance activists through phone calls on their mobile phones to
evacuate their houses, which would be destroyed. IOF have further continued
their Operation Grasshopper, under which they move in a certain area, commit
crimes there and then redeploy outside it. They then move into another area and
do the same.
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 allow the passage
of foodstuffs, medical supplies and fuels into the Gaza Strip.
The
outcome of crimes committed by IOF since 25 June 2006:
o 200
Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 44 children and 10 women, have been
killed by IOF.
o At
least 779 Palestinian civilians, including 218 children and 24 women, have been
wounded by the IOF gunfire.
o At
least 205 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 8 ministers and 26 members of the
Palestinian Legislative Council have been arrested.
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 15
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 of international law continued in the OPT during the reported period
(3 – 9 August 2006):
Killing: During
the reported period, IOF killed 20 Palestinians, including 12 civilians, in the
Gaza Strip. The victims included 6 children and an old man. In addition, civilian
died from a previous wound he had sustained last month. It is noted that 17 of
the victims were killed during a 3-day IOF incursion into Rafah. This number includes two brothers, who were
attacked by an IOF drone while they were fleeing from the area together with
their mother and brother, who were also wounded. It also included a 3-day-old
baby, who fell from the hands of her mother who was fleeing from the area, as
IOF shelled it. Most of the victims were killed by IOF air strikes. The
remaining 3 victims, other than those who were killed in Rafah, were two
members of the Palestinian resistance and a 3-yea-old child. The two members
were killed by a missile fired by an IOF warplane, whereas the child died when
she fell from the roof of her family’s house due to the heavy explosion caused
by the missile.
In addition, 45 Palestinian civilians, including 18 children
and a woman, were wounded by IOF shelling. Thus, the number of Palestinians
killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of “Operation Summer Rains”
on 25 June 2006 has increased to 181, including 100 civilians. These civilians have included 42 children and
10 women. In addition, 693 others, mostly civilians, including 188 children, 24
women, 4 paramedics and 4 journalists, have been wounded.
IOF also launched at least 12
air strikes on a number of targets in the Gaza Strip, including 3 houses
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. The targeted
houses were not located in confrontation areas, or in areas used to fire
rockets. They were distributed in different parts of the Gaza Strip. In
addition, they were multi-story apartment structures. The destruction caused
fear among the civilian population. The destruction of houses is based on intelligence
reports, which can be inaccurate or out of date and often do not justify
attacks on civilians and their property. Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva
Convention prohibits the destruction of real or personal property, “except
where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military
operations.”
In a further escalation, IOF fired dozens of
artillery shells at Palestinian residential areas and agricultural land in the
Gaza Strip. A number of Palestinian civilians were killed or wounded and a
number of flats were damaged. Hundreds of families have been forced to leave
their homes due to the IOF shelling. In Rafah, IOF have repeatedly shelled the
electricity network, cutting electricity off from the whole town.
In the West Bank, IOF committed two extra-judicial
executions, which left dead 3 members of the al-Quds Brigades, the military
wing of the Islamic Jihad. On 6 August 2006, IOF extra-judicially executed one
of these Palestinians in Seilat al-Harthiya village, southwest of Jenin. An IOF
sniper fired at the victim who was hiding on the roof of his house. On 9 August
2006, an IOF helicopter gunship fired 3 missiles at a house in Jenin refugee
camp, killing two Palestinians. IOF had used helicopter gunships in military
operations for the first time since Operation Defensive Shield in 2002. In addition, 12
Palestinian civilians, including 7 children and a girl, were wounded by IOF
gunfire.
Incursions:
During the reported period, IOF
conducted a 3-day incursion into al-Shouka village in Rafah. During this
incursion, IOF destroyed 42 houses, in which 285 people (42 families) lived.
They also razed 557 of agricultural land, and damaged the civilian
infrastructure of the village. IOF conducted
4 incursions into areas in the Gaza Strip. They destroyed civilian property and
shelled residential areas. Dozens of families were also forced to leave their
houses due to the intense IOF shelling.
In the West
Bank, IOF conducted at least 38 military incursions into Palestinian communities,
during which they raided dozens of house and arrested 44 Palestinian civilians,
including a woman, 3 children and the Speaker and a member of the Palestinian
Legislative Council.
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. On 18 and 19 July 2006, IOF permitted
reopening the crossing point partially, with the presence of EU observers and
in agreement with the Egyptian side, for travelers wishing to come back to the
Gaza Strip. 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.
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. On Friday, 4 August 2006, IOF prevented Palestinian aged below
45 from going to the al-Aqsa Mosque for the Friday prayer. Additionally, IOF
established a new checkpoint at Jaba’ intersection, northeast of Jerusalem,
only two kilometers way from Qalandya checkpoint, which has been transformed
into an international crossing point.
Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank.
On Sunday, 6 August 2006, IOF issued a military order confiscating dozens of
donums of agricultural land in the west of Beit ‘Awa village, southwest of
Hebron. Also during the reported period, IOF burnt at lest 100 donums of
agricultural land in Far’oun village, which has been isolated behind the Wall,
south of Tulkarm.
Illegal Settler
Activities: Israeli settlers in
breach of international humanitarian law continue to reside in the OPT and have
launched a series of attacks against Palestinian civilians and property. On
Sunday evening, 6 August 2006,
a number of Israeli settlers traveling in a civilian car
opened fire at a Palestinian truck that was traveling before them near Douma
village, southeast of Nablus. As a result, Hussein Fahmi ‘Ali Mardawi, 48, from
Habla village southeast of Qalqilya, was killed by two live bullets to the
heart, and his son, 17-year-old ‘Ameed, was wounded by shrapnel to the left
hand and shoulder.
Israeli Violations
Documented during the Reporting Period (3 – 9 August 2006)
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report here.
