Israeli Occupation Forces Continue Systematic
Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT) and Continue to Impose a Total Closure on the Gaza Strip
· 6 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli forces in the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip.
· An Israeli settler used his car to run over the body of a
wounded Palestinian in Hebron.
· Israeli forces conducted 14 incursions into Palestinian
communities in the West Bank, and one into the Gaza Strip.
· Israeli forces arrested 20 Palestinian civilians, including 6
children.
· Israeli naval troops have continued to attack Palestinian
fishermen in the Gaza Strip.
· Israel has continued to impose a total siege on the OPT and
have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
· Israeli troops positioned at military checkpoints in the
West Bank arrested 3 Palestinian civilians, including a child.
· Israeli troops positioned at Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing
arrested a Palestinian civilian who was on his way to Jerusalem to receive medical
treatment.
· Israel has continued settlement activities in the West Bank
and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and
property.
· The Israeli government approved the construction of 131
housing units.
· Israeli forces issued military orders to demolish more
houses in the West Bank.
· Israeli settlers took over 70 donums[1]
of land in Yanoun village, east of Nablus.
· Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian civilians in Bourin
village near Nablus.
Summary
Israeli violations of international
law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (25 November
– 02 December 2009):
Shooting: During the reporting period, 6
Palestinian civilians were wounded by Israeli gunfire in the Gaza Strip and the
West Bank.
On 27 November 2009, Israeli forces
fired a missile at a number of activists of the Palestinian resistance in the
northern Gaza Strip. Four activists were
wounded.
On 02 December 2009, Israeli troops
positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip wounded and arrested a
Palestinian.
In the West Bank, Israeli troops fired at a Palestinian near
a fuel station in the southeast of Hebron, and an Israeli settler then ran him
over using his car. Israeli troops and
medical crews were present in the area and did not attempt to stop the
settlers. Israeli forces claimed that
the Palestinian stabbed two female Israeli settlers.
Israeli forces used force to
disperse peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians and
international and Israeli human rights defenders, to protest the construction
of the Annexation Wall in the West Bank. Dozens of demonstrators suffered from tear gas
inhalation.
During the reporting period, Israeli
naval troops attacked Palestinian fishing boats in the Gaza Strip, and forced
them to sail towards the beach.
Incursions: During the reporting period, Israeli
forces conducted at least 14 military incursions into Palestinian communities
in the West Bank. Israeli forces arrested
20, including 6 children.
Restrictions on Movement: Israeli forces 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 continued to close all border crossings to the Gaza
Strip for more than two years. The illegal Israeli-imposed closure of the Gaza
Strip, which has steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous
impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.
· 1.5 million people are being denied their basic rights,
including freedom of movement, and their rights to appropriate living
conditions, work, health and education.
· The main concern of
1.5 million people living in the Gaza Strip is to obtain their basic needs of
food, medicines, water and electricity supplies.
· Israel has continued
to prevent the entry of raw construction materials into the Gaza Strip for more
than two years.
· Israel has not allowed
fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip, excluding limited amounts of cooking gas,
since 10 December 2008.
· The Rafah
International Crossing Point has been opened for a few days for a number of
patients who received medical treatment abroad and needed to return home to the
Gaza Strip.
· Israel has continued
to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to Palestinian civilians wishing to travel
to the West Bank and Israeli for medical treatment, trade or social visits.
· Poverty and
unemployment rates stand at approximately 80% and 60% in the Gaza Strip.
· Israel has continued
to prevent the entry of spare parts form water networks and sewage systems. Losses
incurred to this sector are estimated at US$ 6 million.
· Israel has imposed
additional access restrictions on international diplomats, journalists and
humanitarian workers seeking to enter the Gaza Strip. They have prevented
representatives of several international humanitarian organizations from
entering the Gaza Strip.
· Living conditions of
the Palestinian civilian population have seriously deteriorated; levels of
poverty and unemployment have sharply mounted.
· At least 900
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have been denied family visitation
rights for more than two years.
· Israeli forces have
continued to attack Palestinian fishermen along the Gaza Strip coast.
West Bank
Israel has continued to impose severe restrictions on the
movement of Palestinian civilians throughout the West Bank, including occupied
East Jerusalem. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip continue to be denied access to Jerusalem.
· Israeli forces have established checkpoints in and around
Jerusalem, severely restricting Palestinian access to the city. Civilians are
frequently prevented from praying at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
· There are approximately permanent 630 roadblocks, and manned
and unmanned checkpoints across the West Bank. In addition, there are some
60-80 ‘flying’ or temporary checkpoints erected across the West Bank by Israeli
forces every week.
· When complete, the illegal Annexation Wall will stretch for
724 kilometers around the West Bank, further isolating the entire population.
350 kilometers of the Wall has already been constructed. Approximately 99% of
the Wall has been constructed inside the West Bank itself, further confiscating
Palestinian land.
· At least 65% of the main roads that leads to 18 Palestinian
communities in the West Bank are closed or fully controlled by Israeli forces (47
out of 72 roads).
· There are around 500 kilometers of restricted roads across
the West Bank. In addition, approximately one third of the West Bank, including
occupied East Jerusalem, is inaccessible to Palestinians without a permit
issued by the Israeli forces. These permits are extremely difficult to obtain.
· Israeli forces continue to harass, and assault demonstrators
who hold peaceful protests against the construction of the Annexation Wall.
· Palestinian civilians continue to be harassed by Israeli
forces in Jerusalem, and across the West Bank, including being regularly
stopped and searched in the streets by Israeli forces.
Settlement Activities: Israeli forces have continued
settlement activities in the OPT in violation of international humanitarian law
and Israeli settlers living have continued to attack Palestinian
civilians and property. On 25 November 2009, Israeli forces moved into
al-‘Aqaba village, northeast of Tubas. They handed out demolition orders for 3 houses. On 26 November 2009, 5 armed Israeli settlers
brought a tractor and worked a tract of land in Bab al-Ghars area in the east
of Yanoun village, southeast of Nablus. The affected land is located nearly 1,500 meters away from
“Gid’ounim” settlement outpost to the east of the village. On the same day, Israeli forces moved into
Tayaseer village, east of Tubas. They
handed notices to Mahmoud Najeh Jaber and Jaber Najeh Jaber ordering stoppage
of construction of their houses. In spite of the Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu’s claims on 25 November 2008, concerning a cease of
settlement construction in the West Bank, excluding Jerusalem, for 10 months,
on 27 November 2009, the Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak approved the
construction of 28 public buildings in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, to
be completed by September 2010. On 29
November 2009, Israeli forces dismantled two electricity towers that supply
areas located to the southeast of Yatta village, south of Hebron, claiming that
the towers were places in a banned zone. On the same day, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered
continuing the construction of 29 housing units in “Kidar”
settlement, southeast of Jerusalem. Netanyahu’s office claimed that “the construction of those units
had been approved before the decision to freeze settlement construction”
in Israeli settlements in the West Bank for 10 months. On 30 November 2009, at least 50 Israeli
settlers from “Yits’har” settlement, escorted by Israeli forces,
attacked a number of Palestinian farmers who were gathering olive trees that
had been uprooted by settlers in al-Rummana area in the south of Bourin
village, south of Nablus. Israeli forces
forced the farmers away from the area and the settlers attempted to break into
a house belonging to ‘Atallah ‘Abdul Rahman Soufan. On 02 December 2009, the Israeli government
approved the construction of 84 structures in Israeli settlements in the West
Bank. The Israeli daily Ha’aretz
reported that the Israeli government approved the construction of those
structures in spite of its official declaration of a freeze of settlement
construction in the West Bank.
Israeli Violations Documented during
the Reporting Period (25 November – 02 December 2009)
The full report is available PDF format.
