Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Escalate
Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT), Particularly the Gaza Strip
· 28
Palestinians, including 7 children, were killed by IOF.
· 7
of the victims were from the same family and were killed by IOF shelling in
Gaza. (Investigations conducted by
PCHR and other human rights organizations refute Israeli claims that IOF
shelling was not responsible for this crime.)
· 19
of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF.
· 76
Palestinian civilians, including at least 20 children, were wounded by IOF
gunfire.
· IOF
conducted 40 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank,
particularly Nablus.
· 49
Palestinian civilians, including 12 children, were arrested by IOF.
· Two
houses were transformed by IOF into military sites.
· IOF
have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF have continued to close
border crossings of the Gaza Strip; the north of the West Bank has been
separated from the south; and IOF arrested 8 Palestinian civilians, including a
girl, at checkpoints in the West Bank.
· IOF
have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the West Bank; IOF razed
areas of agricultural land near ‘Azzoun ‘Atma village, south of Qalqilya; and
IOF demolished a house and an animal farm in Toura al-Ghabiya village,
southwest of Jenin.
· Israeli
settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property in the OPT:
6 Palestinian civilians were wounded and 4 houses were damaged by attacks
launched by Israeli settlers.
Summary
Israeli
violations of international law escalated in the OPT during the reported period
(8–14 June 2006):
Killing: During
the reported period, IOF killed 28 Palestinians in the OPT, including 27 in the
Gaza Strip. This number includes
21 unarmed civilians, including 7 children. Seven of the victims were from the same
family (father, mother and 5 of their children), who were killed on Friday, 9
June 2006, when IOF fired a number of shells, while they were at the beach in
Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. IOF claimed that their investigations concluded that “the explosion
resulted from a bomb planted by Palestinians targeting IOF”. However, field investigations conducted by
PCHR and those conducted by a Human Rights Watch military expert refute this
claim and prove that the victims were killed by shrapnel from IOF
shelling.
During the reported period, IOF conducted 7
extra-judicial executions in the OPT, which killed 19 Palestinians, including
18 in the Gaza Strip. On 13 June 2006,
10 Palestinian civilians, including a man, his child, his brother-in-law and 4
medical personnel, were killed when IOF attacked a car in Gaza City. On 9 June 2006, 3 Palestinian civilians,
including two brothers, were killed when IOF attempted to extra-judicially
execute a number of Palestinians in Jabalya town. On 8 June 2006, IOF extra-judicially executed
4 Palestinians in Rafah, including Jamal Abu Samhadana, Secretary General of
the Popular Resistance Committees. On 14
June 2006, an IOF undercover unit extra-judicially executed a member of the
al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of the Fatah movement, in Jenin. In addition, on 11 June 2006, two members of
the ‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, were killed, when
an IOF aircraft fired a missile at them, while they were attempting to launch
locally made rockets at Israeli towns. Also
during the reported period, 67 Palestinian civilians, including at least 20
children, were wounded by IOF gunfire in the Gaza Strip. Five of the wounded, including 3 children,
were from the same family, whose members were killed at the beach in Beit
Lahia. In the West Bank, 9 Palestinian
civilians, including 4 children, were wounded by IOF gunfire.
Incursions: During
the reported period, IOF conducted at least 40 military incursions into
Palestinian communities in the West Bank, particularly Nablus. During these incursions, IOF raided houses
and arrested 49 Palestinian civilians, including 12 children. Thus, the number of Palestinians arrested by
IOF since the beginning of 2006 has increased to 1,720. In addition, IOF transformed two houses into
military sites. One of those houses was
used by IOF to extra-judicially execute a Palestinian in Jenin. IOF used undercover units and trained dogs
during these incursions.
Restrictions on Movement: IOF have continued to impose a comprehensive siege
on the OPT, in violation of civil, political, economic, social and cultural
rights of Palestinian civilians.
IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the
Gaza Strip, transforming it into a large prison. IOF have continued to
monitor the movement of Palestinian civilians through Rafah International
Crossing Point on the Egyptian border. During the reported period, IOF
refused to increase working hours at the crossing in order to cope with the increasing
number of travelers during the summer. Although
IOF allowed the transportation of food aid from Egypt into the Gaza Strip
through Kerem Shalom commercial crossing, southeast of Rafah, in April 2006, the
crossing has not yet been officially opened. IOF have also continued to
prevent Palestinian workers from the Gaza Strip from reaching their work places
in Israel through Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing. They have continued
to prevent hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip from
traveling to the West Bank. IOF have partially operated al-Mentar (Karni)
commercial crossing, east of Gaza City. As a result of the repeated
closures of the crossing, the economic conditions in the Gaza Strip have
deteriorated.
IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on
Palestinian communities in 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 the
north and south of the West Bank. For
this purpose, they have closed Za’tara checkpoint, south of Nablus, and
re-established their presence at ‘Attara checkpoint, north of Ramallah. They have also erected two new checkpoints
near Ramallah. IOF positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank
abused a number of Palestinian civilians. During the reported period, IOF
at checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 8 Palestinian civilians, including a girl.
Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall
inside the West Bank. During the reported period, IOF razed areas of
Palestinian agricultural land in ‘Azzoun ‘Atma village, south of Qalqilya, near
“Uranit” settlement, west of the village, and near “Sha’ari Tekva” settlement,
east of the village. IOF plan to
establish a new settler road linking these two settlements. IOF also demolished a house and an animal
farm in Toura al-Gharbiya village, southwest of Jenin. On 9 June 2006, IOF 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, 7 Palestinians
civilians, including 4 children, were wounded.
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. During the reported period, Israeli settlers
launched 3 attacks on Palestinian civilians and property in Bethlehem and
Hebron, which injured 6 civilians and damaged 4 houses.
Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (8–14 June 2006)
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