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

· 5
Palestinians were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip.

· Two
of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF.

· 29
Palestinian civilians, including 9 children and a woman, were wounded by IOF
gunfire.

· IOF
have continued to shell Palestinian areas in the northern Gaza Strip, wounding
a number of civilians and damaging civilian property.

· IOF
conducted 42 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, particularly
Nablus, and one incursion into the Gaza Strip.

· 55
Palestinian civilians, including a child, were arrested by IOF.

· A
house was transformed by IOF into a military site.

· IOF
raided a hospital in Nablus and arrested a patient from the intensive care
unit.

· 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 its south; and IOF arrested two Palestinian civilians, including
a child, 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 “Shavi Shomron” settlement in the north of the
West Bank; and IOF confiscated 1495 dunums[1]
of land in Qalqilya and Tulkarm.

· Israeli
settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property in the OPT;
7 civilian facilities were demolished by IOF; and 4 Palestinian civilians,
including a child and a woman, were injured by attacks launched by Israeli
settlers.

Summary

Israeli
violations of international law continued in the OPT during the reported period
(1–7 June 2006):

Killing: During
the reported period, IOF killed five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. On Monday evening, 5 June 2006, IOF
extra-judicially executed two members of the Palestinian Popular Resistance
Committees (PRC) and wounded two other members, as well as two civilian
bystanders, in Jabalya town in the northern Gaza Strip, when an IOF aircraft
launched two missiles at a civilian car.  According to PCHR’s
documentation, IOF have committed eighteen extra-judicial executions since the
beginning of 2006, which have killed fifty-four Palestinians, including fifteen
non-targeted persons.  This number includes six children.  On Wednesday, 7 June 2006, IOF fired an
artillery shell at two Palestinians, who were attempting to infiltrate into
Israel, to the east of Gaza Strip. The
two men and a member of the Palestinian National Security Forces, who was
on-duty at the time, were killed. 

During the
reported period, IOF continued to shell Palestinian areas in the Gaza
Strip. As a result, eleven Palestinian
civilians, including six children and a woman, were wounded. IOF aircrafts also conducted a series of mock
air raids over the Gaza Strip, and shelled a civilian facility in Gaza City and
uninhabited areas in the northern Gaza Strip. In the West bank, twelve civilians, including an Israeli solidarity
activist, were wounded by IOF gunfire.

Incursions:
 During the reported period, IOF also conducted at least 42 military
incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, especially Nablus. During these incursions, IOF raided houses
and arrested 55 Palestinian civilians, including a child. This raises the number of Palestinians
arrested by IOF since the beginning of 2006 to 1,685. In one of the incursions into Nablus, IOF
raided the Arab Biblical Hospital in the city and arrested a Palestinian, who
was receiving medical treatment in the intensive care unit.  In another incursion into al-‘Aqaba village,
southeast of Jenin, IOF raided a mosque and an IOF soldier opened fire inside.  In the Gaza Strip, IOF moved into al-Boreij
refugee camp and leveled areas of land they had already razed previously. 

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.  Although IOF have allowed the
transportation of food aid from Egypt into the Gaza Strip through Kerem Shalom
commercial crossing, southeast of Rafah, the crossing has not yet been
officially opened.  IOF have prevented the passage of trucks carrying
medical supplies from Egypt into the Gaza Strip. 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.  During the reported period, IOF positioned at various checkpoints
around Nablus imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian
civilians.  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 two Palestinian civilians, including a child.

Annexation Wall:  IOF
have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank.  After
the Israeli High Court had approved the construction of a section of the Wall
around “Shavi Shomron” settlement, northwest of Nablus, on 30 May 2006, IOF
started to raze areas of Palestinian land near the settlement. It is worth noting that IOF have completed
the construction of a section of the Wall to the east of the settlement, near the
Nablus-Jenin road, which they have kept closed since 15 August 2006. During the reported period, IOF issued a
number of military orders confiscating 1,495 dunums of land in Qalqilya and
Tulkarm for the purpose of the construction of the Wall. On 2 June 2006, IOF used force to disperse a
peaceful demonstration organized in protest to the construction of the Wall in Bal’ein
village, west of the Wall in Ramallah.  IOF fired rubber-coated metal
bullets, tear gas canisters and sound bombs at the demonstrators.  As a
result, 7 Palestinians civilians and an Israeli solidarity activist 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, IOF demolished 7
civilian facilities in the West Bank, in preparation for the implementation of
the Israeli Convergence Plan. In
addition, Israeli settlers launched 3 attacks on Palestinian civilians and
property in Hebron, which injured 4 civilians, including a child and a woman. 

 

Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (1–7 June 2006)

Download the full report
here.