Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Escalate
Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT)
· IOF
shot dead a Palestinian woman the West Bank and extra-judicially executed a
Palestinian activist in the Gaza Strip.
· Two
Palestinians were extra-judicially executed by IOF in Bethlehem.
· 17
Palestinian civilians, including 7 children, were wounded by IOF gunfire.
· IOF
continued to shell Palestinian areas in the northern Gaza Strip; two members of
the Palestinian National Security Forces were killed and a third was wounded,
when they attempted to deactivate an unexploded shell fired by IOF.
· IOF
conducted 37 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, particularly
Nablus.
· 111
Palestinian civilians, including 14 children and two women, 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
partially close border crossings of the Gaza Strip, the north of the West Bank
has been separated from the center and south; IOF abused a number of
Palestinian civilians, including journalists, at checkpoints in Hebron; and IOF
arrested the wife and mother of an allegedly wanted Palestinian in the West
Bank.
· IOF
have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the West Bank; IOF razed more
areas of land in Yatta village, south of Hebron; IOF started to construct a
fence around Sho’fat refugee camp near Jerusalem; and IOF used force against
peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to the construction of the Wall,
wounding 5 demonstrators with rubber-coated metal bullets.
· Israeli
settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property in the OPT;
Israeli settlers launched daily attacks on Palestinian civilians and their
property in Hebron.
Summary
Israeli
violations of international law continued in the OPT during the reported period
(27 April–3 May 2006):
Killing: On Thursday morning, 27 April 2006, IOF
extra-judicially executed a member of the Islamic Jihad and wounded another in
al-Zawaida village in the central Gaza Strip. On Monday morning, 1 May 2006, IOF shot dead a Palestinian woman in
Thinnaba suburb, east of Tulkarm, and wounded her three daughters. IOF fired at the family’s house from a neighboring
house they had seized and transformed into a military site. On Tuesday, 2 May 2006, two members of the
Palestinian National Security Forces were killed and a third was seriously
wounded, when one of them attempted to deactivate an unexploded artillery shell
fired by IOF at the north of Beit Lahia town, in the northern Gaza Strip.
During the
reported period, 17 Palestinian civilians (9 in the West Bank and 8 in the Gaza Strip),
including 7 children, were wounded by IOF gunfire. During the reported period, IOF continued to
shell Palestinian areas in the Gaza Strip. A number of houses and civilian facilities were damaged.
Incursions:
During the reported period, IOF
repeatedly moved into Nablus. IOF also conducted
37 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF raided houses
and arrested 111 Palestinian civilians, including 14 children and two women. In addition, IOF transformed two houses into
military sites. IOF used undercover
units and trained dogs during these incursions. In an attempt to exert pressure on allegedly wanted Palestinians to
surrender, IOF arrested a number of their wives and mothers.
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 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 reopened 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. IOF claimed that
this measure is temporary. 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, including journalists. During the reported period, IOF at a
checkpoint near Nablus arrested the wife and mother of an allegedly wanted
Palestinian.
Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall
inside the West Bank. During the reported period, IOF continued to raze
areas of Palestinian land in Kherbat al-Tawani area to the east of Yatta
village, south of Hebron, in order to construct a section of the Wall in the
area. IOF engineering units also placed
signs for the route of the Wall in al-Baq’a area in the northeast of
Hebron. According to eyewitnesses, IOF
will construct a section of the Wall in the area on thousands of dunums of Palestinian
agricultural land. IOF started to
establish a road linking villages located to the northwest of Jerusalem with
the road leading to Ramallah, through al-Jeeb village. IOF decided to establish this road after they
had closed all outlets of the Wall in the area. They claim that they decided to establish the road “to make it easier
for Palestinians to move in the area.” On
Sunday, 30 April 2006, the Israeli cabinet voted to reroute an area near the
major settlement of “Ariel” deep in the West Bank and approved putting
temporary fencing around areas of Jerusalem. These moves came in an effort to overcome
temporary injunctions issued by the Israeli High Court stopping the
construction of the Wall in some areas. According to the Israeli cabinet’s latest decisions, Beit Eksa village,
north of Jerusalem, would be put on the Palestinian side of the enclosure. According to Israeli sources, the rerouting
of the Wall around “Ariel” settlements aims to link it with the main route of
the Wall to the south instead of the already decided route to the West Bank. On the following day, IOF placed barbed wire
around Sho’fat refugee camp and the neighboring Ras Khamis area, north of
Jerusalem, to separate them from Jerusalem. The separation of the camp from Jerusalem will impact the access of its
population to educational and medical services in the city. Palestinians living outside the camp will
also face difficulties in accessing services inside the camp.
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
living in “Kiryat Arba” settlement, southeast of Hebron, seized more areas of
Palestinian land near the settlement. They also launched a series of attacks on Palestinian houses in Hebron.
Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (27 April–3 May 2006)
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