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

· 3
Palestinians killed by IOF. 

· Two
Palestinians were extra-judicially executed by IOF in Bethlehem.

· 20
Palestinian civilians, including 10 children, were wounded by the IOF gunfire.

· IOF
continued to shell Palestinian areas in the Gaza Strip, especially the northern
area, wounding 3 Palestinian civilians and damaging a number of houses and
civilian facilities.

· IOF
conducted 38 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank,
especially Nablus.

· 72
Palestinian civilians, including 5 children and 4 women, were arrested by IOF.

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

· IOF
have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; a Palestinian civilian drowned
in rain floods when he attempted to bypass a checkpoint near Nablus; IOF have
closed border crossings of the Gaza Strip; the north of the West Bank has been
separated from its south; and IOF arrested 5 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 land in Yatta village, south of Hebron, and IOF used force against
peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to the construction of the Wall.

Summary

Israeli
violations of international law continued in the OPT during the reported period
(20 – 26 April 2006):

Killing: On Sunday evening, 23 April 2006, Israeli Occupation
Forces (IOF) extra-judicially executed two members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades, the military wing of Fatah, in Bethlehem.  IOF also wounded and
arrested a third member.  IOF later claimed that one of the victims had
died from his wounds following his evacuation to Hadasa Hospital in Jerusalem,
but investigations conducted by PCHR refute this claim and indicated that IOF might
have executed the victim after his arrest.  On Wednesday evening, 26 April
2006, IOF shot dead a Palestinian in al-Yamoun village, west of Jenin, as he
raided a pistol when IOF were surrounding a house in the village. 

During the
reported period, 17 Palestinian civilians, including 13 ones in Nablus, were
wounded by the IOF gunfire in the West Bank.

During the
reported period, IOF continued to shell Palestinian areas in the Gaza
Strip. A number of houses and civilian
facilities were damaged and 3 civilians, including two children, were wounded.

Incursions:
During the reported period, IOF
repeatedly moved into Nablus. IOF also conducted
41 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF raided houses
and arrested 72 Palestinian civilians, including 5 children and 4 women. In addition, IOF transformed a house into a military
site.  IOF used undercover units and trained
dogs during these incursions. In an
attempt to exert pressure on allegedly wanted Palestinian to surrender, IOF
arrested 4 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. Even though IOF allowed
the transportation of food aids from Egypt into the Gaza Strip through Kerem
Shalom commercial crossing, southeast of Rafah, the crossing have not 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 closed al-Mentar (Karni) commercial crossing, east of Gaza City, on 26 April 2006,
after it had been opened for a few days. As a result of the repeated closure 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. They have imposed additional restrictions on the movement of Palestinian
civilians in the West Bank as they imposed a total siege on the OPT. 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. IOF claimed that
this measure is temporary and was taken following the bombing in Tel Aviv on 17
April 2006. However, Palestinians
wishing to travel from the north to the south of the West bank are required by
IOF to obtain permits from the IOF civil administration. A Palestinian civilian died as rain floods
pushed him when he attempted to bypass a checkpoint near Nablus, which was
closed by IOF. During the reported
period, IOF positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 5 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 land to the east of Yatta village, south of Hebron, to construct a
new section of the Wall. IOF also used
force against peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to the construction
of the Wall. One demonstrator was
wounded by a rubber-coated metal bullet, and 11 others sustained bruises as
they were beaten by IOF. In addition,
IOF arrested 11 demonstrators, including a number of international and Israeli
solidarity activists.  

 

Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (20 – 26 April 2006)

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