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

· 19
Palestinians, including 3 children, were killed by IOF.a

· 10
of the victims, including a man, his child and two brothers, were extra-judicially
executed by IOF.

· 94
Palestinians, including 32 children, were wounded by IOF gunfire.

· IOF
continued to shell Palestinian areas in the Gaza Strip, particularly the
northern area.

· IOF
conducted 27 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, concentrated
mainly in Nablus.

· 70
Palestinian civilians, including 5 children and a girl, were arrested by IOF.

· 7
houses were transformed by IOF into military sites.

· IOF
broke into al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron and arrested two injured Palestinians.

· IOF
have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF have closed border
crossings in the Gaza Strip; a new permanent checkpoint was established at Jeet
intersection, southwest of Nablus; and IOF arrested 5 Palestinian civilians,
including two children, at checkpoints in the West Bank.

· IOF
have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the West Bank; IOF continued
the construction of the Wall in the Dahiat al-Barid area to the north of
Jerusalem and near “Shavi Shomron” settlement; IOF are transforming the
Container checkpoint, south of Jerusalem, into a border crossing, similar to
Qalandya crossing.

· Israeli
settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property in the OPT;
settlers seized a house in the old town of Hebron.

Summary

Israeli
violations of international law continued in the OPT during the reporting
period (6–12 April 2006):

Killing: During the reported period, IOF killed 19
Palestinians, including three children.

In the Gaza
Strip, two Palestinian civilians were killed by IOF artillery shelling that
targeted the northern Gaza Strip on 9 and 10 April. Eleven Palestinians, including a man, his
child and two brothers, were extra-judicially executed by IOF on 7 and 8 April 2006 in Rafah and Khan
Yunis respectively. Two members of the
Palestinian resistance were killed in Gaza City on 8 April 2006, when an IOF
aircraft launched a missile at their car. 

In the West
Bank, two Palestinian civilians were killed by IOF in Nablus on 7 and 8 April 2006. A Palestinian child was seriously wounded by
IOF in Seilat al-Harthiya village near Jenin on 8 April 2006 and was later pronounced
dead on 11 April 2006. A fourth
Palestinian was killed when he exchanged fire with IOF when they came to arrest
him in Beit Ta’mar village, east of Bethlehem, on 9 April 2006. 

During the
reported period, IOF continued to shell Palestinian areas in the Gaza
Strip. They fired artillery shells at
houses. IOF also employed war planes to
shell civilian targets. A number of
houses and civilian facilities were damaged and 54 civilians, including 32
children, were injured.

During the
reported period, 40 Palestinian civilians, including 36 in Nablus, were wounded
by IOF gunfire.

Incursions:
During the reported period, IOF carried
out numerous incursions into Nablus. They killed two Palestinian civilians, including a child, and wounded 36
others. They also arrested 24
Palestinian civilians, including a girl, and transformed 5 houses into military
sites. During the reported period, IOF
conducted 27 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF raided houses
and arrested 46 Palestinian civilians, including 5 children. In addition, IOF transformed 7 houses into
military sites.  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. 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 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 closed al-Mentar (Karni) commercial crossing, east of Gaza City. During the reported period, the crossing was
reopened for a few hours only. As a
result, 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 are imposing
severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians.  IOF positioned at Za’tara checkpoint, south of
Nablus, have prevented residents of Jenin from passing through the
checkpoint. During the reported period,
IOF positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 5 Palestinian
civilians, including two children.

Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall
inside the West Bank.  During the reported period, IOF continued to construct
a section of the Wall in the Dahiat al-Barid area, north of Jerusalem. They also continued to construct the
separating fence around “Shavi Shomron” settlement, northwest of Nablus.  Following a petition submitted by residents of
the al-Mawahel quarter of Beit Hanina village, north of Jerusalem, against the
construction of the Wall in the area, IOF closed the entrance of the quarter,
which leads to Bir Nabala village, and replaced a checkpoint erected on the
main road leading to the quarter with barbed wire. IOF also continued preparations to transform
the Container checkpoint at the southern entrance of Jerusalem into a border
crossing between the West Bank and Jerusalem. During the reported period, IOF used force against demonstrations
organized by Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli peace
activists in protest to the construction of the Wall in Bal’ein and Beit Siera
villages, west of Ramallah. A number of
demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation. 

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
seized a house in the old town of Hebron. 

 

Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (6–12 April 2006)

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here.