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

· 5
Palestinians, including a child, were killed by IOF.

· An
extra-judicial judicial execution carried out by IOF failed.

· 18
Palestinians were wounded by IOF gunfire.

· IOF
continued to shell Palestinian areas in the Gaza Strip.

· IOF
conducted 27 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

· 44
Palestinian civilians, including 4 children, were arrested by IOF.

· 6
houses were transformed by IOF into military sites.

· IOF
have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; Qalandya checkpoint has been
transformed into a border crossing between the West Bank and Israel; IOF have
continued to closed Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the Gaza Strip; and IOF
arrested 7 Palestinian civilians, including two children, at checkpoints in the
West Bank.

· IOF
have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the West Bank; IOF resumed
the construction of the Wall in the Dahiat al-Barid area to the north of
Jerusalem; IOF confiscated 80 dunums[1]
of land in Bethlehem; and IOF used forced against peaceful demonstrations
organized against the construction of the Wall.

· Israeli
settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property in the OPT;
5 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, were injured; and Israeli
settlers uprooted at least 400 olive trees in Yatta village near Hebron.

Summary

Following his
party’s victory in the Israeli elections held on 28 March 2006, Ehud Olmert stated
that he would impose the borders of the State of Israel according to the route
of the Annexation Wall, in violation of international humanitarian law,
particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. This statement proves that the construction
of the Wall has a political rather than a security aim, as claimed by Israel.  PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties
to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to fulfill their moral and legal
obligations to ensure Israel’s respect for the Convention in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (OPT). 

Israeli
violations of international law continued in the OPT during the reporting
period (23–29 March 2006):

Killing: During the reported period, IOF killed 5
Palestinians, including a child.  On 23
March 2006, IOF killed two militants from the Palestinian resistance near the
border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. On 25 March 2006, IOF shot dead a Palestinian child near the border
between the Gaza Strip and Israel, when he attempted to enter Israel to search
for a job. On 27 March 2006, IOF killed
a militant from the Palestinian resistance near the border between the Gaza
Strip and Israel. On the same day, IOF
killed a Palestinian civilian in al-Yamoun village, southwest of Jenin. They claimed that he had fired at them but in
fact he was unarmed at the time. 

During the
reported period, 18 Palestinian civilians were wounded by the IOF gunfire.

Incursions:
IOF conducted 27 military incursions
into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF raided houses and arrested 44 Palestinian
civilians, including 4 children. In
addition, IOF transformed 6 others 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.  During the reported period, IOF partially
reopened al-Mentar (Karni) commercial crossing, east of Gaza City, but only
under strict restrictions. The Gaza
Strip had suffered from a severe economic crisis for weeks prior to this temporary
and partial reopening. On 28 March 2006,
IOF imposed a total closure on the Gaza Strip and closed all border crossings
between it and Israel. 

IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on
Palestinian communities in the West Bank and have imposed additional
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the area.  On Monday morning, 27 March 2006, IOF declared
the transformation of Qalandya checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem into a
border crossing.  Only residents of
Jerusalem, who have Israeli identity cards, and residents of the West Bank, who
have permits to enter Jerusalem, will be allowed to pass through the “crossing”. Although IOF postponed the operation of the
checkpoint as a border crossing, they have continued to conduct prolonged and
complicated electronic searches on Palestinian civilians. They have continued to humiliate and insult
civilians. 

During the reported period, IOF positioned at various
checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 7 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 level land near the entrance to Dahiat
al-Barid area, north of Jerusalem, in order to construct a new section of the
Wall in the area. They removed cement
blocks surrounding a checkpoint in the area. By completing the construction of this new section of the Wall, all
entrances to Dahiat al-Barid area and al-Ram village will be closed. In the meantime, on Monday morning 27 March
2006, IOF declared the operation of Qalandya checkpoint, south of Ramallah, as
a border crossing between the West Bank and Jerusalem. Qalandya checkpoint separates Ramallah and
Jerusalem. It was transformed into a
border crossing in the context of Israeli efforts to Judaize Jerusalem and
separate it from the West Bank. IOF
razed areas of Palestinian agricultural land near “Ennab” settlement, east of
Tulkarm, to establish a separation fence around the settlement.  According to eyewitnesses, IOF established a
road, which is 30 meters
wide, around the settlement in preparation for building the fence. During the reported period, IOF resumed the
construction of the separating fence around “Shavi Shomron” settlement. On 26 March 2006, IOF issued a military order
to confiscate 80 dunums of land belonging to Palestinian civilians, for the
purpose of constructing a section of the Wall near “Gili” settlement. In addition, IOF used force to disperse
peaceful 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. Seven Palestinian civilians were wounded by
rubber-coated metal bullets and others suffered from tear gas inhalation. IOF also arrested 3 Palestinian civilians and
4 Israeli solidarity activists.

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, 5
Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, were injured in attacks made by
Israeli settlers. The settlers also
uprooted at least 400 olives trees and damaged a number of houses. 

 

Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (23-29 March 2006)

Download the full report
here.