Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue
Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT)
· Two
Palestinian civilians – a woman and a disabled young man – were killed by IOF
in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
· 13
Palestinian civilians, including 7 children, were wounded by IOF in the West
Bank.
· IOF
conducted 31 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
· Houses
were raided and 83 Palestinian civilians were arrested by IOF.
· 10
houses were transformed by IOF into military sites.
· IOF
shelled an apartment building in the northern Gaza Strip.
· IOF
have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT, especially in the West Bank;
the eastern part of the West Bank was isolated from the remainder of the West
Bank; and IOF arrested 11 Palestinian civilians, including 4 children, at
checkpoints in the West Bank.
· IOF
have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the West Bank; IOF uprooted
400 trees in Beit Siera village near Ramallah; they established a separation
fence around “Shavi Shomron” settlement near Nablus; they isolated
Marda village between an iron fence and a separation wall around “Ariel”
settlement near Nablus; IOF used force against Palestinian civilians protesting
against the construction of the Wall in Bal’ein and ‘Aaboud villages near
Ramallah.
· Israeli
settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property in the OPT;
a Palestinian child was injured; Israeli settlers wrote slogans insulting
Prophet Mohammed on the walls of a mosque; settlers closed the Nablus –
Qalqilya road; and IOF demolished two houses in Jerusalem.
Summary
Israeli
violations of international law continued in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
(OPT) during the reporting period (9 – 15 February 2006):
Killing: During the reported period, IOF killed two
Palestinian civilians. On 13 February
2006, IOF shot dead a Palestinian woman who was grazing animals nearly 250
meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. On 15 February 2006, IOF shot dead a mentally
handicapped Palestinian civilian in Qabatya village, southeast of Jenin. During the reported period, IOF shelled
Palestinian communities in the Gaza Strip. An artillery shell hit an apartment building in the northern Gaza Strip. IOF also fired at Palestinian civilians
during incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. As a result, 13 civilians were wounded,
including 7 who were wounded in extra-judicial executions.
Incursions:
IOF conducted 31 military incursions
into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF raided houses and arrested 83 Palestinian
civilians, including 12 children. IOF
also transformed 10 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 big prison. Rafah International Crossing Point on the
Egyptian border, the sole outlet for the Gaza Strip to the outside world, has
been partially reopened. The crossing
point is operated for 8 hours a day only. IOF reopened Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing and allowed less than 4,000
Palestinian workers to travel to their work places inside Israel. Palestinian
workers are also checked in a special room that is equipped with an as yet
unidentified type of x-ray machine. Although IOF reopened al-Mentar
(Karni) commercial crossing, east of Gaza City, they allowed the entry of
foodstuffs only.
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. IOF have completed cutting off the eastern
sector of the West Bank from the remainder of the West Bank. Some 2,000,000 Palestinian
residents of the West Bank are prohibited from entering the area, which
constitutes around one-third of the West Bank, and includes the Jordan Valley,
the area of the Dead Sea shoreline and the eastern slopes of the West Bank
mountains. IOF have continued to prevent Palestinians
aged below 45 from entering the al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday Prayers. During
the reported period, IOF arrested 11 Palestinian civilians, including 4
children, at various checkpoints in the West Bank.
Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall
inside West Bank territory. During the reported period, IOF continued to
construct a separation barrier around “Shavi Shomron” settlement,
northwest of Nablus. IOF constructed
cement sections at a distance of nearly 500 meters at the eastern border of the
settlement near the Nablus – Jenin road. IOF uprooted at least 400 olive trees in Beit Siera village, west of
Ramallah, for the purpose of the construction of a section of the Wall. IOF also closed the sole entrance to Marda
village, west of Nablus, with an iron gate intended to control the movement of
Palestinian civilians to and from the village. IOF installed the iron gate after they had placed an iron fence to the
north of the village and constructed a barrier to the south of the village in
order to separate it from “Ariel” settlement. In addition, IOF used force to disperse
peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians in protest to the
construction of the Wall in Bal’ein and ‘Aaboud villages near Ramallah. Four Palestinian civilians were wounded by
rubber-coated metal bullets. IOF also
arrested and violently beat 15 demonstrators, but released them later.
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 launched
5 attacks on Palestinian civilians and property in the West Bank. As a result of these attacks, a Palestinian
child was injured. Two Israeli settlers
also wrote slogans insulting the Prophet Mohammed on the walls of a mosque in
Nabi Elias village, east of Qalqilya. A
number of Israeli settlers closed the Nablus –Qalqilya road. They also attacked houses near Nablus. In addition, IOF demolished two houses in
East Jerusalem.
Israeli Violations
Documented during the Reporting Period (9 – 15 February 2006)
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