Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Human Rights Violations and
Siege Continue throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory
(OPT)

· 3
Palestinians, including 1 mentally-handicapped child, killed by IOF.

· 13
Palestinian civilians, including 1 child, wounded by IOF. 

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

· Houses
were raided and 53 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children, arrested by IOF
in the West Bank.

· 6
West Bank houses transformed by IOF into
military outposts.

· IOF
continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF have imposed severe
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank,
including East Jerusalem; IOF have imposed a partial closure on the Gaza Strip;
and IOF arrested 8 Palestinian civilians at checkpoints in the West Bank.

· IOF have continued to construct the
Annexation Wall in the West Bank. IOF bulldozed 150 dunums of land in Hebron; IOF erected a
cement barrier in Daheyat Al-Barid; 2 demonstrators injured by IOF in Beilin; 2
houses in Bethlehem
bulldozed by IOF; and 6 Palestinian civilians detained in Jenin and Tulkarm
near the Wall.

· Israeli settlers attack Palestinian
civilians and property; and 2 houses are demolished in Bethlehem.

Summary

IOF continued to perpetrate human rights violations
throughout the OPT during the reporting period (26 January – 1 February 2006). A number
of these violations are classified as war crimes under International
Humanitarian Law. Israeli violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
(OPT) continued during the reporting period:

Killing: During the
reported period, IOF killed 3 Palestinians. Two were victims of extra-judicial
assassinations and the third was a mentally-handicapped 9-year old girl. On 26 January 2006, IOF killed
a 9-year old Palestinian girl in Khan Yunis. IOF fired at agricultural land
east of Khan Yunis and killed the mentally-handicapped girl, who was lost. And
on 31 January 2006,
IOF committed an extra-judicial assassination in the village of Arraba
in the West Bank. The victims were the
commander of Al-Quds Battalions in the West Bank
and his assistant. In addition, 13 Palestinians, including 1 child, were
injured during the reporting period.    

Incursions: IOF conducted
27 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West
Bank.  During these incursions, IOF raided houses and
arrested 53 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children.  IOF also
transformed 6 houses into military sites.

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 for a
limited number of workers after closing it for a month.  The crossing’s
operation was handed to a private company, a step PCHR fears will lead to
transforming it into an international border crossing. IOF have continued to
close al-Mentar (Karni) commercial crossing, east of Gaza City,
since 15 January 2006. 
 

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 continue
to prevent residents of Jenin and Tulkarm from passing through Za’tara
checkpoint since 15 August
2005. Over the past month, IOF have prevented north West Bank residents, apart from a few
humanitarian cases, from passing through the checkpoint. And on 1 February 2006, IOF closed
the road connecting the northern part of the West Bank
with the center. The road was closed under the pretext of evacuating the
settlement outpost of Amouna. Eight Palestinian civilians were detained at IOF
checkpoints during the reporting period. 

Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct the
Annexation Wall inside the West Bank. 
During the reported period, IOF continued to raze areas of land to the east of
“Shavi Shomron” settlement, northwest of Nablus, to establish a wall around it. In
addition, they bulldozed an area of approximately 150 dunums in Beit El-Rosh
village. IOF demolished 2 houses in
El-Nu’man village because they were located close to the Wall. IOF used
excessive force to disperse a peaceful demonstration by Palestinian civilians,
international solidarity activists, and Israeli peace activists in Bal’ein. 2
demonstrators were injured, and a Palestinian and 3 Israelis were detained and
beaten. In addition, 6 Palestinians were detained around the Wall. 

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 from Kiryat Arba
attacked Palestinian civilians and property close to the settlement. In
addition, Palestinian civilians and property in Kufr Laqif came under settler
attacks. And on 31 January
2006, settlers carried out a series of attacks throughout the West Bank in the aftermath of evacuating the settlement
outpost of Amouna, east of Ramallah. IOF bulldozed 2 houses in El-Walja
village, northwest of Bethlehem,
and bulldozed 2 dunums of agricultural land in Al-Khader village.

In this context, the Israeli civil administration in the West Bank announced that the number of settlers there
increased by 5% in the year 2005. This increase comes despite the evacuation of
4 settlements in the northern West Bank. The
number of settlers at the end of 2005 was 253,137, compared to 241,494 at the
end of 2004. The number of settlers in the West Bank
at the end of 2005 exceeded the number of settlers in the Gaza Strip and West Bank at the end of 2004, which stood at 250,494. It
is noted that the number of West Bank settlers
increased by 3.09% in the second half of 2005.

Israeli Violations
Documented during the Reporting Period (26 January – 1 February 2006)

Download the full report
here.