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

· 4
Palestinians, including a woman and her son, were killed by IOF in the West
Bank.

· One
of the victims was extra-judicially executed by IOF in Jenin.

· 18
Palestinian civilians, including 10 children, were wounded by IOF. 

· IOF
conducted 54 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

· Houses
were raided and 94 Palestinian civilians, including 11 children, were arrested
by IOF.

· 6
houses and a shop were transformed by IOF into military sites.

· An
IOF dog bit an elderly woman in Kufor al-Dik village near Nablus.

· IOF
have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF have imposed severe
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians and election candidates in
the West Bank; IOF have obstructed the election campaigns in East Jerusalem;
IOF have arrested 13 candidates and volunteers of election campaigns; IOF have
imposed a partial closure on the Gaza Strip; and IOF arrested 5 Palestinian
civilians at checkpoints in the West Bank.

· IOF
have continued to construct the Annexation Wall in the West Bank.

· Israeli
settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property in the OPT;
Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian civilians and property in Hebron; they
uprooted 120 olive trees in Yatta village; they seized at least 150 dunums[1]
of land in Dura village; and IOF demolished 5 houses.   

Summary

Israeli
violations of international law continued in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
(OPT) during the reporting period (5 – 18 January 2006):

Killing: During the reported period, IOF killed 4
Palestinians, including a woman and her son, in the West Bank. On 12 January 2006, IOF extra-judicially executed
a Palestinian in Jenin, while another Palestinian blew himself up. The two were members of the al-Quds Brigades,
the military wing of Islamic Jihad.  On 15
January 2006, IOF killed a Palestinian woman and her son and wounded 5 other
members of the same family in Roujib village, east of Nablus, for no apparent
reason.  Israeli military sources claimed that IOF fired at the house in
response to gunfire from the house. On
17 January 2006, IOF killed a Palestinian gunman who clashed with them when they
came to arrest him in Tulkarm. In
addition 18 Palestinian civilians were wounded by IOF gunfire in the West Bank.
   

Incursions:
IOF conducted 54 military incursions
into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF raided houses and arrested 94 Palestinian
civilians, including 11 children. IOF
also transformed 6 houses into military sites.  IOF used undercover units and trained dogs during
these incursions. An IOF dog bit an
elderly woman in Kufor al-Dik village near Nablus.   

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. Even though IOF reopened Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing on 15
January 2006 and allowed dozens of Palestinian workers to travel to their work
places inside Israel, they re-closed it on 18 January 2006. IOF also closed al-Mentar (Karni)
commercial crossing, east of Gaza City, on 15 January 2006 and closed Sofa
crossing, northeast of Rafah, on 18 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.  Since the beginning of this year, IOF have
separated the north of the West Bank from other Palestinian communities. 
These measures have coincided with the initiation of campaigns for Palestinian
parliamentary elections.  IOF have operated Qalandiya checkpoint between
Ramallah and Jerusalem, and have transformed Za’tra checkpoint, south of
Nablus, into a crossing.  Thus, IOF have divided the West Bank into 3
separate zones whose contiguity is controlled by them.  IOF have continued
to prevent residents of the towns of Tulkarm and Jenin from crossing Za’tara
checkpoint.  Furthermore, since the beginning of this year, IOF have
allowed humanitarian cases only to cross the aforementioned checkpoint. 
These penal measures have impacted at least 800,000 Palestinians living in the
northern West Bank and thousands of traders, workers, employees and students
from the center and south of the West Bank, who have interests in the northern
West Bank.  These measures have violated Palestinian civil, political,
economic, social and cultural rights. These measures have coincided with the
initiation of campaigns for the upcoming parliamentary elections.  IOF
have imposed severe restrictions on the movement of candidates and their staff
not only in East Jerusalem, but also throughout the West Bank, including
Palestinian communities isolated behind the Annexation Wall. 
Additionally, IOF have prohibited the movement of candidates between the West
Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.  During the
reported period, IOF arrested 13 candidates and volunteers of election
campaigns. IOF positioned at various checkpoints
also arrested 5 Palestinian civilians. 

Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall
inside the West Bank territory.  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. They also continued to raze areas of land in
‘Aaboud village, northwest of Ramallah, in Bal’ein village, west of the town,
and in Beit Jala town for the purpose of the construction of sections of the
Wall. On 9 January 2006, the Israeli
High Court rejected a petition submitted by Palestinian civilians from the
villages of Beit Siera and Shaqba, west of Ramallah, against the route of the
Wall near “Mode’in” settlement. The court also canceled all previous temporary injunctions stopping the
construction of the Wall in the area. According to Israeli sources, the Israeli Defense Minister ordered IOF
to complete the construction of the Wall near East Jerusalem by the end of
March 2006. 

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 a series of attacks on
Palestinian civilians and property in Hebron. They also uprooted 120 olive trees in Yatta village, south of Hebron;
and seized 150 dunums of land in Dura village, southwest of the town. IOF demolished 5 houses in the West Bank.   

Israeli Violations
Documented during the Reporting Period (5 – 18 January 2006)

Download the full report
here.