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

· 8 Palestinians, including 3 civilians, were killed by IOF
in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

· 5 of the victims were killed by IOF during an offensive
against the southern Gaza Strip.

· 12 Palestinians were wounded by the IOF gunfire in the Gaza
Strip, and 9 persons, including 5 journalists and an Israeli human rights
defender, sustained bruises in the West Bank.

· IOF conducted 22 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank, invaded the south of the Gaza Strip and moved into its north.

· IOF arrested 28 Palestinian civilians, including 4 children,
in the West Bank and one in the Gaza Strip.

· IOF razed 133 donums of agricultural land in Khan Yunis.

· IOF transformed a number of houses into military sites.

· IOF raided a number of media institutions in Nablus,
confiscated equipment and closed one of them.

· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT.

· IOF have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world and
a humanitarian crisis has emerged.

· The number of patients who died due to the denial of their
access to medical treatment increased to 15.

· IOF troops positioned at checkpoints in the West Bank
arrested 7 Palestinian civilians, including a child and a girl.

· IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank
and Israeli settlers have continued to attacks Palestinian civilians and
property.

· IOF demolished a house in Jerusalem.

· Israeli settlers uprooted 32 olive trees in Hebron.

Summary

Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting
period (6 – 12 December 2007):

Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed
8 Palestinians, including 3 civilians, and wounded 12 others in the Gaza Strip.
Additionally, 9 persons, including 5 journalists and an Israeli human rights
defender, sustained bruises by IOF in the West Bank.

In the Gaza Strip, on
6 December 2007, IOF shot dead a Palestinian civilian while he was hunting
birds near the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Jabalya. On 7
December 2007, IOF shot dead a Palestinian farmer in Khuza’a village, east of
Khan Yunis. On 11 December 2007, IOF killed 5 Palestinians, including one
civilian, during a wide scale offensive on the southern Gaza Strip. Nine
Palestinians were also wounded. On the same day, an IOF air strike killed a
member of the Palestinian resistance and wounded 3 others in the northern Gaza
Strip town of Beit Hanoun.

In the West Bank, On
30 November 2007, 8 Palestinian civilians, including 5 journalists, and an
Israeli human rights defender sustained bruises when IOF troops used force to
disperse peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians and
international and Israeli human rights defenders in protest to the construction
of the Annexation Wall in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah, and al-Ma’sara
village, south of Bethlehem.

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 22 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. During those incursions, IOF arrested 28 Palestinian civilians,
including 4 children. Thus, the number of Palestinians arrested by IOF in the
West Bank since the beginning of this year has mounted to 2,553. During the
reporting period, IOF transformed 3 Palestinian houses into military sites. IOF
also raided a number of media offices in Nablus, confiscated media equipment
and closed Afaq TV.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 2 incursions into al-Fukhari
area in the southern Gaza Strip and Beit Hanoun town in the north. During those
incursions, IOF killed 6 Palestinians, razed 133 donums of agricultural land,
damaged a factory and arrested one Palestinian civilian.

Restrictions on Movement: IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT
and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the
Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.

Gaza Strip

IOF have continued to close all border crossings of
the Gaza Strip for nearly 17 months. The total siege imposed by IOF on the Gaza
Strip has left disastrous impacts on the humanitarian situation and has
violated the economic and social rights of the Palestinian civilian population,
particularly the rights to appropriate living conditions, health and education.
It has also paralyzed most economic sectors. Furthermore, severe restrictions
have been imposed on the movement of the Palestinian civilian population.
Moreover, the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip has severely impacted the flow of
food, medical supplies and other necessities such as fuel, construction
materials and raw materials for various economic sectors. IOF have further
tightened the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip since Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza
Strip, and the living and economic conditions of Palestinian civilians have
further deteriorated. On 19 September 2007, the Israeli government declared the
Gaza Strip as “a hostile entity” and accordingly measures of collective punishment
against Gaza escalated. Since that time, IOF have limited the goods exported to
the Gaza Strip to only 9 basic materials. As a consequence, local markets ran
out of many goods, which caused a sharp increase in prices, which mounted to
500% for some goods. Israeli occupation forces have banned the flow of some
medicines, furniture, electrical appliances and cigarettes into the Gaza Strip,
and have decreased the amounts of some goods allowed into the Gaza Strip, such
as fruits, milk and some dairy products.

West Bank

IOF have continued to
impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians to and from
Jerusalem. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip have been denied access to the city. IOF have established many
checkpoints around and inside the city. Restrictions of the movement of
Palestinian civilians often escalate on Fridays to prevent them from praying at
the al-Aqsa Mosque. IOF often violently beat Palestinian civilians who attempt
to bypass checkpoints and enter the city. IOF have also tightened the siege
imposed on Palestinian communities in the West Bank. IOF positioned at
various checkpoints in the West Bank have continued to impose severe
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. IOF also erected more
checkpoints on the main roads and intersections in the West Bank. During the
reporting period, IOF troops positioned at checkpoints and border crossings in
the West Bank arrested at least 7 Palestinian civilians, including a girl and
child.

Settlement Activities: IOF have continued settlement
activities and Israeli settlers living in the OPT in violation of
international humanitarian law have continued to attack Palestinian civilians
and property. On Tuesday morning, 11 December 2007, IOF demolished a house in
the old town of Jerusalem claiming that it was built without a license. On 6
December 2007, Israeli settlers from “Sousia” settlement, south of Hebron,
uprooted 32 olive trees from a tract of agricultural land belonging to Yasser
Radhi al-Nawaj’a in Kherbat Sousia area, south of Hebron. On 7 December 2007,
dozens of Israeli settlers, accompanied by IOF troops, arrived at al-Jumjoma
Mount near bypass road #60, northeast of Hebron. They set up 3 tents and raised
the Israeli flag. They remained in the area until night, when the Israeli
police eventually evacuated them.

Israeli Violations Documented
during the Reporting Period (6 – 12 December 2007)

The
full report is available PDF format.