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

· 20 Palestinians, including one civilian, were killed by IOF
in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

· 18 of the victims are members of the military wing of Hamas
and were killed by missiles and tanks shells.

· 22 Palestinians, including a woman, were wounded by IOF in
the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

· IOF conducted 19 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank and 2 ones into the Gaza Strip.

· IOF arrested 56 Palestinian civilians, including a child,
in the West Bank and 3 others in the Gaza Strip.

· 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 13.

· The Gaza Strip is suffering a serious shortage of fuels.

· IOF troops positioned at checkpoints in the West Bank
arrested 2 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children.

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

· 4 Palestinian civilians were wounded IOF used force to
disperse a peaceful demonstration organized in protest to the construction of
the Wall.

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

Summary

Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting
period (29 November – 5 December 2007):

Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed
20 Palestinians, including one civilian, and wounded 222 others, including a
woman, in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF
killed 18 members of the ‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades (the military wing of
Hamas) and 17 others were wounded in 7 separate attacks throughout the Gaza
Strip. A Palestinian civilian was also wounded and arrested by IOF that had
moved into Wadi al-Salqa village in the central Gaza Strip on 3 December 2007.

In the West Bank, on 2
December 2007, IOF killed a Palestinian civilian near Ramallah, when they
deliberately fired at him when he was having a picnic together with 2 of his
relatives. On 5 December 2007, an IOF undercover unit shot dead a member of the
Palestinian National Security Forces in Bethlehem. On 30 November 2007, 4
Palestinian civilians were wounded when IOF troops used force to disperse a
peaceful demonstration 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.

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 19 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. During those incursions, IOF arrested 56 Palestinian civilians,
including a child. Thus, the number of Palestinians arrested by IOF in the West
Bank since the beginning of this year has mounted to 2,525. During the
reporting period, IOF transformed 3 Palestinian houses into military sites.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 2 incursions into Beit
Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip, and Wadi al-Salqa in the central Gaza
Strip. During those incursions, IOF wounded and arrested a Palestinian
civilian, and arrested his two sons.

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. During the reporting
period, IOF sharply decreased the amounts of fuels allowed entry into the Gaza
Strip (for more details, see PCHR’s press release on 29 November 2007).

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 2 Palestinian civilians.

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 29 November 2007, at least 10 Israeli settlers from “Ma’oun”
settlement, south of Hebron, closed the road that links Yatta town with Kherbat
Touba areas with rocks and sand. IOF troops were present in the area, but did
not intervene to prevent the settlers from closing the road.

Israeli Violations Documented
during the Reporting Period (22 – 28 November 2007)

The
full report is available PDF format.