Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue
Systematic Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (OPT), and Impose More Measures of Collective Punishment
against the Gaza Strip
· 15 Palestinians were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip.
· The victims include a disabled civilian and 4 policemen.
· A Palestinian from Nablus died from a previous wound.
· 29 Palestinians, including 9 children, 2 women, an old man,
a journalist and human rights defender, were wounded by IOF.
· IOF conducted 37 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank and 12 ones into the Gaza Strip.
· IOF arrested 78 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children
and 2 women, in the West Bank and one in the Gaza Strip.
· IOF razed at least 32 donums[1] of
agricultural land in the Gaza Strip.
· IOF destroyed a complete community near Hebron and forced
Palestinian civilians to move to the east of the Wall.
· 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.
· IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside
the West Bank.
· 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 (25 – 31 October 2007):
Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed
15 Palestinians, including a disabled civilian, in the Gaza Strip, and a 16th
Palestinian from Nablus died from a previous wound. IOF also wounded 29 others,
including 9 children, 2 woman, an old man, a journalists and human rights
defender, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF
killed 15 Palestinians, including a disabled civilian and 4 policemen, and
wounded 29 others, including 5 children and 2 women and an old man. In the West
Bank a Palestinian died on 30 October 2007 from a previous wound he had
sustained on 16 October 2007. Six civilians, including 4 children, were also
wounded by IOF. Three of these civilians (a Palestinian child, an Italian
journalist and an Italian human rights activist) were wounded when IOF 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 Wall in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah.
Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 37 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. During those incursions, IOF arrested 78 Palestinian civilians,
including 6 children and 2 women. Thus, the number of Palestinians arrested by
IOF in the West Bank since the beginning of this year has mounted to 2,261.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF
conducted 12 incursions into Palestinian communities. During those incursions,
IOF troops killed a number of Palestinians, transformed a number of houses into
military sites, arrested one Palestinian civilian and razed 32 donums of
agricultural land.
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 16 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. During the reporting period, the Israeli government
declared the Gaza Strip as “an enemy entity,” which implies imposing more
restrictions and measures of collective punishment against the Palestinian
civilian population. On 19 September
2007, the Israeli government declared the Gaza Strip as “an enemy 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, cows 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. IOF have also continued to impose severe
restrictions on fishing in the Gaza Strip.
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. They have isolated
Jerusalem from the rest of 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.
Annexation Wall: IOF have continued to construct the
Annexation Wall inside the West Bank. on Tuesday, 30 October 2007, IOF,
accompanied by bulldozers, moved into Kherbet Qussa area, northwest of Hebron,
which is isolated behind the Wall. They opened fire into the air. They then
demolished 15 houses, 12 caves and 27 barnyards. At least 250 Palestinian
civilians have become homeless, and IOF forced them to leave the area.
Settlement Activities: Israeli settlers living in the OPT
in violation of international humanitarian law have continued to attack
Palestinian civilians and property. On Friday, 26 October 2007, IOF informed 7
Palestinian civilians in Hares village, west of Salfit, that their houses, in
which at least 30 individuals live, would be demolished, claming that they were
built without licenses. On the same day, 5 Israeli settlers from “Ramat Yishai”
settlement in Tal Rumaida neighborhood in the center of Hebron attacked a
nearby house belonging to Mohammed Hamed Abu ‘Eisha with stones and empty bottles.
Israeli Violations Documented
during the Reporting Period (25 – 31 October 2007)
The
full report is available PDF format.
