Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue
Systematic Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (OPT)
· 13 Palestinians, including a child, were killed by IOF in
the Gaza Strip.
· 5 of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF.
· 47 Palestinians, including 12 children and a journalist,
were wounded by IOF.
· 30 of these Palestinians, including 6 children, were
wounded by IOF in Beit Hanoun.
· IOF shelled space areas and agricultural lands in the Gaza
Strip.
· IOF conducted 33 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank and 4 ones into the Gaza Strip.
· IOF arrested 85 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and 4
ones in the Gaza Strip.
· IOF razed 258 donums[1]
of agricultural land and demolished 23 houses in the Gaza Strip.
· IOF destroyed 2 apartment buildings in Nablus and the
neighboring ‘Ein Beit al-Maa’ refugee camp.
· IOF used a Palestinian civilian as a human shield in ‘‘Ein
Beit al-Maa’ refugee camp.
· IOF transformed 3 houses in the West Bank into military
sites.
· IOF have closed the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron during the
holy Ramadan Month for 3 sporadic days.
· 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.
· Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
have been denied access to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
· IOF troops arrested 5 Palestinian civilians at checkpoints
in the West Bank.
· IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank
and Israeli settlers have continued to attacks Palestinian civilians and
property.
· Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian child in Hebron and
2 paramedics in Bethlehem.
· An Israeli settler stabbed a Palestinian civilian in
Jerusalem.
Summary
Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting
period (20 – 26 September 2007):
Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed
13 Palestinians, including a child, and wounded 47 others, including 12 and a
journalist, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF
killed 13 Palestinians and wounded 31 others.
On 20 September 2007, IOF
killed 4 Palestinians, including 2 civilians, during an incursion into Gaza
Valley village in the central Gaza Strip. The head of one of the victims was
crushed by an IOF bulldozer as he fell in front of it when he was wounded. IOF
also arrested 2 Palestinian civilians, including a wounded one. On 26 September
2007, IOF killed 4 Palestinians, including 3 civilians, in Beit Hanoun town in
the northern Gaza Strip. In addition, 30 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were
wounded. On the same day, IOF extra-judicially executed 5 members of the Army
of Islam in Gaza City.
In the West Bank, 16
Palestinian civilians, including 6 children and a journalist, were wounded by
IOF. Twelve of these civilians were wounded during the IOF offensive against
‘Ein Beit al-Maa’ refugee camp, west of Nablus. The other 4 civilians were
wounded when IOF used forced 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 33 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. During those incursions, IOF arrested 85 Palestinian civilians,
including 12 children. Thus, the number of Palestinians arrested by IOF in the
West Bank since the beginning of this year has mounted to 2,042.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF
conducted 4 incursions into Palestinian communities in the Gaza Strip. On 20
September 2007, IOF moved into Gaza Valley village in the central Gaza Strip. During
this incursion, IOF killed 4 Palestinians. They also razed 90 donums of
agricultural land and demolished 14 houses. On 20 and 21 September 2007, IOF
moved into al-Shouka village, east of Rafah. During this incursion, they razed
111 donums of agricultural land and arrested 2 Palestinian civilians. On 25
September 2007, IOF moved into al-Fukhari area in Khan Yunis. They razed 57
donums of agricultural land and 5 houses. On 26 September 2007, IOF moved into
Beit Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip. This incursion is still ongoing.
Restrictions on Movement: On Wednesday morning, 26 September 2007, IOF imposed a
total siege on the OPT. 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 imposed a strict siege on the Gaza Strip. They have closed its border
crossings as a form of collective punishment against Palestinian civilians.
IOF have closed Rafah International
Crossing Point, even though they do not directly control it. They have
prevented European observers working at the crossing point form reaching it. IOF
had already closed Rafah International Crossing Point following an armed attack
against an IOF military post in Kerem Shalom area, southeast of Rafah, on 25
June 2006. The crossing point had been partially reopened for short, sporadic
periods to allow few numbers of Palestinian to travel through it. The crossing
point has been completely closed since Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip and
the withdrawal of Palestinian security forces from the crossing point. There
are approximately 6,000 Palestinians held at the Egyptian side of the border
awaiting to return to their homes in the Gaza Strip. Most of them have run out
of money and are living on assistance. In addition, 19 of them have died in
Egypt. The bodies were returned to Gaza through the Karm Abu Salem (Kerem
Shalom) crossing. In addition, thousands of travelers were allowed to return to
the Gaza Strip through al-Ojah crossing, 8 kilometers southeast
of Rafah. From there, they were transported to Erez Checkpoint to enter the
Gaza Strip. IOF have also
closed commercial crossings, especially al-Mentar (Karni) crossing. IOF have
continued to close Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. Hundreds of thousands of
Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have been prevented from traveling through
this crossing.
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 imposed additional
restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the city since the
beginning of the holy Ramadan Month on Thursday, 13 September 2007. Although
IOF claimed that they would ease the restrictions on access to holy sites in
the city during the Ramadan Month, but they reinforced their presence at various
checkpoints on the roads leading to the city. In Hebron, IOF have closed the
Ibrahimi Mosque for 3 sporadic days since the begging of the Ramadan Month.
IOF have 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. During
the reporting period, IOF arrested 5 Palestinian civilians at checkpoints in
the West Bank.
Settlement Activities: Israeli settlers living in the OPT in violation of
international humanitarian law have continued to attack Palestinian civilians
and property. During the reporting period, Israeli settlers attacked a
Palestinian child in Hebron and 2 paramedics in Bethlehem. An Israeli settler
also stabbed a Palestinian civilian in al-Malha area, southwest of Jerusalem.
Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (20 – 26 September
2007)
The
full report is available PDF format.
