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

· 6 Palestinians, including 2 children, were killed by IOF.

· 23 Palestinians, including 9 children, were wounded by IOF.
 

· IOF conducted 35 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank and 3 ones into the Gaza Strip.

· IOF arrested 54 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and 6
ones in the Gaza Strip.

· IOF razed 81 donums[1]
of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip.

· IOF will close the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron during the
holiday Ramadan Month for 5 sporadic days.

· IOF raided the local council of Bir Nabala village, north
of Jerusalem. 

· 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 troops arrested 2 Palestinian civilians at checkpoints
in the West Bank.

Summary

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

Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed
6 Palestinians, including 2 children, and wounded 23 others, including 9
children, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In the Gaza Strip, on
6 September 2007, IOF killed 4 members of the Palestinian resistance and
wounded 10 others in al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis. Members of the
Palestinian resistance resisted an incursion by IOF into the village and
clashed with IOF troops. On 8 September 2007, IOF shot dead a Palestinian child
who was hunting birds near Karni crossing, east of Gaza City. Additionally, 5
Palestinian civilians, including 3 children and a woman, were wounded when IOF
fired a missile at the apartment building where they live.

In the West Bank, on 6
September 2007, IOF moved into Jenin to arrest allegedly wanted Palestinians.
IOF troops opened fire at a number of Palestinian children who demonstrated
against this incursion. As a result, two children were wounded. One of these
children died from his wound on 10 September 2007. On 8 September 2007, a
Palestinian civilian was wounded in ‘Azzoun village, east of Qalqilya, when he
mishandled a sound bomb of the remainders of IOF. On 10 September 2007, an IOF
undercover unit fired from inside a car at a Palestinian who was walking near
the entrance of ‘Ein Beit al-Maa’ refugee camp, west of Nablus. He was wounded
to the feet and IOF troops arrested him. On 11 September 2007, 5 Palestinian
children were wounded by IOF in Jenin town and refugee camp.

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 35 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. During those incursions, IOF arrested 54 Palestinian civilians,
including 3 children and a woman. Thus, the number of Palestinians arrested by
IOF in the West Bank since the beginning of this year has mounted to 1,931. Also
during these incursions, IOF raided and searched the headquarters of the local
council of Bir Nabala village, northwest of Jerusalem. They confiscated 3
computer sets and several official documents. This raid was the second of its
kind this year. On 11 September 2007, IOF issued a military order closing the
Ibrahim Mosque for 5 separate days during the holy Ramadan Month, allegedly to
allow Jewish settlers to celebrate Jewish occasions.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF
conducted 3 incursions into Palestinian communities in the Gaza Strip. On 6
September 2007, IOF moved into al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis.
During this incursion, IOF killed 4 members of the Palestinian resistance and
wounded 10 others. They also razed 66 donums of agricultural land. On 7
September 2007, an IOF undercover unit sneaked into al-Salam neighborhood in
Rafah and abducted a Palestinian. On 12 September 2007, IOF moved into
al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. They razed 15 donums of
agricultural land.

Restrictions on Movement: On Wednesday morning, 12 September 2007, IOF imposed a
total siege on the OPT, which will continue until Sunday, 16 SeptemberIOF 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 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 2
Palestinian civilians at checkpoints in the West Bank.

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

The
full report is available PDF format.