Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF)
Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and Continue to Impose a Total Blockade on
the Gaza Strip
· 41 civilians, including 5 journalists, 8 women, and one
child, sustained injuries and bruises when IOF used force against peaceful
demonstrations in the West Bank.
· IOF conducted 25 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank, and one into the Gaza Strip.
· IOF arrested 47 Palestinian civilians, including 17 children.
· Israeli naval troops continued to attack Palestinian
fishermen and boats in the Gaza Strip.
· IOF warplanes bombarded tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip
and a workshop in Gaza City.
· IOF have continued to impose a total blockade on the OPT and
have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
· IOF troops positioned at military checkpoints and border
crossings in the West Bank arrested 7 Palestinian civilians, including a woman
and a child.
· IOF have continued measures aimed at creating a Jewish
majority in Jerusalem.
· IOF demolished 8 houses in Jerusalem.
· IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank
and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and
property.
· 5 Palestinian civilians were injured as a result of attacks
by settlers.
Summary
Israeli violations of international
law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (22 –
28 October 2009):
Shooting: During the reporting period, 41
Palestinian civilians, including 5 journalists, 8 women and one child were
injured in peaceful demonstrations protesting a raid of the al-Aqsa Mosque in
Jerusalem, the construction of the Annexation Wall and attacks by Israeli
settlers against Palestinian farmers while cultivating olives.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF warplanes
bombarded tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip and a workshop in Gaza City. No Casualties were reported.
Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 25 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. IOF arrested 47 Palestinian
civilians, including 17 children.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF moved into
the east of Gaza City and leveled areas of land, which they had already razed.
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 to the Gaza
Strip for more than two years. The illegal IOF blockade of the Gaza Strip,
which has steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on
the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.
· 1.5 million people are being denied their basic rights,
including freedom of movement, and their rights to appropriate living
conditions, work, health and education.
· The main concern of
1.5 million people living in the Gaza Strip is to obtain their basic needs of
food, medicines, water and electricity supplies.
· IOF have continued to
prevent the entry of raw construction materials into the Gaza Strip for more
than two years.
· IOF have not allowed
fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip, excluding limited amounts of cooking gas,
since 10 December 2008.
· The Rafah
International Crossing Point has been opened for a few days for a number of
patients who received medical treatment abroad and needed to return home to the
Gaza Strip.
· IOF have continued to
close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to Palestinian civilians wishing to travel to
the West Bank and Israeli for medical treatment, trade or social visits.
· Poverty and
unemployment rates stand at approximately 80% and 60% respectively in the Gaza
Strip.
· IOF have continued to
prevent the entry of spare parts form water networks and sewage systems. Losses
incurred to this sector are estimated at US$ 6 million.
· IOF have imposed
additional access restrictions on international diplomats, journalists and
humanitarian workers seeking to enter the Gaza Strip. They have prevented
representatives of several international humanitarian organizations from
entering the Gaza Strip.
· Living conditions of
the Palestinian civilian population have seriously deteriorated; levels of
poverty and unemployment are among the highest in the world.
· At least 900
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have been denied family visitation rights
for more than three years.
· IOF have continued to
attack Palestinian fishermen along the Gaza Strip coast.
West Bank
IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the
movement of Palestinian civilians throughout the West Bank, including occupied
East Jerusalem. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip continue to be denied access to Jerusalem.
· IOF have established checkpoints in and around Jerusalem,
severely restricting Palestinian access to the city. Civilians are frequently
prevented from praying at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
· There are approximately permanent 630 roadblocks, and manned
and unmanned checkpoints across the West Bank. In addition, there are some
60-80 ‘flying’ or temporary checkpoints erected across the West Bank by IOF
every week.
· When complete, the illegal Annexation Wall will stretch for
724 kilometers around the West Bank, further isolating the entire population.
350 kilometers of the Wall has already been constructed. Approximately 99% of
the Wall has been constructed inside the West Bank itself, further confiscating
Palestinian land.
· At least 65% of the main roads that leads to 18 Palestinian
communities in the West Bank are closed or fully controlled by IOF (47 out of
72 roads).
· There are around 500 kilometers of restricted roads across
the West Bank. In addition, approximately one third of the West Bank, including
occupied East Jerusalem, is inaccessible to Palestinians without a permit
issued by the IOF. These permits are extremely difficult to obtain.
· IOF continue to harass, and assault demonstrators who hold
peaceful protests against the construction of the Annexation Wall.
· Palestinian civilians continue to be harassed by IOF in
Jerusalem, and across the West Bank, including being regularly stopped and
searched in the streets by IOF.
Measures Aimed at Creating a Jewish
Majority in occupied East Jerusalem
During the reporting period, IOF
stormed into the al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, and used excessive
force against Palestinian civilians who attempted to stop the raid. The raid
and related incidents followed a call by extremist Jewish groups, particularly
the “Organization for Human Rights on the Temple Mount,” urging
extremist Jews to break into the al-Aqsa Mosque and its yards to conduct
Talmudic rituals to mark Rambam’s ascension. Since Saturday night, 24
October 2009, IOF had been intensively deployed throughout the Old City of
Jerusalem. The al-Aqsa Mosque and worshippers had previously been
subjected to a similar assault on 27 September 2009, when a number of Israeli
settlers attempted to break into the yards of the Mosque.
On 27 October 2009, IOF demolished 8 houses in East
Jerusalem.
Settlement Activities: IOF have continued settlement
activities in the OPT in violation of international humanitarian law and Israeli
settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. On 27 October 2009, scores of Israeli
settlers from “Shavot Rachel” settlement, which stands on lands
belonging to Qaryout village, southeast of Nablus, launched a series of attacks
against Palestinian farmers who were cultivating olives, nearly 500 meters away
from the settlement. The settlers,
escorted by IOF, attacked farmers with stones and violently beat a number of
them. As a result of these attacks, 5
Palestinian farmers sustained bruises, and IOF arrested Kamal ‘Abdul Jawad
Kassab, 29, claiming that refused to obey orders to leave the area.
Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting
Period (22 – 28 October 2009)
The full report is available PDF format.
