Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Escalate
Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT), Especially in the Gaza Strip
· 32 Palestinians were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip.
· 17 of the victims are civilians, including 7 children.
· 102 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 20 children, were
wounded by IOF gunfire in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
· 97 of these Palestinians, including 18 children and 10
women, were wounded by IOF gunfire in the Gaza Strip.
· IOF have shelled various areas in the Gaza Strip.
· IOF launched 46 missiles at civilian and paramilitary targets.
· 10 civilian facilities and one house were destroyed.
· IOF conducted 45 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank and wide scale incursions into the northern Gaza Strip.
· IOF arrested 57 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and
8 others in the Gaza Strip.
· IOF raided 5 local television and radio stations in Nablus
and Qalqilya and confiscated their equipment.
· IOF stormed offices of 7 charities in the West Bank.
· IOF closed the office of members of the Palestinian
Legislative Council representing the Change and Reform Bloc in Hebron.
· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT.
· IOF have cut off the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
· IOF positioned at various checkpoints and border crossings in
the West Bank arrested 4 Palestinian civilians.
· IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank.
· IOF and Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian civilians and
human rights defenders who peacefully demonstrated against settlement
activities; IOF arrested 10 demonstrators and wounded 2 others and a
journalist.
Summary
IOF escalated violations
of international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting
period (17 – 23 May 2007):
Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF
killed 32 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. This number includes 17 civilians, 7
of them are children. It also includes 7 ones from one family. In addition, IOF
wounded 93 Palestinians, including 18 children and 10 women in the Gaza Strip,
and 9 civilians, including 2 children and an Italian solidarity activists.
In the Gaza Strip, on
Wednesday noon, 16 May 2007, IOF initiated a wide scale offensive against the
Gaza Strip. They moved into the northern Gaza Strip, where they seized a number
of houses and transformed them into military sites. IOF expanded the offensive
to include aerial attacks that targeted civilian facilities, sites of
resistance groups and civilian vehicles believed to be transporting members of
the Palestinian resistance. Soon after, the Israeli government to carry out a
series of extra-judicial executions that would target leaders of Hamas and
Islamic Jihad. Some hours following taking the decision, IOF bombarded a
meeting hall belonging to the al-Haya family near the house of Dr. Khalil
Isma’il al-Haya, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council from Hamas, in
al-Shojaeya neighborhood in Gaza City. During to the reporting period, IOF
launched 46 missiles at several targets in the Gaza Strip. In addition to
deaths and casualties incurred by these attacks, 10 civilian facilities, a
house and a number of paramilitary sites mostly belonging to Hamas and the
Executive Force of the Palestinian Ministry of Interior were destroyed. IOF
demonstrated a flagrant disregard to the lives of the Palestinian civilian
population as they attacked densely populated area while pursing members of the
Palestinian resistance. Since the beginning of this latest offensive against the
Gaza Strip, IOF have killed 38 Palestinians and have wounded 120 others.
In the West Bank, 8
Palestinian civilians, including 2 children, and an Italian human rights
defender were wounded by the IOF gunfire. On of the wounded children was
pronounced clinically dead. The Italian human rights defender was wounded when
IOF used force against a peaceful demonstration organized 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 45 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. During those incursions, IOF arrested 57 Palestinian civilians. Thus,
the number of Palestinians arrested by IOF in the West Bank since the beginning
of this year has mounted to 1,221. Additionally, IOF stormed 5 television and
radio stations in Nablus and Qalqilya and, confiscated their equipment. IOF
also stormed offices of a number of charities and offices of members of the
Palestinian Legislative Council. In the Gaza Strip, in addition to the wide
scale incursion into the north, on 23 May 2007, IOF moved into Khuza’a village,
east of Khan Yunis, and arrested 7 Palestinian civilians.
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. On Tuesday, 22
May 2007, IOF imposed a total closure on the OPT for the Jewish Shavuot.
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 since 25 June 2006, even though they
do not directly control it. During the reporting period, the crossing point remained
closed. IOF have partially reopened commercial crossings,
especially al-Mentar (Karni) crossing, but many goods and medical supplies have
been lacked in markets in the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip
have been prevented from traveling through this crossing. IOF have allowed
international workers to pass through the crossing. With this closure, only
few Palestinian patients have been able to travel to hospitals in Israel and
the West Bank. In addition, IOF have continued to imposed
severe restriction on fishing in the Gaza Strip.
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. Contrary to Israeli claims, 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 soldiers positioned at various checkpoints and border
crossings in the West Bank arrested at least 4 Palestinian civilians.
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, IOF used force
against peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to Israeli settlement
activities in Bani Na’im village, southeast of Hebron, and Artas village, south
of Bethlehem. They arrested 10 demonstrators and wounded 2 others and a
journalists. On 19 May 2007,
a number of Israeli settlers living in “Beit Hadasa”
settlement outpost in the center of Hebron attacked 2 international human
rights defenders, injuring one of them.
Israeli Violations
Documented during the Reporting Period (17 – 23 May 2007)
The
full report is available PDF format.
