Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue
Systematic Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (OPT)
· 6 Palestinians were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip.
· 5 of the victims were killed by IOF aerial attacks.
· A baby in the womb of his mother was killed by IOF gunfire.
· 36 Palestinians were wounded by IOF gunfire in the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip.
· 27 of them, including 2 journalists, were wounded by an IOF
aerial attack on a site of the Executive Force in Rafah.
· 3 civilians, including a Swiss solidarity activist, were
wounded by the IOF gunfire in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah.
· IOF conducted 26 incursions into Palestinian communities in
the West Bank, and one incursion into the Gaza Strip.
· IOF arrested 41
Palestinian civilians, including 7 children.
· IOF arrested 2 Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
· IOF demolished a houses in Bethlehem as a form of
collective punishment.
· IOF opened fire at a tract of agricultural land in the
southern Gaza Strip burning it.
· IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT.
· IOF have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
· IOF positioned at various checkpoints and border crossings in
the West Bank arrested 5 Palestinian civilians, including a woman children.
· IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank.
· IOF plan to construct more than 20,000 housing units in the
central West Bank.
· A guard of an Israeli settlement in the West Bank fired at
a Palestinian taxi driver, wounding him.
Summary
Israeli violations of
international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting
period (10 – 16 May 2007):
Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF
killed 6 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and a baby in his mother’s womb in the
West Bank. They also wounded 36 Palestinians and a French solidarity activist.
In the Gaza Strip, on
15 May 2007, IOF positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel
shot dead an officer of the Palestinian National Security Forces who got close
the border when he fled from armed clashes between Fatah and Hamas movements
the were taking place at al-Mentar (Karni) crossing. On 16 May 2007, 3 members
of the Executive Force of the Palestinian Ministry of Interior were killed and
27 persons, including 2 journalists and civilian bystander were wounded when
IOF warplanes attacked a site of the Executive Force in Rafah. On the same day,
2 members of Hamas were killed and 3 others were wounded by an IOF aerial
attack in the northern Gaza Strip. On 10 May 2007, IOF positioned at the border
between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Khan Yunis, opened fire at
Palestinian agricultural land in Khuza’a village. Large areas of agricultural
land were burnt.
On Thursday morning, 10 May 2007, IOF killed a baby in the womb of his
woman who was also seriously wounded. This attack took place when IOF moved
into ‘Ein Beit al-Maa’ refugee camp, west of Nablus. IOF soldiers took position
atop of a building overlooking ‘Ein Beit al-Maa’ refugee camp. They opened fire
at Palestinian houses in the camp. As a result, a woman who was pregnant in the
7th month was wounded by a gunshot the back, which killed her baby
in the womb. The gunshot hit the baby to the head.
On 11 May 2007, IOF
used force against a peaceful demonstration organized by Palestinian civilians
and international and Israeli solidarity activists against the construction of
the Annexation Wall in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah. As a result, 3
demonstrators, including a child and a Swiss solidarity activist, were wounded.
On 13 May 2007, a Palestinian taxi
driver was wounded by a gunshot to the buttock when a guard of an Israeli
settlement near Salfit fired at him from a zero range.
Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF
conducted at least 26 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the
West Bank. During those incursions, IOF arrested 41 Palestinian civilians,
including 7 children. Thus, the number of Palestinians arrested by IOF in the
West Bank since the beginning of this year has mounted to 1,164. IOF also demolished
a house belonging to the family of an allegedly wanted Palestinian in Bethlehem.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF moved into al-Shouka village, northeast of Rafah, and
arrested 2 Palestinian brothers.
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 imposed a strict siege on the Gaza Strip. They have imposed severe
restrictions at 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 was reopened only for 3 separate days. 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.
IOF have also 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. 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 prevent Palestinian fishermen
from fishing for approximately a year.
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
soldiers positioned at various checkpoints and border crossings in the West
Bank arrested at least 5 Palestinian civilians, including a woman.
Settlement
Activities: IOF
have continued settlement activities and Israeli settlers living in the OPT in
violation of international humanitarian law have continued to attack On 10 May
2007, the Israeli daily Ha’aretz reported that the Israeli Committee for
Planning and Construction approved a plan to construct 3 settlement
neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, which includes the construction of 20,000
housing units, in addition to 500 others in Abu Dis village, southeast of the
city. The plan aims at creating territorial continuity between Jerusalem and
“Gush Etzion” settlement bloc, south of Bethlehem, and between
Jerusalem and “Beit Eil” settlement, north of Ramallah. In the same
context, on 13 May 2007, the Israeli government decided to allocate
approximately US$ 1.5 billion to develop settlement neighborhoods in Jerusalem
out of a concern of the increase of the Arab population in the city. Also on 10
May 2007, IOF handed notices to Palestinian civilians in Salama and Fqaiqees
villages to the east and south of “Noghohot” settlement, west of
Hebron, to stop building 10 houses and a mosque. On 11 May 2007, Israeli
settlers living in “Sousia” settlement, south of Hebron, resumed
their attacks on Palestinian farmers on agricultural land located near the
settlement.
Israeli Violations
Documented during the Reporting Period (10 -16 May 2007)
The
full report is available PDF format.
